St Helens Council to undertake massive tree planting project

Launched in May 2019, the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund will enable the planting of 130,000 trees across England’s towns and cities by 2021.

The government says the project will play a “crucial role in the fight against climate change”, supporting the UK’s journey to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

St Helens is receiving £118,700 from the first round of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.

This is being matched to the tune of £130,862 from St Helens Council, which will pay for the planting and maintenance.

In total, it is intended that 298 trees will be planted across 12 different open space sites and parks across the borough.

Part of the programme in St Helens was included as part of a wider £2.4m bid from The Mersey Forest, one of thirteen projects awarded a share of the government’s £10 million pot.

St Helens Council said the project will support its actions relating to the climate emergency that was declared last summer.

Cllr Mancyia Uddin, elected member for Windle and Labour group climate change spokesperson, said: “Trees are one of the most effective ways to tackle the climate crisis.

“They purify our air, provide food and shelter for animals and regulate our temperature to mention a few benefits.

“We’re lucky in St Helens to have many quality parks and green spaces for everyone to enjoy and appreciate nature.

“This funding will allow us to enhance 12 of these places across the borough, reconnecting our communities with nature, encouraging physical activity and active travel, and playing our part as a borough to tackle the climate crisis.”

The urban trees in The Mersey Forest project aims to improve the quality of access routes to encourage active travel and in turn improve wellbeing through increased physical activity.

It also aims to compensate for the loss of trees due to disease and help to adapt areas to projected climate change.

St Helens Conservative group leader Allan Jones welcomed the project but has questioned the council’s policy of earmarking sites in the green belt for housing.

St Helens Conservatives leader Allan Jones

Currently, 65 per cent of the borough is in the green belt.

The St Helens Local Plan, which has yet to be given the green light by a government planning inspector, proposes to reduce this to 59 per cent.

Cllr Jones said: “If we are planting trees then that is a very good thing for the environment. It will reduce the prospect of flooding somewhere.

“But if the council is paying for the planting of trees then destroying what’s left by taking land out of the green belt for building houses, then they are defeating the object aren’t they?

“I am all for it and I am all in favour of supporting the environment but why are they taking land out of the green belt to build houses?

“It’s just wrong.”