Grant-funded tree planting will help Erewash grow green as National Tree Week celebrates the natural landscape

Parts of Erewash will benefit from hundreds of thousands of new trees in the years to come as part of a scheme which gets underway early in the New Year.

Derbyshire County Council will begin planting the first of 300,000 trees in January 2025 that will form part of the Derbyshire Heartwood Community Forest – a band of green stretching from villages like Etwall and Repton in South Derbyshire up to Dronfield and Clowne in the north of the county.

Locally, areas which will qualify for tree planting include Breadsall, West Hallam, Breaston, Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Sandiacre.

While the county council has earmarked the initial sites for planting, it is now inviting town and parish councils, landowners, farmers and residents to come forward with more areas of land that could form part of a new generation of woodland.

The aim is to bring nature closer to people, making communities, farms and businesses more attractive and naturally diverse – enabling them to increase biodiversity and make their own contribution to climate, environment and health and wellbeing.

Councillor Carolyn Renwick, Derbyshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, said: “Thanks to the Peak District, Derbyshire is already renowned for its natural beauty. But around 80 percent of our residents live in communities on the eastern side of the county, so we want to put more nature on their doorstep.

“Whether they’re farmers who want to enhance their land, businesses looking to go green or communities who want to improve their green spaces, Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest is an opportunity for landowners of all kinds to improve the natural environment and help tackle climate change.

“National Tree Week celebrates nature and marks the beginning of the 2024-25 tree-planting season. We look forward to working with landowners to bring a new era of natural growth to Derbyshire.”

Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest is also a fuss-free process which is grant-funded. If landowners think they’ve got a suitable site – likely to be between 0.5 and 5 hectares or above – the council can advise on design, carry out tree planting, fund infrastructure like gates and fencing and provide support for maintenance that helps tree planting fully establish over a 15-year period.

Cllr Renwick added: “This is the beauty of the programme. Not only are we bringing nature closer to people, we’re doing it in a way that’s designed to be as hassle-free as possible, with funding and advice from our team and continuing support to help you maintain your part of Heartwood.”

Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest, which is the community forest for Derbyshire, is one of 15 community forest projects across England and is funded by Defra’s Nature for Climate Fund.

Landowners who are interested in finding out more will find detailed information and a large-scale map on the Derbyshire Heartwood Community Forest pages on the Derbyshire County Council website at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/heartwood