Agriculture & Farming

Which forestry rules apply to your business

Forestry businesses — woodland managers, tree nurseries, felling and harvesting contractors, timber merchants and tree surgeons — answer to the Forestry Commission and its devolved counterparts for consents, HSE for one of the highest-hazard work environments in any sector, and a set of product and plant-health regimes for moving trees and marketing timber. What you must do depends on what you do: grow, fell, sell or support. Work out which you are and follow the right guide.

UK-wide
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UK-wide

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Forestry and logging covers growing trees and supplying planting stock, felling and harvesting, marketing the timber, and the support trades — forest management, arboriculture and tree surgery. Two things define the division: most operations on growing trees need a consent before you start (a felling licence, an Environmental Impact Assessment opinion, or local-authority consent for protected trees), and the fieldwork itself is among the highest-hazard regulated by HSE. Forestry is devolved: the Forestry Commission covers England, with Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Forestry and the Northern Ireland Forest Service in the other nations. Work out what you do, then follow the right guides — if you do more than one, follow each.

  1. 1

    Put the shared duties in place

    Whatever forestry work you do, start with the universal spine. Follow "Run a compliant forestry business" for high-hazard health and safety, work equipment and working at height, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.

  2. 2

    If you grow trees or supply planting stock

    Tree nurseries and growers must register as professional operators and issue plant passports for regulated plants moved within Great Britain, and suppliers of seed and planting stock of the listed forest species must register with the Forestry Commission for forest reproductive material certification. Creating new woodland above thresholds needs an Environmental Impact Assessment opinion first. Follow "Forestry operations, consents and timber rules".

  3. 3

    If you fell and harvest trees

    Felling growing trees generally needs a felling licence — with criminal liability for felling without one — and licences usually carry restocking conditions. Larger deforestation, forest roads and quarries need an EIA opinion. Follow "Forestry operations, consents and timber rules", and "Apply for a tree felling licence" for the application itself.

  4. 4

    If you market or sell timber

    A business that first places timber on the GB market — including a logging business selling its own harvested timber — must run a UK Timber Regulation due-diligence system. Follow "Forestry operations, consents and timber rules", and "Timber sourcing compliance" for the full due-diligence system.

  5. 5

    If you provide forestry support or tree surgery

    Working on protected trees needs local planning authority consent — Tree Preservation Order and conservation-area breaches carry criminal penalties up to an unlimited fine — and applying professional herbicides or pesticides needs a certificate of competence. Follow "Forestry operations, consents and timber rules", and "Work with Tree Preservation Orders" for the consent process.

  6. 6

    If you gather wild products commercially

    Gathering moss, foliage, mushrooms, bark or other wild non-wood products needs the landowner's permission; uprooting wild plants without authorisation is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and activity on a Site of Special Scientific Interest needs consent. The shared duties cover the rest — see "Manage access land and SSSIs on your property" for SSSI consents.

  7. 7

    Confirm you have covered everything

    Finish with the forestry compliance checklist to confirm every obligation that applies to you is in place.

Official sources

Authoritative starting points for forestry businesses.