Plans to plant 2,965 acres of new woodland across Scotland have been backed with £6.5 million in Scottish Government funding.
The figure, announced yesterday by Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing, is the highest level of funding awarded since the Scotland’s Forestry Grant Scheme was set up last year.
Tree planting projects to benefit range from a large native woodland scheme in Knoydart, to productive, sustainable conifer schemes in Argyll, Perthshire, and the border hills.
The Scottish Government set a target of planting 247,105 acres of new woodlands between 2012 and 2022, equivalent to 24,710 acres per year. Since the new grant scheme was launched a year ago over £34 million has been approved for a variety of projects, including 13,509 acres of woodland creation.
Mr Ewing held talks with Highland forestry industry leaders at Boat of Garten, near Aviemore, yesterday, following a similar summit in the south of Scotland last month
Speaking at BSW Timber’s sawmill near the village, Mr Ewing said forestry should no longer be seen as a “bit of a Cinderella” of the rural sector.
He said: “Today’s forestry event in Boat of Garten is about listening to the industry as part of my focus on building growth in our rural economy.
“This is an important moment for the £1 billion forestry sector in Scotland as we have recently launched a consultation on plans to complete its devolution. This will safeguard the future of one of Scotland’s most precious assets, which supports at least 25,000 jobs and plays a pivotal role in tackling climate change among many other benefits.”
The minister said getting more trees in the ground was vital to the industry’s further growth.
He added: “This latest grant funding is a significant government investment towards this goal and I am pleased to see that the rate of new planting proposals has increased, though funding is, of course, only part of the story.
“We want to speed up and streamline approval processes for sustainable planting schemes. New woodland creation will help strengthen forestry’s contribution to our rural economy as well as helping to meet our climate change targets.”
Yesterday’s announcement was welcomed by BSW Timber chairman, Martin Gale.
He said: “The commitment to planing targets in Scotland is critical to providing the ongoing confidence to invest further in this industry, not just for the industry, but for the debt providers who loan us the money to do this.
“It gives them the confidence that the government is behind the industry. It’s a long-term industry and we think this is a very important contribution that is being made by the Scottish Government.”
Mr Ewing has commissioned former Scottish Government chief planner Jim MacKinnon to undertake an analysis of the forestry planting process in Scotland. The research aims to identify actions that could reduce the duration, complexity and cost of tree planting applications.
