Northumberland residents asked for their views on the creation of new woodlands

The Government has launched a tree planting consultation as part of its pledge to plant up to 30,000 hectares of trees per year across the UK by 2025.

There have already been a number of recent woodland creation projects in Northumberland, including Doddington North Moor, near Wooler, Kirkharle Estate and Rushy Knowe, on the shore of Kielder Water.

Crispin Thorn, Forestry Commission Yorkshire and North East area director, said: “There are some fantastic examples of woodland creation schemes in the North East of England, and our aim is to continue to support many more schemes based on the principles of the right trees, in the right places, for the right reasons.

“Doddington North Moor - the largest woodland creation scheme in England for about 30 years with more than 600,000 trees planted so far - is a great example of modern, diverse new forest providing a range of social, economic and environmental benefits, not least carbon sequestration.

“By growing, protecting and restoring our trees, forests and woodlands we can help reduce carbon emissions, encourage biodiversity and nature recovery, grow our sustainable timber market, and improve people’s health and wellbeing.

Northumberland County Council leader Peter Jackson added: “We’re proud of the role our county is playing in tree planting and conservation.

“We have a vision for the Great Northumberland Forest - planting millions of trees and creating more wooded landscapes across the county by 2030 to help tackle the big challenges facing society such as climate change, biodiversity decline, promoting health and wellbeing, and supporting a thriving local economy.

“By planting more trees, we’ll create new, natural environments that our children, communities and businesses will benefit from for decades to come. I do hope interested parties will take a few minutes to take part in this key consultation.”

The England Tree Strategy consultation is due to conclude on September 11 and, subject to review, be published later this year.

To take part visit https://consult.defra.gov.uk/forestry/england-tree-strategy/

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