Publication - FOI/EIR release

Scottish Forestry felling permission applications and mapping standards queries: EIR release

Published: 18 November 2025
Topic: Environment and climate change, Public sector
FOI reference: EIR/202500480147
Date received: 10 August 2025
Date responded: 4 September 2025

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Information requested

I am doing some research on felling permissions in Scotland over the period 2014 to 2024. I have been exploring the publicly accessible database (Public Register) and although it provides most of the information I am looking for, there is no map? To carry out my research which is spatially oriented analysis, I require the map info showing boundaries and species felled and replanted. Can you assist?

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Scottish Forestry provides detailed guidance on felling permission applications and mapping standards, which is available on our website:

https://www.forestry.gov.scot/support-regulations/felling-permissions

Approved felling permissions are published through our Open Data Portal via the Scottish Forestry Map Viewer:

Scottish%20Forestry%20-%20Scottish%20Forestry%20Map%20Viewer

These records include information such as:

The total area authorised for felling
The total volume authorised
The type of felling operation

Further to your request, applicants aiming to arrange felling permission are required to submit:

A felling map
A restocking map
*Supplementary tabular data, including details such as the species, area and volume to be felled, and the species and area to be restocked.

It is important to note that these more detailed data are only generally recorded in tabular format and not spatially on the maps. This is because the specific design of restocking within compartments, whether by intimate mixtures or group planting, varies according to local decisions. Unless explicitly specified within the permission, Scottish Forestry does not prescribe the detailed design, as compliance with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) criteria is the overriding requirement and in most cases independent from species distribution within a compartment.

We understand your request focuses on felling and restocking maps, particularly seeking a design map that illustrates the exact distribution of species. However, design maps are not a requirement of felling permission applications. Consequently, Scottish Forestry does not hold this type of data.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Scottish Forestry do not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. Please see Annex A for the reason(s) this/these exception(s) apply.

Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to provide further information which may be of interest:

As mentioned above, although we are providing an example of the supplementary tabular data, as well as the maps, it is important to note that these are typically provided by applicants as already embedded within other documents, usually in pdf format and as such, would potentially be difficult to extract into other formats. so would suggest it would be worthwhile considering the practicalities of this ahead of intending to collate this type of data for analysis.

If you wish to submit a further EIR request, it would be helpful if you could consider narrowing the scope further to any specific locations you are particularly interested in.

Additionally, if you think it would be helpful to have a discussion, please let us know and we could explore arranging a meeting with a relevant staff member. For arrangements, please contact us at sfexecoffice@forestry.gov.scot

You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at:

How do I ask for information? | Scottish Information Commissioner (foi.scot)

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.