Sharpening the commercial edge
The case for well-managed council commercial activity is one that needs to be defended if we want a mature and sustainable local state, argues Jonathan Werran.
Urban Tree Fund re-opens for third phase
13/05/2021 The Urban Tree Challenge Fund has re-opened for applications to enable 44,000 large trees to be planted in towns and cities. |
Councils secure £2.9m emergency tree fund
11/03/2021 The Woodland Trust has awarded 11 local authorities £2.9m to plant trees and create green spaces. |
Blossoming tree circles to be planted across UK
26/02/2021 Blossoming tree circles will be planted in cities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the next five years, as part of a new project to signal 'reflection and hope'. |
Government announces nearly £4m tree planting pot
07/12/2020 The Government has announced £3.9m of funding to help plant hundreds of thousands of new trees across the country. |
Sheffield council apologises for ‘numerous problems’ with tree felling scheme
15/10/2020 Sheffield City Council has issued an apology after a report from the local government Ombudsman found ‘numerous problems’ with the way it removed trees in 2016. |
Council fined after fatal tree branch accident
21/07/2020 Wirral Borough Council has been fined £100,000 after a pregnant woman lost her baby when a tree branch fell and hit her moving vehicle. |
Government launches consultation on accelerating tree planting
19/06/2020 The Government has launched a consultation on ways to accelerate tree planting in an effort to combat the biodiversity and climate crises. |
Councils call for more ambition on tree cover target
21/04/2020 Six councils have called on the Government to double the tree cover target in England. |
Councils urged to bid for second round of £10m urban tree fund
31/03/2020 The second round of the £10m Urban Tree Challenge fund has opened for bids today. |
Sheffield approves new approach to managing street trees
12/03/2020 A new partnership to manage its street trees has been approved by Sheffield City Council, following protests last year about its tree felling programme. |
Over 50,000 trees to be planted in urban areas
10/02/2020 More than 50,000 trees are to be planted in urban communities following the allocation of the first round of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund. |
Edinburgh council announces aim to be a ‘million tree city’
29/01/2020 Edinburgh City Council has announced that it is working on an ‘action plan’ aimed at increasing the number of trees in the city to one million. |
Homeowner fined over £60,00 for ‘wilful damage’ to a protected tree
24/12/2019 A homeowner who damaged a 90-year-old tree so much that it had to be felled has been fined over £60,000 by magistrates. |
Cornwall Council launches tree planting drive
18/12/2019 Cornwall Council’s flagship climate emergency project the Forest for Cornwall will be officially launched next week at a community planting day in Saltash. |
Council accidentally cuts down 800 young trees
20/11/2019 Reading Borough Council has apologised to community volunteers after accidentally digging up hundreds of newly planted saplings. |
Manchester CC joins campaign to plant 50 million trees
09/10/2019 Manchester City Council has thrown its weight behind a campaign to encourage the Government to support the planting of a large forest in the North of England. |
Councils flout ancient woodland protections, campaigners say
01/08/2019 One year on from strengthened protection for ancient woodland in England, local planners are still 'failing to safeguard' the habitat, the Woodland Trust has claimed. |
Online tool to calculate health impact of trees published
11/07/2019 A new online tool which can help councils calculate how much pollution would be removed by planting trees in local areas has been launched. |
Ash tree disease poses public safety risk in Wales, council chiefs say
01/07/2019 Local authorities have committed themselves to tackling a notorious ash tree disease that has spread across Wales. |
Fund launched to plant 130,000 urban trees
20/05/2019 The environment secretary Michael Gove has announced a £10m fund to help encourage the planting of over a hundred thousand trees in urban areas across England. |
Tree disease to cost economy £15bn
07/05/2019 Ash dieback will cost the UK economy £15bn, researchers have calculated. |
Sheffield CC compromises over controversial tree felling plans
14/12/2018 Sheffield CC has acknowledged the need for a new phased approach to street tree replacement as a result of the ongoing controversy over tree felling. |
Sheffield CC tables proposal to end tree felling dispute
25/10/2018 Sheffield City Council has tabled a proposal to save 300 trees and ‘phase the work on others’ in an effort to end the long running dispute over tree felling. |
London boroughs receive 40,000 new trees for parks and community spaces
16/08/2018 The mayor of London has launched a £1.5 woodland fund to help 21 boroughs plant new trees in parks, estates, playgrounds and other community spaces. |
New Tree Champion to ‘drive forward’ planting at local level
13/06/2018 Local authorities are to be required to consult with residents before felling trees in their areas under a new duty, the environment secretary has said. |
Council secures conviction over ‘mass destruction’ of protected trees
02/05/2018 Borough of Poole has successfully prosecuted a man after he illegally chopped down 11 protected trees in the garden of his property. |
Half of Sheffield's trees threatened by controversial highways contract
12/03/2018 Up to 17,500 trees could be replaced in Sheffield City Council’s highways maintenance contract, newly released information has revealed. |
Council calls for help to catch ‘phantom tree feller'
02/08/2017 Slough Borough Council has called on residents to be vigilant after a mystery person chopped down six large trees. |
Whitehall announces multi-million pound tree planting fund
21/07/2017 The Government has made a £13m fund available to help councils plant more trees and reduce the flood risk to communities. |
Council threatens councillor with legal action for tree felling protest
28/06/2017 Sheffield Council has threatened legal action against environmentalists and an opposition councillor who are trying to prevent some trees being removed. |
Controversy over council decision to cut down Queen Mother’s trees
03/02/2017 Northumberland council has been criticised for cutting down trees that were planted in the Queen Mother’s honour. |
Can money really grow on trees?
29/09/2016 Scott Fitzgerald explains why Salford City Council has created a detailed inventory of its highways trees. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
