The second round of the £10m Urban Tree Challenge fund has opened for bids today.
The fund from the Forestry Commission allows town councils to apply for funding to plant trees in urban areas. It aims to support the small scale planting of more than 130,000 trees across England.
Forestry minister, Lord Goldsmith, said: ‘Our immediate priority is rightly our response to the challenges posed by the coronavirus. But, although these are unprecedented times, we want to continue to uphold the nation’s commitment to the environment.
‘We have made sure that the applications for round two of the Urban Challenge Tree Fund can be completed online so individuals are not putting themselves at risk, and I encourage anyone thinking of applying to do so in a safe way, using digital platforms to plan their application with colleagues if necessary.’
Round one of the scheme saw grants given to 13 local authorities and large organisations to plant more than 50,000 trees.
Slough Borough Council was one of the successful bidders from the first round. Cllr Rob Anderson, the council’s cabinet member for sustainable transport and environmental services, said: ‘The new planting will mean improvements relating to air quality, greater natural flood management, temperature reduction for high density urban areas and increased carbon capture.’
