Forestry is making an increasing contribution to rural growth, it is helping to diversify the farm economy and reduce the carbon footprint of local communities. More than 80% of England’s woods are privately owned. Funding under LEADER will aim to deliver permanent new supply chains and jobs that, at the same time, restore regular management to local woods and encourage a greater degree of added value to the timber output.
State aid rules
De minimis state aid regulations mean that a maximum of €200,000 (currently around £160,000) of public funds is available to any one applicant in any rolling period of 3 financial years. If an applicant has had other public funding, this may count towards the de minimis aid amount and reduce the amount of money they can apply for under LEADER.
Please note: Basic Payment Scheme and Countryside Stewardship payments do not count towards the de minimis limit.
State Aid - Detailed Guidance (external Website)
Guidance and eligibility
For further guidance and eligibility, please refer to the CWWW LEADER Applicant Handbook. You can download a copy of this document by using the link below:
CWWW LEADER applicant handbook (pdf 746kb opens in new window)
For further information on what is eligible or not eligible in priority 6 - Support for increasing forestry productivity, please refer to the list below:
LEADER Equipment list for priority 1 and 6 (pdf 137kb opens in new window)