Kirklees to lead the way on White Rose Forest tree planting

These new grants will support the planting of 121 hectares of new woodland in the coming years, as well as more than 3,100 larger standard trees in urban communities.

The funds secured are from the Government’s "Nature for Climate" Northern Forest programme and from the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.

At the recent launch of The White Rose Forest partnership, Kirklees cabinet member, Coun Will Simpson and West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin announced that seven million trees, the equivalent of 4,900 football pitches or 3,500 hectares, would be the target for planting in North and West Yorkshire (including Kirklees) over the next four years.

The White Rose Forest Action Plan 2021-25 sets out how tree planting can be accelerated across the region over the next four years to build up to a sustained annual target of approximately 3,000 hectares per year from 2025 onwards.

As well as planting projects on available land owned by local authorities, the White Rose Forest will be seeking the support of landowners and farmers across North and West Yorkshire to meet these targets.

Coun Simpson said: “In Kirklees, we have committed to making our district carbon neutral by 2038.

"A key part of that ambition is our plans for tree planting. These new opportunities for funding will help us to make our vision a reality.

“In addition to the many initiatives we have introduced locally which have reduced the council’s emissions by over 50 per cent, we also need to do all we can to actively remove carbon from the air and tree planting is one of the best ways we can do that.

“We are proud to help lead the White Rose Forest and plant trees where they are needed the most.

"The planting of seven million trees by 2025 shows how seriously we in Kirklees, alongside our White Rose Forest partners across the region, take our role in addressing the climate crisis and building a cleaner, greener future for everyone.”

Kirklees Council has been the lead organisation and accountable body for the delivery of the White Rose Forest programme since 2002.

The White Rose Forest is the community forest for North and West Yorkshire. The programme works with communities, landowners and farmers to plant trees where they are needed the most.

It is one of England’s 13 Community Forests and a founding member of the Northern Forest project, and is supported by a partnership of local authorities, national parks, national and local charities, Defra organisations and community enterprises.