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Designing planning and housing data

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Planning consideration

National forest inventory

All forest and woodland area over 0.5 hectare with a minimum of 20% canopy cover, or the potential to achieve it

Design stage
Co-design
Tags

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Github
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Synonyms
No synonyms added
Legislation
No legislation added
Expected number of records
360,143
Frequency of updates
Annually
Useful links
Technical specification
No specification added

Background information

Each planning consideration we work on passes through the stages of our design process, where we research and answer specific questions to help us collect more information.

Backlog

  • Who asked for 'National forest inventory' data?

    The Geospatial Commission has published a list of 65 open datasets that they believe are used during the housing and planning process. This includes National Forest Inventory data.

  • What is the driver for the request?

    Other

  • Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

    • Modern planning software
    • Faster local plans

Screen

  • What is the 'National forest inventory' consideration?

    "The National Forest Inventory (NFI) programme monitors woodland and trees within Great Britain. It includes the most in depth survey carried out on Britain’s woodland and trees to date. The NFI provides an extensive and unique record of key information about our forests and woodlands." - Forest Research

  • Is there legislation that defines 'National forest inventory'?

    No

  • Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'National forest inventory'?

    With there being no legislation on the exact consideration, the body in charge of the National Forest Inventory appears to be Forest Research, the research agency for the Forestry Commission.

  • Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

    • Forestry Commission

  • Is the National forest inventory a trigger?

    No

  • Is the National forest inventory something to consult during plan making?

    No

  • Is there any National forest inventory data already available?

    Yes

    • What National forest inventory data is currently available?

  • Do we think the data should come from a single source?

    Yes - Forestry Commission

  • Will a data standard be required?

    No

Research

  • Do we understand the lifecycle of a National forest inventory?

    No

  • Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

    N/A

  • Where will or should the data be used?

    N/A

  • N/A

  • Who are the statutory consultees for National forest inventory?

    N/A

  • Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of National forest inventory? How do we expect them to use National forest inventory?

    N/A

  • What are the planning needs for this data?

    This dataset allows users to identify areas of woodland, which will be useful in understanding existing land use, habitats, and potentially BNG implications.

  • Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to National forest inventory data?

    N/A

  • What are some potential uses of National forest inventory data?

    N/A

  • What's the value of adding National forest inventory data to the platform?

    N/A

  • From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making National forest inventory data available?

    N/A

2 updates

  • Kieran Wint (16 April 2025)

    The available data doesn't have a persistent ID for us to use as the reference. This would make it harder to track any changes that are made to entities.

    We should reach out to the Forestry Commission to see if they can add one. See github discussion for more details.

  • Kieran Wint (03 September 2024)

    The National Forest Inventory England 2022 dataset is updated annually.

Last updated: 2025-09-04 14:26:43