Thousands of trees set to be planted across Chichester

Residents, community groups, schools, parish councils, charities, businesses, landowners, and tenant farmers applied for a total of almost 8,000 subsidised trees from Chichester District Council as part of a scheme to increase tree planting across the district.

Thousands of subsidised trees were made available and the council received over 45 applications. The trees were supplied in bundles of 10, 20 or 25 that were tailored to suit the location and soil type of the area in which they were to be planted. The funding covered 50% of the cost of the trees applied for, with applicants contributing the remaining 50%.

This is all part of the council’s Tree Chichester District scheme, which has already seen over 24,500 trees planted across the district since it was launched in January 2021. The initiative is funded by HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund and aims to test different ways to increase tree cover in rural and urban areas.

Councillor Penny Plant, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Chichester Contract Services at Chichester District Council, said: “We’re really pleased to have received such a positive response to this scheme, which really shows how enthusiastic our residents, community groups and organisations are about maintaining and enhancing our local environment.

“Increasing tree cover across the district will help create better habitats, greater biodiversity, and assist in reducing air pollution, as well as making our area an even more beautiful place to live.

“Since its launch, the Tree Chichester District scheme has already supported 115 tree planting projects across the district, and the support continues to grow. Last year, we planted three mini urban forests in Chichester, Midhurst and Selsey and we worked with landowners and farmers to help them plant trees on their land. This year, we have been working on a number of new projects, including the planting of three new community orchards in Chichester and in Selsey. We have also undertaken some work to enhance hedgerows — which provide important wildlife corridors for a number of different species. There are lots more projects on the way during 2023, and we will be letting people know more about this very soon.”