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09
Dec 2020
Thousands of new trees could be planted in Harrogate
Thousands of new trees could be planted in the Harrogate district after the government earmarked £3.7m for the new White Rose Forest.
The White Rose Forest is one of 10 community forests being created in England. It will span north and west Yorkshire.
The funding will enable 218 hectares of trees to be planted — but specific details on how much of the new tree coverage will fall within our district are yet to be announced.
The White Rose Forest will consist of pockets of woodland rather than huge expanses and is part of the government’s commitment to increase UK tree planting to 30,000 hectares a year by 2025.
A Harrogate Borough Council report in September identified 17.2 acres of council-owned land that could potentially be used to plant trees for the White Rose Forest.
It consisted of 14 hectares of land on either side of the Bilton to Ripley cycleway and 3.2 hectares of land next to Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough.
Read more:
Couple’s mission to plant 100,000 trees in Harrogate district
Dreams become reality as district’s first community woodland is secured
The average woodland cover in Europe is about 36%. In the UK the average is 12%. In the Harrogate district and the Yorkshire Dales the figure is 8%.
Landowners within the White Rose Forest area have been invited to apply for grants, incentives and support to create woodlands on their land.
The first White Rose Forest trees were planted in the Harrogate district last year in Nidderdale by the Rotary Club of Harrogate, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Ashville College.
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