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The Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF) is closed. This guide is for existing grant holders.

Conditions of payments听

You should attempt to replant failed trees wherever practicable and proportionate to do so and must ensure a minimum survival rate of 75% of planted trees by the end of the maintenance period. Losses greater than this will be subject to the Forestry Commission鈥檚 Performance Improvement Plan.听听

Replacements are expected to be funded by the听local authority (LA)听and planting must be carried out satisfactorily to receive future maintenance payments. The听LA听may choose to plant a higher number of trees at the outset, to offset expected natural losses, or else undertake compensation planting in the second or third planting season (during the maintenance period).听听

Trees lost due to exceptional circumstances, at our discretion, may be offered the opportunity to apply for听LATF听Extraordinary Payments for Replanting in Exceptional Circumstances (EPREC). Where agreed,听LATF听EPREC听will pay a standard cost to supply and plant trees to replace those lost due to exceptionally hot and dry weather.听

You may only apply for a one-year planting period (planting season winter 2024-25). 50% of the funding for planting that year will be provided up front (following agreement of the听MoU). The remaining 50% will be provided upon receipt of the Post-Planting Report (for planting work completed that financial year). All claims for capital work (planting and/or establishing conditions for natural colonisation) must be completed and made by 31 March 2025.听听

Payments for maintenance will be made at the end of the financial year, subject to satisfactory evidence for the maintenance work completed. The payment schedule and further details of the activity schedule are detailed in the听LATF听Agreement, which will be offered to all LAs selected to receive funding.听

Contingencies and any costs related to inflation are borne by the applicant local authority.听

The post-planting report (PPR) will be submitted by the lead听LA, and reviewed by the Forestry Commission. The instalment may be downward adjusted if the final planting within the post-planting report differs from the activity outlined in the听MoU. All capital activities must be completed, with a claim and post-planting report submitted by 31 March 2025.

All detailed requirements are provided in the听LATF claim forms page, where you can also find听PPR听guidance. Read a summary of the听PPR听in the section听How to claim.

How to claim听

Pre-planting claims (1 and 3)

An听LATF听claim form for Claim 1 (pre-planting) and a claim declaration form will be sent to you with your offer of funding and can also be found on听the LATF claim forms page. This is the claim for the 50% upfront payment for planned planting/natural colonisation work. These forms should be signed, completed and returned to听LATF@forestrycommission.gov.uk听along with your signed听MoU听and acceptance of offer form. For 鈥楻ound 4鈥� agreements offered before 31 March 2024, the first claim will be paid after 31 March 2024.听

Post-planting claims (2 and 4)

Complete all capital works and submit a post-planting report (PPR) and claim for up to the remaining 50% of planting/natural recolonisation work (Claim 2: post-planting) before 11.59pm on 31 March 2025 (round 3, year 2 and round 4).

Read the听PPR听guidance on how to complete the听PPR听and claim form.

You should provide suitable evidence of all completed planting as part of your听PPR听and claim at the end of the financial year in which planting takes place, to ensure prompt payment of your claim.听听

Grid references/maps must be provided for all planting locations.

Photographs must also be provided for 10% of your planting sites (you can select which sites). The reduced requirement for photos is in place for 2024/25 claims onward only. Photographs can be taken of individual trees where these are not close to others but can also be taken of groups of trees where many can be included in one shot. The photographs must be representative of planting in each location.听

We recommend recording this evidence at the time of planting.

The following map is an example of supporting evidence provided by a previous applicant as part of their听PPR听submission. It combines a precise location, species and photograph. Evidence of this quality enables us to process a claim with minimal delay.

Maintenance claims

Annual maintenance payments can be claimed for (up to the values agreed) between 1 October and 31 March in each of the 3 subsequent financial years (for round 4 this will be 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28).

You will need to complete and submit the 鈥�LATF听maintenance claim form鈥� and 鈥榗laims declaration form鈥� on听the LATF claim forms page.

Only claim for what you have evidence for, up to the claim amount due. While the听LATF听cannot fund the time of in-house project co-ordination, it can fund in-house maintenance activities in cases where a contractor is not used. If in-house maintenance resource is used, evidence should be kept of hours worked and hourly rate, should this be requested. Labour involved in planting and maintaining trees is classed as capital expenditure and is factored into our standard tree costs at application stage (project cost calculator).

The final (third and fourth, if applicable, to 2-year planting agreements) maintenance claim must be accompanied by a 鈥榖eat-up鈥� survey report. This is a survey evidencing that the听LA听has systematically surveyed each area of planting to ascertain that the required minimum 75% success rate has been achieved.

Reporting requirements and maintenance awards听

The importance of maintenance for planted trees is reflected in the annual reporting requirements Year 2 to 4 (and Year 5 for rounds 1 to 3 2-year planting agreements). Maintenance claims can be submitted from 1 October following the first growing season after planting and in the financial year stated in the agreement payment profile. For example, trees planted between October 2024 and April 2025 will have their first growing season April to September 2025. Claims for maintenance can be submitted between 1 October 2025 and 31 March 2026 (and annually thereafter).

Maintenance payments are made annually up to 3 years from the date of planting, following maintenance activities, relevant reporting, and claims to Forestry Commission. A review of evidence from each听LA听will take place during the maintenance claims approval process.

Final maintenance payments and beat-up survey

In the final maintenance year (2 separate consecutive years for both Year 1 and Year 2 trees if you have a 2-year agreement from Rounds 1 to 3) you need a beat-up survey to enable the final maintenance payment for the relevant trees.

Download the beat-up survey form from听the LATF claim forms page听during the final growing season. We recommend completing the survey during your maintenance rounds. The first tranche of forms will be sent to Round 1 agreement holders in Summer 2024 for Round 1 Year 1 trees due their final maintenance payment by 31 March 2025.

Read the听beat-up survey guidance听for help completing the form.

The beat-up survey requires you to assess the number of trees surviving and determine which sites fall below the required 75% survival rate to meet the objectives of the fund. For sites where this is the case, you must determine how many trees you will need to plant in the final planting season (October to March) to reach a minimum 75% survival rate per site and record this on the form.

Once you have completed the required restocking work, you need to take representative photographs of 10% of your planting sites (include any restocked sites in this 10%) due for their final maintenance payment and complete the form. Photographs are required to evidence the extent of planting that remains at the end of the agreement period (a minimum of 75% survival of trees planted per site at the start of the agreement).

If restocking is required (where the beat-up survey reveals <75% survival rate at one or more sites), trees should match those lost (for example, standards, whips or feathers) and should be in the same location. It is not necessary to restock up to 100%. If the original location was a factor in failure, then you may plant in a nearby suitable location but must send a map(s) with grid reference to enable us to record the new location. These details are captured in the beat-up survey form.

If natural colonisation forms part of the agreement, this should also be assessed as part of the beat-up survey. If there is no evidence of regeneration, the reason should be investigated and remedied (where applicable) before the end of the agreement period. This is also captured on the form.

Once restocking or remedial work is completed (if required), complete and sign the declaration part of the beat-up survey form. Send to听LATF@forestrycommission.gov.uk听along with representative photos of all sites, maps for any relocated planting sites, and your final maintenance claim documents by 31 March of the financial year they are due.

Submit a听LATF听claim

Complete the relevant forms:

• LATF听pre-planting claim form
• LATF听post-planting report and claim, read the听post-planting report guide
• LATF听maintenance claim form (annually for 3 years following each year of planting), see more on听final maintenance claims
• a signed non-RDPE听claims declaration form (for all claims)

Email completed听LATF听forms, supporting evidence, and the declaration form to听LATF@forestrycommission.gov.uk.

Claims deadlines 2024 to 2025听

See the claims deadlines on the LATF claim forms page.

Inspections听听

In each year during the agreement period, planting on both public and private land will be subject to random or at-risk on-site inspection by the Forestry Commission. The听LA听will be given 48 hours鈥� notice prior to any inspection and are required to provide access to our staff.听

A representative of the听LA听need not be present at the time of inspection, but the nominated and named agreement holder/lead applicant on behalf of the lead听LA听(or their confirmed agent) must sign the Forestry Commission鈥檚 subsequent inspection report to confirm that they understand the inspection outcome.听

Inspections may look for evidence of defrayal, necessary consents, licences, and permissions (in particular, that they were in place prior to planting). It may also look for evidence that the grant-funded works have been undertaken in accordance with the听MoU听and published prescriptions, and to an acceptable standard.

Contact us

If you need further help from the Forestry Commission email听LATF@forestrycommission.gov.uk.

Find out听how to make a complaint or appeal.

You can also refer to the LATF grant manual.