Grants totalling £1.8m are up for grabs to establish woodlands in Ayrshire and Arran and Grampian.

The figure is double that previously on offer from the Scottish Executive, with Ayrshire and Arran now qualifying for £800,000 and Grampian for £1m.

The special grants, called locational premiums, are available from the Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme, run by Forestry Commission Scotland, and they are paid as ‘top ups’ to standard grants from the scheme.

The extra money is available because overall demand for forestry grants this year is running below forecasts, enabling some of it to be reallocated to locational premiums.