Forestry Commission Treescapes Fund: round two
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
We're planting 750 trees across towns in Central Bedfordshire as part of the second phase of the Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF).
Last year, we secured £300,000 in funding, of which our Executive agreed to match fund. The Local Treescapes Fund (LATF) aims to increase tree planting and natural regeneration in communities.
The first-round planting was in Barton-Le-Clay, Biggleswade, Dunstable, Leighton-Linslade and Sandy.
The second round of planting will focus on the following urban areas:
- Ampthill
- Arlesey
- Aspley and Woburn
- Biggleswade
- Caddington
- Cranfield and Marston Moreteyne
- Eaton Bray
- Flitwick
- Heath and Reach
- Houghton Conquest and Haynes
- Houghton Hall
- Leighton Buzzard North
- Northill
- Parkside
- Potton
- Shefford
- Silsoe and Shillington
- Stotfold and Langford
- Tithe Farm
- Toddington
- Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield
The funding enables us to plant and maintain the trees for three years, with the aim to establish more trees in non-woodland settings such as riverbanks, hedgerows and footpaths.
Councillor Steve Dixon, our Executive Member for Sustainability and Transformation, said:
Our commitment to increasing planting across Central Bedfordshire is a priority. The second phase of planting provides us with a great opportunity to further offset carbon emissions and help make a difference in flood protection, improving air quality and supporting biodiversity for residents.
We have selected species suitable for the urban environment and show resilience within our changing climate as well as put an emphasis on final tree size and how that will fit into its environment once grown.
The tree planting will be completed in line with this year’s tree planting season (now until March 2023).