Issue - meetings

[To receive a briefing note on the funding proposal announced following the Government’s 2018 budget for more than 10 million trees to be planted across England with the injection of £60m of new funding over five years, as part of what the government billed as its “drive to preserve the country’s greenery]. 

The Head of Environmental Services introduced a briefing note, entitled “£60 million to Plant Trees.”  He stated that the Government had announced a budget of £60 million to plant more than 10 million trees across the country, in a drive to replace the country’s greenery.  The £10m going towards planting urban trees was to be matched by contributions of funding and assistance from local authorities, community groups and charities.  Details about bidding for the funding as part of the initiative were not currently available and were yet to be formulated by the relevant Government department. 

A Member of the Panel commented that tree planting schemes in Wolverhampton in the past had been challenging due to them being damaged by people using motor vehicles or purposely pulling them out to make way for parking.  The Head of Environmental Services responded that using larger trees could help alleviate some of these problems.  It was however important to address the root cause as to why trees were being damaged, which often centered on parking issues.  The current legislation could also be restrictive for the circumstances which allowed the Council to put forward prosecutions.