MPs have taken aim at local authorities for wasting taxpayer money by planting the wrong trees in unsuitable areas.
Tories Dame Tracey Crouch and Jason McCartney warned there need to be better guidelines for councils to ensure public money is used to create greener communities.
Dame Tracey said: “Local communities deserve to have nature and greenery in their life, and trees can help provide this rejuvenating touch.
“Planting trees often starts with local councils. Unfortunately, there are too many examples of councils planting the wrong trees in the wrong areas. This has led to wasted taxpayer money which should have contributed to improving local communities.
“The government must reform guidance for local councils. By issuing clear instructions on the right place, time, and type of trees we need, voters will have peace of mind that their money is being spent effectively and will know their local community will soon be greener, healthier, and happier.”
There are concerns that funding is being used to rush planting projects in a bid for councils and businesses to prove their eco-credentials.
report from August 2023 showed that 90% of trees planted by West Norfolk Borough Council in Lynnsport died since being planted in April that year.
Jason McCartney, MP for Colne Valley: “The evidence is clear that urban greenery can help increase the sense of pride people feel in their local area, as well as improving our health and making places more resilient to climate change.
“An effective tree-planting campaign should be front and centre of any approach to healthier and greener communities. But too many local councils are failing to take effective action. There have been cases of local authorities replanting trees on the same site four times over the course of a year.
“Due to a lack of clear guidance, local councils are too often planting the wrong trees in unsuitable areas. There need to be guidelines that set clear parameters for local government, guaranteeing taxpayer money is spent effectively, creating greener, healthier communities.”
The Conservative Environment Network (CEN) has called for action in its tree planting manifesto released today.
Kitty Thompson, senior nature programme manager at CEN, said: “At the last general election, political parties engaged in a bidding war on the number of trees they would plant in government. With an incredibly ambitious target to now meet, we must harness private finance, not just public money and charitable efforts. With the next general election now firmly on the horizon, we need a realistic and practical approach to tree planting that empowers farmers and land managers, not top-down diktats. This manifesto puts forward a set of policy recommendations to help do exactly that.”
Ministers have committed to increasing tree cover in England by 34,000 hectares by 31 January 2028 and increase tree canopy and woodland cover from 14.5% to 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050.
This target is unlikely to be met if large numbers of saplings die.
The 2019 Tory manifesto also included a commitment to plant 30,000 hectares of trees every year across the UK by 2025.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said: “We are making good progress towards ambitious targets to increase tree canopy and woodland cover in England to at least 16.5% by 2050. Last year we planted 3,600 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland, the highest planting rate for nearly a decade.
“Since the publication of our Environmental Improvement Plan last year we have funded the planting of almost 5 million trees across England. We continue to work with landowners and managers in establishing newly-planted trees which are resilient, as well as taking action to address pests, pathogens and tree diseases.”
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