High Peak MP Robert Largan is encouraging individual volunteers, community groups and local authorities to come forward with suggestions of non-woodland spaces which would benefit from increased tree planting and natural regeneration.
In a joint venture with Derbyshire County Council, Robert is putting together a list of places that would benefit from The Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF). The Fund is part of the government’s Nature for Climate Fund and will contribute directly to achieving the nation’s ambitious tree planting targets.
Set up in 2021, the Fund has already been a huge success – responsible for the planting and maintenance of over 260,000 trees across 139 local authorities.
This second round of funding for 2022–23 will see £5.4 million granted to around 100 projects with local authorities, community groups, individual volunteers, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) all able to apply.
To be eligible for funding, the trees must be on land accessible to the public or visible from a public area. The Fund especially targets at trees outside of existing woodlands areas: for example, hedgerows, fields, community spaces, river corridors, highways, and parks.
Trees in these settings are particularly valuable as they can provide the greatest levels of benefit both ecosystems and society. These include carbon absorption, flood protection and support for biodiversity, as well as connecting fragmented habitats through wildlife corridors
Successful will see tree planting and non-woodland regeneration start during the next planting season of autumn/winter 2022.
Robert Largan MP commented:
“The Local Authority Treescapes Fund is a really worthwhile scheme, and I would encourage groups and individuals in the High Peak to get involved and let me know of local spaces in the High Peak that would benefit.
“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.
“Last year, I welcomed the £640 million for the Nature for Climate Fund in the Budget, which is helping to increase tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025, alongside my peatland restoration and nature recovery campaign.
“It has been proven that planting more trees improves health and wellbeing, reduces noise pollution, lowers flood risk, and creates green spaces to help communities come together. That can only be a good thing”.
