More than 11,000 new trees planted last year across Rotherham

A report from April 2022 stated that the Cabinet had endorsed a new Cultural Strategy three years earlier which set out the goal of “getting more people, more active, creative and outdoors, more often”.

The report also stated that “Tree Service” played a key role in delivering the promise of revitalising the neighbourhoods via the council’s “Vital Neighbourhood” aspect of the proposed strategy.

Accordingly, it was agreed that the tree planting process would be split across two financial years – the Council was to plant 200 new trees in 2021/22 and 300 trees in the 2022/23 period.

However, in August 2021 a new Tree Management Protocol & Guidance was introduced and a new target was set: it committed the Council to plant 500 new trees in urban settings each year, with a net gain of 250 new trees in urban settings per year accounting for tree loss throughout the year.

It was reported that in the 2021/22 period, the Council exceeded its target of planting 500 new trees planted, planting a total of 22,139 new trees across both woodland and urban settings.

It was also said that in 2021/22 398 trees were felled or lost due to storm damage or natural causes and the service estimates that around 10% of new planting (2,215) would not survive.

This gives an estimated overall net gain of 19,546 new trees.

In this meeting last April, members “welcomed” the level of tree planting during the first year of the two-year scheme.

In the second year of the programme ending in March 2023, 11,348 new trees were planted bringing the total to 32,891 in the two-year period.

Following the first year and the request of some of the council members, wards with higher deprivation were considered for tree planting.

In the second year of the programme, Dinnington (7700), Greasbrough (1508) and Keppel (425) received the most new trees planted.

Also, fruit tree planting including apple, pear and plum trees, has taken place at Brecks Lane (six fruit trees, creating a small Orchard), Hope Fields at Thrybergh Country Park (four fruit trees), Brinsworth (six) and 349 new fruit trees were planted in Dinnington as part of the late Queen’s Green Canopy.

The report says the “Tree Management Protocol and Strategy” also set a target to dedicate a minimum of five hectares of land to woodland creation, either through planting or re-wilding, up to 2030.

The findings will be discussed in today’s Improving Places Select commission at 1.30pm at Rotherham Town Hall.