Government sleepwalking into an era where England's woods may start to shrink
The Woodland Trust is demanding that interim arrangements are put in place to stem a two-year funding gap for new woodland planting as England enters a new Rural Development Programme.
As part of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, the Woodland Trust was shocked to learn that no new government funded grants will be available to landowners in England for tree planting and creating new woods in 2014 and 2015. This will have a massive impact not only on our wooded landscapes but also on how many trees we see in our towns and cities.
With just 10% woodland cover, England is one of the least wooded countries in Europe but in 2013 a new Forestry policy for England, was published which included positive aspirations from Government to increase England's woodland cover by planting at least 5,000 hectares per year.
According to Woodland Trust estimates, the potential consequences of this cancellation of funding are that planting could halve within 12 months, and then drop by two thirds in 2015. Not only does this mean that the government's aspirations were extremely short lived and are now effectively over, it could even mean England slips into a period of deforestation as trees and woods come under growing threats from disease and development like never before.
Hilary Allison, Woodland Trust Policy Director, said:
“It is vital Defra commits to interim arrangements to help fund new woods over the next two years. By not realising that this lack of funding could have a severe impact on how well we respond to tree disease in terms of planting to build resilient landscapes, the Government is sleepwalking into an era where England's woods may start to shrink.
“The total lack of understanding shown by Defra of the importance of funding for tree planting and creating new woods, on top of the recent changes in planning policy that leave ancient woodland at risk from development1, is extremely frustrating and very concerning. Government must realise that tree planting is not just an end in itself; it is key to achieving the protection and improvement of woodland, as well as creating the woodland culture so championed within their new forestry policy.”
Without an effective solution like interim grants, an impaired ability to respond to tree disease is just one of a variety of issues likely to arise in the near future with others ranging from health and wellbeing impacts to loss of wildlife habitat and ultimately the further decline of tree and woodland species.
The Government is about to publish a consultation asking stakeholders what the priorities should be for the next seven years of EU funding for rural support.
The Woodland Trust is urging people to support its call for interim measures by getting involved in the debate
Read Hilary's blog
Notes
CASE STUDY
It's not only rural landscapes that lose out – people living in urban areas are likely to suffer too.
In 2012, Rugby Borough Council applied, with help from the Woodland Trust, for a woodland creation grant to plant a new, publically accessible, 47ha 'Diamond Wood' as part of the charity's hugely successful Jubilee Woods project that saw 6 million trees planted across the country. So pleased was the council with what they had been able to create, they asked for the Trust's help once again to 'green' Rugby's city centre. However, having identified a handful of urban sites ideal to plant trees for the benefit of residents and workers, and put in their application for a woodland creation grant far earlier than the August 31st deadline, the council's application was refused on the technicality that the newly identified sites had not completed the process of been registered with rural land registry, despite the fact that this was already in progress and has now completed. Government have until December 31st to approve or decline applications but because of the way the system works, Rugby Borough Council would have to reapply. As it is too late now to do this, they have lost the opportunity to bring significant benefits to their city by planting trees.
[1] National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) - Despite the default 'yes' to development being removed from the NPPF, the document still contains a loophole that puts ancient woodland at risk. It states planning applications should not bring about the loss of irreplaceable habitats including ancient woodland 'unless the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location clearly outweigh the loss'.
