In a manifesto to be launched this week, the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) say that fast tracked access to government cash for tree planting could lead to the “mass afforestation” of the north of England.
While the amount of land covered by woodland has increased in recent years, the UK still lags behind its European neighbours.
In 2022, 10 per cent of England, 15 per cent of Wales and 19 per cent of Scotland were covered by woodland. The figure was 9 per cent for Northern Ireland and 13 per cent across the UK as a whole.
In comparison, 39 per cent of land in the EU was covered by forests in 2021.
In its manifesto, the CEN calls for the establishment of “Forestry Creation Zones in target locations around England”, modelled on the Government’s investment zones which offer tax reliefs to attract businesses to set up within their bounds.
“While recent efforts by the government to designate new national forests are certainly welcome, the entrepreneurial action we require for tree-planting objectives will require a less prescriptive approach,” the manifesto says.
“Taking a leaf out of its own book, the government should copy the model it has created with investment zones to establish a joined up approach to tree planting in areas of the UK most suited to it, catalysing private sector action and investment in the process.
“Tree planters, commercial and otherwise, wishing to work in these designated Forestry Creation Zones would benefit from a streamlining of the much-maligned application process for woodland creation and be fast-tracked toward the relevant funding pots across the forestry supply chain.”
The manifesto calls for “proactive identification of the most suitable areas” for new woodland and “outreach to land managers located within them to promote the available grants and financial opportunities”. It says that the zones would “likely skew towards parts of the north of England where the land is most suited to mass afforestation and less suited to agriculture”.
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