Trees Outside Woodlands Project to continue as Chichester District Council accepts £240,000 from DEFRA

In 2020, Chichester was one of five local authorities chosen to trial-run innovative ways of getting more trees planted – and, more importantly, surviving – outside of existing woodlands.

So far, trees have been added to more than 100 sites across the district.

During a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (September 26), it was unanimously agreed to continue the project until the end of March 2025.

Speaking after the meeting, Jonathan Brown, cabinet member for environmental strategy, said: “We’re delighted to be able to extend this successful scheme, which benefits our district in so many ways, including improving biodiversity, enhancing the local landscape for community enjoyment and boosting carbon storage.

“Since the Tree Chichester District scheme was launched in January 2021, nearly 25,000 trees have been planted across the district through 175 individual projects.”

As part of the project, nearly 7,500 trees have been given to residents, community groups, schools and charities as well as parish councils, businesses and landowners.

Mr Brown added: “Recently, we were also pleased to be able to support parish councils and local community groups with grant funding that helped develop seven community orchards in Selsey, Chichester, Fishbourne and Goodwood; two community tree nurseries in West Wittering and Selsey; and five new mini urban forests in Hambrook, East Broyle, Summersdale, East Beach Walk and Midhurst.”

One concern raised during the meeting was the failure rate of trees which did not flourish.

Henry Potter (Con, Goodwood) said around 40 per cent of the trees planted as part of a scheme in Boxgrove had failed – a failure rate the meeting was told was ‘fairly common’.

He added: “The more trees we can plant, the better chances of survival.”

A council spokesman said an interactive map was being developed to highlight priority areas of the district where tree-planting could help increase habitat connectivity and improve environmental resilience.

The map will be publicly accessible so that landowners can check whether they fall within the priority areas, allowing them to find out if they are eligible for funding to plant new trees or hedgerows on their land.

The spokesman added: “The aim of this initiative is to test whether targeted planting improves the benefits to wildlife and local communities in comparison to non-targeted schemes.

“Interested parties that do not fall within priority areas are still encouraged to apply for the other schemes available.”

The £240,000 – £120,000 each for 2023/24 and 2024/25 – comes from the government’s Shared Outcomes Fund to extend its Trees Outside Woodland programme, which is being delivered in partnership with Defra, The Tree Council, Natural England, and the five local authorities.

Mr Brown said: “The continued funding will also enable us to progress two existing initiatives, which look to support tree planting in urban areas and on farmland.

“We will also be supporting The Orchard Project — a national charity — to conduct a research study that aims to identify what makes a community orchard successful, with a view to increasing the success rate of similar projects in the future.”

Anyone interested in starting a tree planting project can contact t[email protected] or call 01243 521161.

Log on to chichester.gov.uk/treescheme for more details.