The Forest of Marston Vale Trust has secured unprecedented levels of funding from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to accelerate tree planting activity within the Marston Vale area of Bedfordshire over the next four years. Under this new “Trees for Climate” scheme, up to £8 million is available to support new tree planting projects up until April 2025. It presents an excellent opportunity for landowners looking at options for their land going forwards, and a chance to explore how trees can be part of their plans.
Covering 61 square miles between Bedford and Milton Keynes, as shown in the plan below, the Forest of Marston Vale is one of 12 Community Forests established during the early 1990s. Since its inception over 2 million trees have been planted within the Forest area and, with the Government’s commitment to planting 30,000 hectares of woodland per year across the UK by 2025, this additional funding will help enable more planting to be completed.
The Defra-backed Trees for Climate Scheme will provide flexible funding packages to landowners for creating new woodlands, including payments for up to 15 years. Assistance will be given to design planting proposals and also to plant and establish the new woodland over the first 5 years, if required. Locally, the Trees for Climate scheme is unique to the Forest of Marston Vale, and offers more flexible and potentially greater levels of funding than nationwide schemes recently launched by the Forestry Commission.
If you have land within the Forest of Marston Vale area and would like more information on the Trees for Climate Scheme, please contact Katie Cross at Robinson & Hall, Land and Property Professionals on 01234 362935 or email krc@robinsonandhall.co.uk
