In present-day Britain, for whom the Empire is long gone, plantation is an odd word as it might conjure up the image of the Forestry Commission planting sugar-cane or some similar tropical or semi-tropical vegetation.
That is, where the word is used nowadays, it's generally intended entirely neutrally, to mean something that is systematically planted; but it's often understood to carry the baggage to which the question refers — in present-day Britain, the sugar plantations of the British colonies in the West Indies previously maintained by slave labour. Those who have that immediate impression are unlikely to use the word, thus restricting its appearance to technical uses.
PAWS are ancient woodland sites where the semi-natural woodland has been replaced with a plantation.
The sub-set of most relevance are those sites planted with non-native species since 1930. A substantial proportion of PAWS are either under restoration or likely to be restored over the next 20-30 years.
PAWS appears to stand for planted Ancient Woodland sites. The Forestry Commission is a nationally-funded body responsible for maintaining woodland in Great Britain.
