Circular 2 of 2016
25 February 2016
To all Registered Foresters and Forestry Companies
1
Changes to Forest Roads Scheme
The following changes to the Forest Roads Scheme come into effect for all roads with a
Form 2 completion date on or after the 1st April 2016. All unexpired forest road scheme
approvals from the date of this circular will be automatically extended to 31 st December
2016. This change means that applicants with such unexpired (Form 1) approvals can start
construction or continue to construct forest roads immediately. All Form 2s submitted from
the 1st April 2016 where the road was completed on or after this date will be eligible for the
changes described below.
The changes to the Forest Roads Scheme are as follows;
a) An additional bellmouth allowance of 20 metres will now apply at contract level,
subject to costs incurred, where a new entrance to the public road is being created
or modified in addition to the standard density of 20 metres per hectare. Only one 20
metre allowance will apply per forest plantation i.e. original plantation contract
number where applicable. Entrances must be clearly identified on the application
Form 1, 2 and associated maps. The standard bellmouth specifications will apply as
per the COFORD Forest Road Manual and may include other forest entrance types
approved by the Department on application. Please see examples outlined in
Appendix 1 attached.
b) In cases where the proposed forest road bell mouth is at least 2m below the surface
of the existing public road the existing additional equivalent length of 30 metres will
remain. There will be no additional bellmouth allowance as outlined at (a) above.
c) The two stage 90:10 grant payment structure is replaced by a single payment made
at Form 2 stage for new Form 2 applications submitted for projects completed on or
after 1st April 2016.
2. For new applications submitted for Form 1 preapproval the following changes apply
from the 1st April 2016;
a) Conifer forests are eligible within 5 years of thinning
b) Broadleaf forests are eligible when they reach a height of 6 metres.
c) The condition that the maximum forwarding distance should normally not be less
than 500m is removed and will no longer apply.
3
Planning Permission for Forest Entrances
The Department is actively working with other Departments to have a single consent system
for forest roads and entrances; however it may be some time before this is fully agreed and
in place. Please note that for all applications submitted under the Scheme that include new
or modified entrances to public roads, the applicant should seek clarification from the
relevant Local Planning Authority as to the necessity for planning permission. If planning
permission is required, the application under this Scheme must be accompanied by either a
copy of the permission or confirmation from the local authority that an application for
permission has been submitted.
In this regard the Department would encourage registered foresters whose client’s forests
are near harvesting to apply for planning permission, if required, and apply for forest road
consent as soon as possible.
Gerry Cassidy
Assistant Principal
Appendix 1: Examples
A forester proposes to build a new entrance and road to a 4 hectare forest block which is
ready for harvesting. The length of the road eligible for grant aid is calculated as follows;
Forest Area
Density for Grant Aid:
Eligible length:
Bellmouth Allowance:
Example 1
4 ha
20 m/ha
80 m
20 m
Example 2
Comment
4 ha
20 m/ha
80 m
Applies If a new or modified forest entrance is required to
20 m
public road
Maximum Eligible
Length:
Road length Claimed
100 m
100 m
Claimed equivalent road length cannot exceed 100 metres
100 m
90 m
Length calculated based on standard bellmouth entrance
30 m + linear length of road + 20m bellmouth allowance.
(incl. Equivalent lengths for
turntables, bellmouths etc)
Max Grant Aid
Payable:
€4000
€3600
In example 2, the linear length of the road measured 40
metres from the public road to the end of the forest road,
30 m for the bellmouth, plus 20 for the bellmouth
allowance.
Includes additional 20 metres allowance and subject to
costs incurred at the entrance up to €800
In the examples above the forester will have constructed the road in accordance with the
standard equivalent lengths associated with the standard bellmouth. In example 1 the
measured length from the public road to the end of the forest road is 50 metres and the
standard equivalent for a bellmouth is 30 metres as outlined in the COFORD Forest Road
Manual. However, to reflect the additional costs associated with designing and building
forest road entrances an additional bellmouth allowance will be added i.e. 20 metres. The
above examples do not take into account turning tables and is used to illustrate the
treatment of equivalent lengths at the entrance from the public road. In example 2 the
forester built a shorter road than the maximum allowed.