Ancient woodland and coppice: how agencies define and protect them

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It covers England and Wales as the named pages do. Text on the GOV.UK pages is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and this page restates it in its own words. The pages read give no rule for Scotland, Northern Ireland or Ireland.

What counts as ancient woodland

The Natural England and Forestry Commission standing advice for England says ancient woodland takes hundreds of years to establish and is defined as an irreplaceable habitat. It describes it as any area that has been wooded continuously since at least 1600 AD, and names two forms: ancient semi-natural woodland, mainly of trees and shrubs native to the site and usually arising by natural regeneration, and plantations on ancient woodland sites, replanted with conifer or broadleaves but keeping features such as undisturbed soil, ground flora and fungi. The advice says both have equal protection in the National Planning Policy Framework. It adds that wooded continuously does not mean unbroken tree cover over the whole site, that not every tree has to be old, and that open ground is an important part of ancient woodland.

The same advice names other forms: wood pastures identified as ancient, and historic parkland, which the framework protects as a heritage asset. It says many of these are missing from the ancient woodland inventory because their low tree density does not show as woodland on historic maps. It also defines ancient and veteran trees: an ancient tree is exceptionally valuable for its age, size, condition, decay habitat and cultural value, and a veteran tree may not be very old but has significant decay features such as branch death and hollowing. All ancient trees are veteran trees, but not all veteran trees are ancient. A related page covers pollards and veteran trees.

Where the records are held

Record	What the source says
Ancient Woodland Inventory, England	Held by Natural England and viewable on the Magic map system. The advice says woodlands under 2 hectares may not appear and local record centres may hold data on them, that new data can be added at any time and that a review was under way when the advice was read on October 9, 2026.
Ancient Tree Inventory	Run by the Woodland Trust. The advice says only a small proportion of ancient or veteran trees are recorded on it.
Wood pasture and parkland inventory	Natural England's, on the Magic map system, including ancient sites.
Ancient Woodland Inventory, Wales	Natural Resources Wales says it places woodland in four categories: ancient semi-natural woodland, believed in existence for over 400 years; plantation on ancient woodland sites, over 400 years wooded with over 50 percent non-native conifer canopy; restored ancient woodland sites, which went through a conifer phase and have over 50 percent broadleaf canopy; and sites of unknown category, mainly in transition. It says the restored label does not mean a woodland is fully restored or in good ecological condition.

What the planning advice says

The England standing advice is a material planning consideration for local planning authorities. It says authorities should refuse planning permission where development would cause loss or deterioration of ancient woodland, ancient trees or veteran trees, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy, which it says must not be counted in the exceptional reasons. It says compensation measures are not part of judging the merits of the proposal, because these habitats are irreplaceable, and that existing poor condition is not a reason to give permission. It lists direct effects such as damage to roots, soil compaction, changes to the water table and removing the woodland edge, and indirect effects such as dust, light, noise, trampling, fly-tipping and falling branches that lead to tree management. It asks for a tree survey following BS 5837 where appropriate, and describes a mitigation hierarchy of avoid, reduce, and compensate as a last resort.

Felling licences

The Forestry Commission's page on when a felling licence is needed, which applies to England, says a licence is needed to fell growing trees unless an exemption applies, that felling without one where it was needed is an offence, and that licences are free and issued by the Commission. It gives these limits.

Item	What the page says
Trees	A licence is needed for trees with an over bark diameter of 8 cm or more, measured at 1.3 m above ground.
Coppice or underwood	The diameter is 15 cm or more at 1.3 m above ground.
Volume	For trees over those diameters, a licence is needed to fell more than 5 cubic metres in a calendar quarter. Up to 2 of those 5 cubic metres can be sold in the quarter; more sold needs a licence.
Conditions	Licences usually require restocking, by replanting or allowing natural regeneration. Licences for thinning only are usually unconditional.
Other consents	Consent can be needed from other bodies even where no licence is, for example on a site of special scientific interest.

The Forest Research page on ancient woodland says many British woods are plantations on ancient woodland sites, and that there has been considerable interest in identifying and prioritising conifer plantations on such sites for conversion back to native species. It points to a Forestry Commission practice note on restoration of native woodland on these sites.

Payment for restoring plantations on ancient woodland sites

The Defra and Rural Payments Agency page for the CWS2 supplement, part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, lists a payment of £275 per hectare per year over 10 years. It says the action can be used only together with the CWD2 woodland improvement base action, on established woodland shown as a plantation on ancient woodland site on the inventory, on the Magic map as ancient replanted woodland or in the woodland management plan, and only with a woodland management plan agreed with the Forestry Commission. The page shows it was first published on September 10, 2025 and last updated on May 7, 2026.