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More trees in the places that need them most.
Towns and cities with lots of trees are healthier and more resilient places to live. Trees should be a vital resource for everyone to benefit from, but there are high levels of inequality in urban tree cover across the UK, highlighted by the Tree Equity Score UK.
The percentage of people who have access to a woodland near them is decreasing.
We need:
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new investment to reduce inequalities in urban tree cover and improve access to trees. This should focus on increasing tree cover in urban areas that need it most, including a minimum canopy cover requirement of 30% for new development.
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a £100 million Woods for People Fund to buy land and create woodland that’s publicly accessible.
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funding to help local authorities ensure they have the staff and skills to plant and manage more trees.
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investment for tree nurseries of all kinds to rapidly expand the supply of trees sourced and grown in the UK and Ireland. This will support objectives for conservation and the urban environment, mitigate the risk of introducing pests and diseases, and create viable green jobs.
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building nature and climate into new developments from the outset by increasing canopy cover to support climate resilience.
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New large-scale support to encourage land managers to plant and manage native woodland.
The UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe. We need farmers and other landowners to establish and look after woods for the climate and nature benefits they create. However, the future funding support for this type of project is at risk.
We need:
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long-term, ring-fenced government support for the creation of new woods and trees and their ongoing management.
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a five-year, £1bn nature recovery funding package to support restoration, management, access, and skills.
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a ring-fenced fund of £325m a year for woodland creation, from small projects to landscape scale schemes like the Northern Forest.
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targeted Environmental Land Management (ELM) payments to help land managers improve the condition of our woods and trees and support the recovery of woodland wildlife, as directed by Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
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private finance support being properly regulated and well directed to maximise outcomes for nature and people without dialing down protection.
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Updated forestry legislation.
The Forestry Commission is the part of government responsible for protecting, expanding, and managing government-owned woodlands across England. It works with Forestry England which manages over 200,000 hectares of public land – larger than the combined size of Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and Newcastle. Split across 1,500 sites, this land and the work of the the Forestry Commission to support private land managers has enormous potential to boost access, support nature, mitigate and adapt to climate change and provide timber. However, these bodies are governed by old laws - some over 100 years old - that don’t reflect the climate or nature crises we face today.
We need:
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a new Forestry Act for the 21st century that places a duty on the Government’s forestry bodies to significantly enhance the public goods and benefits trees can provide to society, including recovering nature, tackling climate change, and providing access for all.
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a ring-fenced budget for Forestry England to restore the almost 100,000 hectares of rare wildlife habitats, such as ancient woodland, that are currently damaged by plantation forestry.
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new legislation and funding that commits to protecting and expanding the public forest estate and its irreplaceable value for current and future generations.
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Protect our oldest and most important trees and woods
This country is blessed with an extraordinary array of ancient and veteran trees. These living legends define the forests, landscapes, parks, and streets they sit within. But many don’t have proper legal protection.
Across the UK many ancient and veteran trees and ancient woodlands are under threat from factors including development pressure, plantation forestry, changing climate, disease, and poor management. New laws and funding to protect them are urgently needed.
We need:
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a new law to legally protect our oldest and most important trees.
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strengthened planning policy to prevent further loss of the remaining fragments of ancient woodland (pre1600).
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a new category of ‘long-established woodland’ to protect other important woods (those in situ since 1840) through the planning system.
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to overhaul the Tree Preservation Order system so it gives meaningful and consistent protection, especially to trees in urban environments.
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£250 million Ancient Woodland Restoration Fund to kick-start the restoration of ancient woodlands being damaged by timber plantations.
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a strategic approach to spatial planning that focuses on enhancing the environment, not simply the speed of new development.
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better protection from development for important habitats including ancient woodland.
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England needs a new Action Plan for Trees.
While politicians from all parties talk about the critical importance of trees and woods for people, nature, and climate, after the next General Election, England will have no plan committing the funding and actions needed to bring these benefits about.
We are calling for the next Government to urgently produce a new Trees Action Plan for England that commits the funding and actions to:
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create new woods in places where they will most benefit the health and well-being of people and nature.
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improve protection of trees and woods from development, disease, and land use change, and help in adapting to our changing climate.
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restore our native trees and woods to good ecological condition.
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grow more trees domestically and end the reliance on imports.
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invest more in the skills needed to look after trees and woods and help ensure they stay healthy long into the future.