The Government has announced a brand-new funding initiative to increase tree planting and natural regeneration in local communities, with £2.7 million available this year from the Government’s Nature For Climate Fund, building the pipeline of projects for community planting in future years.

The Local Authority Treescapes fund is aimed at establishing more trees in riverbanks, hedgerows, parklands, urban areas, beside roads and footpaths, in copses and shelterbelts, including neglected, disused and vacant community spaces. Trees in these settings are particularly valuable as they can provide the greatest levels of benefit to ecosystems and society, such as carbon absorption, flood protection and support for biodiversity, as well as connecting fragmented habitats.

Rebecca is pleased that the fund will help the nation build back greener from the pandemic and will target landscapes that have been neglected in the past, ecologically damaged or affected by tree diseases like ash dieback - with ash being the most common species of tree found in non-woodland locations. Grants are available for local authorities, working together with community groups, volunteers, NGOs. Successful applicants will be informed by the end of July.

Applications will be open to all local authorities, via top tier authority applications. Local authorities are encouraged to work with other organisations, NGOs, community groups and private individuals to deliver the most exciting projects. Bids will be accepted from early April 2021.

To find out more about the Local Authority Treescapes Fund and how to apply for funding to increase tree planting and natural regeneration in local communities in England, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-authority-treescapes-fund.

The Nature For Climate fund will help us deliver the English portion of the Government’s manifesto commitment to increase tree planting to 30,000 hectares per year across the UK by 2025, alongside peatland restoration and nature recovery.

Rebecca is also pleased that today’s announcement will support the Government’s tree planting ambitions and support the goals set out in the 2018 Tree Health Resilience Strategy. To view the Government’s Tree health resilience strategy 2018, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tree-health-resilience-strategy-2018. 

Trees are at the heart of our ambitious environmental programme. The Prime Minister reiterated our commitment to plant or naturally regenerate 30,000 hectares per year by 2025, as part of his 10 Point Plan, and we will be setting out how we achieve this in the coming months.