Tens of thousands of city trees to be planted in first round of Urban Tree Challenge Fund

· First round of successful bidders to the Urban Tree Challenge Fund announced.
· Projects across England have been awarded funding for new trees in towns and cities.
· Urban trees vital in fight against climate change and connecting us with nature to boost health and wellbeing.

Thirteen projects in urban communities across England have been awarded a share of the £10 million in the first round of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.

Across the country over 22,000 large trees and 28,000 small trees will be planted in urban areas, from Thanet to Middlesbrough, and Merseyside to Bristol. These will help areas improve health and wellbeing, as well as playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change, supporting the UK’s journey to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Government is committed to plant 30,000 hectares of trees a year, across the UK, by 2025, and the fund is helping increase canopy cover in and around our towns and cities where they bring a wide range of benefits.

Launched in May 2019, the £10 million scheme will see 130,000 trees planted across England’s towns and cities by 2021.

Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers, said:

“Trees are vital in the fight against climate change, to tackle air pollution and help us achieve our net-zero target by 2050. But for local communities they are so much more. They allow green spaces to come together, help both physical and mental wellbeing, and connect children and young people with nature.

“Our manifesto sets our ambition to have every new street lined with trees, and the Urban Tree Challenge Fund complements this ambition, benefitting thousands of people for years to come.”

Chair of the Forestry Commission, Sir Harry Studholme said:

“It is such great news that the first year of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund has been so successful and able to reach so many places.

“The fund focuses on areas of high deprivation and low tree canopy cover where every tree planted has the change to provide the greatest impact.

“Not only do trees in urban areas help to improve wellbeing but they also offer benefits in many other ways like helping tackle climate change and mitigating flood risks. I look forward to seeing the second year of the fund re-opening for smaller scale planting later this year.”

Successful projects in the first round include:

· The Trees for Cities project which will receive support for over 9,000 trees to be distributed across the country.
· Over 8,000 trees will be planted by Slough Borough Council, almost 7,000 large trees will go to London Street Trees and 6,000 trees to The Mersey Forest.

Examples of what these projects are looking to achieve include:

The Urban Trees in The Mersey Forest project focuses on recreation and health - improving the quality of access routes, encouraging active travel and recreation, and improving wellbeing and mental health through increased physical activity and greener neighbourhoods.
Funding for Slough Borough Council’s ‘TEC’ Urban Forest project will support the Council’s wider plans to tackle air pollution, reduce particulate matter levels and increase flood protection. Trees will be planted in urban areas that directly benefit local air quality and protect the town from floods.

Commenting on his successful bid, Chairman of Thanet Community Forest School CIO, Luke Evans said:

“Thanet has one of the lowest tree canopies - 4.4 per cent - in the country and one of the highest levels of deprivation so I have always seen the planting of trees in the area a priority of mine. The response from our community in Thanet has been incredible and has shown it is an important issue for everybody.

“Thanks to the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, the Isle of Thanet Trees and Woods Initiative is going to be the catalyst for positive change in Thanet for future generations, increasing biodiversity, increasing tree canopy coverage and providing all the health benefits that trees provide.”

The Urban Tree Challenge Fund is made up of two parts. In year one, the fund was open for block bids from local authorities or larger organisations, and bidding closed on 31 August 2019. In year two, the fund will reopen for applications from individual tree planters, commencing in spring 2020.

Ahead of this, applicants can currently submit an Expression of Interest to the Forestry Commission to state their interest and receive the latest up-to-date information on the fund before the opening of the year two application window.

The grants are administered by the Forestry Commission, and successful applicants are match-funding the money they receive.

Grants will fund the planting of trees and the first three years of their care to ensure they can flourish into the future.

Notes to editors:

· Since 2010 government has planted over 15 million trees, and we have a clear commitment through our 25 Year Environment Plan to increase woodland cover further.
· Our recently introduced Environment Bill gives communities a greater say in the management of street trees.
· A list of successful applicants is below.

1. Middlesbrough 10,000 trees

10,000 trees (part funded by the Urban Tree Challenge Fund and other sources) will be planted in key locations across Middlesbrough to bring back lost open space, enhance existing green areas, increase opportunities for recreation and physical activity, and improve the appearance of the town. Eight of the chosen 16 sites are situated along roads with the aim of increasing tree canopy for mitigating air pollution. The scheme will also provide opportunity for children and young people to engage with or learn about their environments, for example through practical environmental volunteering, nature walks and bird watching.

2. Tree-ing Urban Northumberland

The newly planted areas will all be in parks or public open space land that is owned by the county council. All the sites are in densely populated areas that are accessible to all. Most also lie within low tree cover areas within the former South-East Northumberland coal field area. Projects in Hexham will create two new community orchard areas which will engage local children in the tree planting and benefit the local communities through the production of healthy fruit crops. Local schools, town and parish councils and parks’ friends groups will be engaged in the planting and aftercare of the trees.

3. Slough Borough Council - TEC Urban Forest

The funding will support Slough Borough Councils’ wider plans to tackle air pollution, reduce particulate matter levels and increase flood protection, and trees will be planted in streets and blocks that directly benefit local air quality and protect the city from floods. The Council is in the final stages of developing a bespoke system for monitoring the health and condition of plant material, soil conditions, canopy activity and climatic conditions.

4. London Street Trees

The London Street Trees project will plant 6,938 street trees across 202 council wards in 20 London boroughs in 2019-20 and 2020-21 (Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Brent, Camden, Croydon, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster). Recognising that London has been confirmed as the world's first National Park City, the project will be co-ordinated by the Greater London Authority.

5. Thanet Community Forest School CIO

With 4.4 per cent, Thanet has the lowest canopy cover out of all the districts in the whole of the UK. The overall aim of this project is to redress the damaging low canopy in Thanet, helping to alleviate some of the major health and wellbeing issues in the area. The proposed sites are diverse in terms of type, size and history. Two are public parks (Dane Park and George Park), one dates back to Victorian times (Dane Park), and the other dates back to the 1930s (The Sunken Gardens); three are on former landfill sites based along Dane Valley Green, Dane Valley Woods and Thanet Community Forest School.

6. Space for Trees (Durham)

Trees will be planted in neighbourhoods that currently have very limited tree cover, few private gardens, and very little ornamental planting, to improve the local environment and contribute to the health and wellbeing of local communities. The new green spaces will be designed to bring the community together and help to connect people back to nature, but also to reduce noise levels from roads and provide a visual barrier.

7. Urban Trees in The Mersey Forest

This project aims to improve the quality of access routes, thereby encouraging active travel and recreation, improving wellbeing through increased physical activity. It also aims to compensate for the loss of trees due to diseases, and help to adapt areas to projected climate change. Green infrastructure is also designed to help make the town more attractive for further investment.

8. Green Street Community Planting (Bristol and North Somerset)

The project is designed to involve communities in tree planting and their care, and the aim is to plant 600 new street trees in each local authority. Residents will be involved in selecting trees and the Council will then recruit local volunteers to plant and water them.

9. Trees for Cities

The funding will support the ongoing work of the charity to plant trees together with local community groups and residents, and help recruit new volunteers. The areas where trees will be planted have been chosen to encourage outdoor activity (walking and cycle routes) and provide physical and mental health and well-being benefits. Many of the projects will include fruit and nut tree species to give residents access to free, nutritious food, and bring communities together during harvest time.

10. Greater Manchester – City of Trees

Various projects around the city will address a number of issues including social and community - giving residents in more deprived areas the opportunity to engage with their surrounding neighbourhood and landscape; leisure and recreation - to derive the associated benefits for physical and mental health, and wellbeing; noise and air pollution by planting adjacent to busy roads; and providing shade and cooler temperatures where there are the highest densities of people living and working.

11. Luton

Tree planting in the town’s parkland will improve local peoples’ recreation, health and wellbeing by creating pleasant treed spaces within the town where trees provide prominent landscape and sensory interest, shelter and a sense of place for local communities.

12. Plymouth

As well as addressing noise and air pollution, tree planting will enhance priority neighbourhoods by increasing canopy cover, tree diversity and landscape value; creating more volunteer involvement in tree planting activities from the current levels and engaging an increased and more diverse number of communities in tree planting and aftercare in their local neighbourhoods.

13. Cornwall

The urban tree planting in Cornwall will provide more opportunities for outdoor lifelong learning, helping people to fully appreciate the wildlife and heritage value of their local green spaces. The planting will also increase community engagement in positive green space management and provide opportunities for skills and capacity building as well as volunteering options. It will improve the wildlife value of areas of verge and public open space, leading to more diverse ecosystems.
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