Grants are available to community and volunteer groups as well as town councils and individuals for tree planting projects in socially deprived urban and peri-urban areas in England.
The funding is being made available through the 5th round of the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund which aims to support people’s health and wellbeing by levelling-up access to nature. The fund provides 80% of standard costs for planting large trees and their establishment costs. The remaining 20% must be met through match funding. There is a minimum application value of £10,000. Payments for trial pits have been introduced in this round of funding to check for the presence of services.
The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) has no application deadline, but it takes three to five months from submitting a valid and complete application to an agreement being offered. However, for tree planting projects in 2024/25, applications need to be submitted no later than 11.59pm on the 30th June 2024.
Apply to the Urban Tree Challenge Fund – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
