Sale of Forestry Commision Land

[ForestPaul]

Originally Posted by RKB

Also, as it is an ex-Forestry Commission wood, they retain a veto over whether you can fell any trees. You would have to get a FC permit before you could cut down anything.

You need to get a felling licence from the FC whether it's ex-FC woodland or not (for more than 5m³ per calendar quarter)

[Cowgirl]

Ah, thank you for explaining RKB, at least there's protection on the woodlands if they're sold off.

I didn't know that you couldn't cut down your own trees for timber without a license either, thanks Paul.

Cheers

[ForestPaul]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

I didn't know that you couldn't cut down your own trees for timber without a license either, thanks Paul.

You can, up to a limit of 5m³ per calendar quarter, which is a pretty large amount of wood. For typical spruce tree 32' high and 10" diameter at mid-point that's 10 trees per quarter, or 40 trees a year.
If you're selling the timber commercially, the limit is lower at 2m³ per quarter.

[Cowgirl]

Fairy snuff. That is quite a lot of wood then

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by RKB

One of the main reasons people buy woods is not for investment as timber or leisure areas, but as an investment in the capital appreciation of the wood itself. have a read of this: Woodland Investement

Wasn't there a Government scheme some years ago that heavily subsidised or gave tax concessions to land owners that planted woodland? I understand that the scheme was responsible for a lot of land in Scotland being planted with foreign conifers. IIRC a major British male film star was heavily into the scheme.

Jim

[ForestPaul]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

Wasn't there a Government scheme some years ago that heavily subsidised or gave tax concessions to land owners that planted woodland? I understand that the scheme was responsible for a lot of land in Scotland being planted with foreign conifers. IIRC a major British male film star was heavily into the scheme.

Jim

There are a variety of grant schemes for planting and managing woodland, but what makes it attractive as an investment is that no income tax is paid on any sale of timber and there is no capital gains tax on any gain in the value of the timber (but not the land itself). It is also subject to relief on inheritance tax.