FREE advice and funding is being made available to landowners wishing to create a new woodland.

The initiative comes after Clapham-based charity Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust joined forces one of the UK’s largest commercial fuel card resellers, The Fuelcard Company.

Under its Ecopoint scheme, Fuelpoint has donated more than £120,000, which will be used to support the creation and management of native broadleaf woodlands in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Applications from outside this area will also be considered if they meet funding criteria.

Eligibility will be assessed on a site-by-site basis, but schemes should significantly conserve, enhance or add to the natural heritage, be accessible to the general public or be clearly visible from a public right of way, and be supported by the local community.

Chris Lodge, woodland development officer at YDMT, said: “Working with our partners, we can advise you on the planting design and specification, help you complete your application, identify other funding opportunities such as the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, or contractors who may be able to carry out the work for you. So if you own some land and are thinking of creating a new woodland then we’d love to hear from you.”

Whilst the main focus of applications should be the planting of native broadleaf woodland, other elements such as planting non-native species or hedgerows may also be eligible for funding providing they meet criteria around biodiversity and conservation.

Support may also be available to fund woodland management activities if they bring habitat improvement or benefits to protected wildlife species like black grouse or red squirrel.

Richard Brown, head of commercial for The Fuelcard Company said: “We understand that our customers want to minimise their impact on the environment. By supporting the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, via our EcoPoint scheme, means we can help customers contribute to their CSR (corporate social responsibility) targets and offset their carbon footprint, whilst significantly improving the landscape and natural habitat of the Dales.

"The YDMT do a fantastic job and we have been readily supporting their schemes since 2010."

Planting trees is a long term investment which will bring significant and long lasting benefits to wildlife, the environment and the landscape for future generations, as well as potentially providing long term income for landowners.

The closing date for the first application window is next Friday, July 24, and the deadline for the second window is Friday, August 28. Other application windows will follow.

To find out more and request an application pack, contact Chris Lodge on 015242 51002 or email chris.lodge@ydmt.org.