We support the goal of integrating action on climate change and nature recovery into the Local Plan. The climate crisis is paralleled by a nature crisis and we need solutions that will tackle both.

A rapid increase in the rate of woodland creation has been proposed by the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC), to provide a key mechanism to lock up carbon in trees and soils, provide an alternative to fossil fuel energy and resource-hungry building material, increase resilience to the impact of climate change, and to stem the declines in biodiversity. The Woodland Trust supports the CCC’s recommended an increase in UK woodland cover from its current 13% of land area to at least 19% by 2050 to tackle this country’s biodiversity and climate crises. More information can be found in the Trust’s 2020 publication The Emergency Tree Plan.

Urban trees and hedgerows help mitigate the impacts of climate change, delivering natural cooling in urban heat islands through transpiration as well as providing shelter and shade, and contributing to sustainable urban drainage systems. They also make a valuable contribution to the quality of the public realm, helping reduce air, noise and light pollution and improve people’s mental health.

We recommend including specific policy in support of new tree planting, hedgerows and urban woodland creation in the Local Plan. We recommend setting a % target for tree canopy cover, to be pursued through the retention of important trees, appropriate replacement of trees lost through development, ageing or disease and by new planting to support green infrastructure. This will complement the emerging requirements for Biodiversity Net Gain and the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.