Agenda item

To consider a report updating on the Council’s tree planting activity following the tree planting season.

Contributors:

Councillor Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment

Steve Bambrick, Service Director for Planning & Environment

Ed Barlow, Head of Climate Change & Environment

Alexander Beckett, Climate Change Programme & Partnership Manager

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment introduced the report and highlighted the following key points from the presentation:

·       In the first year of the programme, 5,500 trees had been planted, whilst in the second year around 145,000 trees had been planted.

·       The delivery of the 543,000-tree planting target would be through a mixture of partnership work e.g. Forestry England and Chiltern Rangers. Careful consideration was needed when selecting sites and the trees to be planted, these considerations included maintenance arrangements, soil conditions and utility locations.

·       Community based tree planting had been supported across Buckinghamshire in the last 12 months with schools, parish councils and charities being engaged.

·       The Council had successfully applied to the Local Authority Treescapes Fund for the second year in a row. This Round 2 funding of £184,000 had gone towards the Dorneywood Scout Camp, Releaf Marlow and Miyawaki ‘Tiny’ Forests at Princes Risborough School and Bourton Park, Buckingham.

·       Organised in partnership with Chiltern Rangers, 4,000 trees and shrubs had been planted along Platinum Park Way and 1,000 trees, gifted by HS2, were given away to 30 organisations including parish councils, Lindengate Charity and Hogshaw Farm.

·       Over £105,000 grant funding had been secured from the England Woodland Creation Offer to create a 14,300-tree woodland at Bury Farm, Amersham, using a contractor planting model.

·       Similarly, a new 14,700 multi-species tree woodland at Grange Farm, Hazlemere, had received £110,000 grant funding from the England Woodland Creation Offer. There had been a volunteer planting day attended by the local school along with assistance from the Chiltern Rangers.

·       At the new Wing Woodland site, under the Forestry England Woodland Partnership Scheme, 110,000 trees had been planted. This would reach 132,000 trees by 2023/24. At present, the trees were fenced off for protection to allow them to be established. 

·       Overall, the service was 35% towards its 543,00 target and was on track to deliver.

·       All Council land tree planting sites were registered with the Woodland Carbon Code which contributed towards the UK’s national targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. It was noted that carbon sequestration would increase as trees matured.

·       The use of utilizing different planting techniques, working with partners and leveraging external funding had reduced average annual cost per tree from £12.13 in 2021/22 to £6.91 in 2022/23.

The Committee noted the following during its discussion:

·       It was clarified that HS2’s tree planting activity was separate to the Council and did not contribute towards the Council’s overall tree planting target.

·       In response to various queries regarding tree watering, the Cabinet Member advised that ‘beating up’, the forestry term for replacing newly planted trees that did not survive, was built into the contracts and was more cost effective than all out watering of sites. Nonetheless, watering did take place in some cases, for instance specific Highways trees.

·       A number of Members complimented the Wing Woods scheme however concern was expressed regarding potential visitor numbers by car, a lack of parking mitigations and the potential for dangerous on-road parking in future (e.g. Burcott village or Soulbury Road) once the trees matured. One Member drew comparison to a Greensand Trust site developed 20-30 years ago in Leighton Buzzard which had not accounted for visitor numbers and noted that the Wing Woods site had once had historical plans for a bypass. The Cabinet Member advised that local residents had expressed the preference not to have a car park during consultation however the team would monitor the situation as it progressed and liaise with the Parish Council. 

·       Forestry England had been involved with the Wing Woods site to provide guidance on suitable tree species and their planting locations.

·       The Billet Field Wood site had contributed towards the 2021/22 planting season figures and beating up had taken place there this year. The site required a minimum of 90% maintenance in order to keep the Forestry Commission’s England Woodland Creation Offer funding. Additionally, the Rural Payments Agency and Defra had introduced an Extraordinary Payments for Replanting in Exceptional Circumstances (EPREC) scheme following the exceptionally hot and dry weather in Summer 2022.

·       The importance of retaining mature trees was acknowledged due to their carbon sequestration impact, resilience to heat waves and characteristic features (e.g. Exchange Street, Aylesbury), and it was felt that their protection required cross portfolio working between the Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment and the Cabinet Member for Transport. The Council’s mature trees would feature in the emerging Local Plan and Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) had been issued against HS2 for cutting down ancient oak trees. It was clarified that, according to ONS data, the estimated 14,800 metric tons of CO2eq to be sequestered by 2124 was equivalent to the average emissions of circa 9,800 new homes per year.

·       Tree planting featured in the Carbon Strategy alongside other activities such as electric vehicle charger roll-out and home insulation schemes.

·       It was a condition of funding that trees were procured from biosecure locations. It would be checked whether the trees originated from the UK.

Action: A Beckett / D Johnson

·       The Committee suggested that the Cabinet Member consider the possibility of the Council establishing a tree nursery on its land although it was likely that it would be more cost effective to source from the private sector.

·       Members supported the aspiration to plant a tree for every individual in Buckinghamshire and noted this was on track for delivery.

·       Trees planted by the Council contributed towards the national schemes of England Trees Action Plan and the Queen’s Green Canopy however trees planted by external organisations as part of the national schemes did not count towards the council’s number.

·       There was a Community Officer that supported planting on non-council land to signpost towards funding streams such as the Local Authority Treescapes fund and Woodland Trust schemes. The council’s website had also been updated to refreshed to raise this awareness to communities.

·       Members reiterated the encouragement of planting local tree species such as Black Poplar and Aylesbury Prune where possible.

·       Buckinghamshire Council was ahead of its 2050 emissions reduction target at around 70%.

·       The current cost of £6.91 per tree planted included capital costs relating to establishment such as fencing. Maintenance costs were separate and could be provided.

Action: A Beckett / D Johnson

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for the report and acknowledged the progress being made on the programme.