MPs blast local authorities for wasting taxpayer money by planting wrong trees

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.

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