GRANT approval delays are one of the main reasons Scotland's woodland-creation levels slumped last year, a leading figure has said.
Just 12,960 hectares of woodland were created across the UK in the 12 months prior to the end of March 2023, around 1,000 ha fewer than the previous period and the first time the figure had fallen below 13,000 ha since the 2017/18 planting season.
Much of this came down to the performance of Scotland, which saw its own total drop to 8,190 ha, well short of the 10,480 ha recorded last year. In the wake of this, Mairi Gougeon, the country's rural affairs secretary, called an emergency forestry summit to address the slump.
Speaking to Forestry Journal at the Royal Highland Show, Scottish Woodlands' David Robertson criticised delays in approvals for hindering the nation's woodland-creation efforts.
"We need to look at how we speed up approvals," SW's director, development and business development, said. "This year, we've seen there being surplus capacity in the contracting field because of slow approvals on grant schemes.
"At a time when we have a climate crisis, the industry is burning between five and seven million trees in the nursery sector.
"We need to find a better way to drive afforestation projects. We need to work with the private sector and the public sector – all of these constituent parts – to make it happen."
Paperwork delays have also been blamed for planting struggles south of the border, with one contractor going so far as to saying he feared his business would go bust waiting for the greenlight on planting schemes.
"We have a climate crisis," David added. "We have a target across the UK of 30,000 hectares per annum and we are simply not achieving it.
"If things continue the way they are, we will not achieve it for some time to come.
"We need to draw breath, take time, and consider how we look at that in the future and try to drive it forward, with a multi-party approach."
A Scottish Forestry spokesperson said: "Scottish Forestry is investing significantly in improving the speed and efficiency of the assessment process, while ensuring good quality decisions, that take account of the impact on the local environment and communities, continue to be made."
During his interview with FJ, David did reveal agroforestry was providing plenty of encouragement, with around 70 per cent of all of SW's applications last year being in relation to farmers.
READ MORE: Agroforestry 'proven' to boost yields and protect farms
You can see the full chat on our YouTube channel from 4PM on Friday.
Keep an eye across our channels for more exclusive content from show season, which includes the RHS, Swedish Forestry Expo and Arb Show.
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