Charles Ansdell, technical manager at the advisory firm Inter-Alliance, says timber investment in forests or through funds is "a tax mitigation device; the timber index is not exactly sexy".Angus Hanton, of Woodland Investment Management, says: "There has been a slight increase in prices, with regional variation, but the average cost of a six-acre woodland is £15,000, with the average in the South-east nearer £19,000. Most woodland we deal in is worth less than £60,000 to avoid stamp duty. The other costs are the Land Registry Fee of £50 and your solicitor's fees of £300 plus 17.5 per cent Vat."Investment in forests is long term. As the supply of forestry is fixed for several years ahead, the price of trees is directly linked to the timber market.
Demand for such a basic commodity is linked to house- building, inflation and the economic environment. Mr Hanton added: "Prices are stable, and there is plenty of demand at this level so there is less chance of a fall than a rise."Paul Bunton of The Woodland Trust is a project manager for the Community Woodland Network. The Woodland Trust is the UK's leading conservation charity dedicated to protecting our native woodland, which set up the network to help woodland groups. Mr Bunton says: "We have had more than 200 enquiries since the autumn from people on woodland purchase. Now we have set up a website for information and we are having a conference. There are a lot of community woodland groups but they have often found they are isolated, and this is an initiative to assist communications among them as well as to help people interested in buying woodland to maintain it."The website .uk, which went live this month, contains a useful guide, including all the legal and other pitfalls.
The main organisation prospective woodland owners need to contact is the Forestry Commission. This government body is responsible for the protection and expansion of forests and woodlands, and helps owners with finance for maintenance and new planting as well as issuing the all-important woodland grant scheme approval.Paul Johnson, operations manager at the Forestry Commission's Cambridge regional office, says: "Grants are divided into woodland creation ones and others for creating amenities in existing woodland. The type and level of support depends on that particular woodland and what they want to do with it."For new planting of a small wood with broadleaf trees, the grant is £1,350 per hectare (2.47 acres). But if it is new planting on agricultural land there is an additional £600 per hectare. If your land is among the 12 existing community forests, you can get an additional £600 per hectare. If it is near a conurbation and you design a new woodland with public access there is an extra £900 per hectare. For someone buying existing woodland with little or no new planting involved there are two mechanisms for providing grants: an annual management grant or a woodland improvement grant (WIG).Annual management grants of £35 per hectare are available for maintaining the special values of a woodland, for instance an ancient or native woodland.