Project description
Within this project, all references to Seend should be taken to mean the English civil parish of Seend, which includes the settlements of Seend, Seend Cleeve, Sells Green, Martinslade and Inmarsh.
Where did the idea for a woodland come from?
People of Seend may recall the circa 2019 proposal of Avon Needs Trees (ANT) to acquire approximately 20 acres of land on the northern slopes of the Seend ridge at Bollands Hill for reforestation as part of ANT’s initiative to reforest the Bristol River Avon catchment for the purposes of climate change mitigation. The ANT project fell at the statutory archaeology survey because ANT’s charitable aims did not include the expenditure of funds on archaeology. At that time, it was considered that any reduction in tree planting density to protect archaeology was not best value for ANT charitable funds. ANT had received significant funding from the National Lottery Fund.
Why create a woodland on good agricultural land?
England needs more woodland - see this map of English woodland at: https://uk.treeequityscore.org/map#6.36/52.377/-1.691. Public consultation as part of the Seend Neighbourhood Plan 2020 - 2030 (Seend NDP) showed there was a desire on the part of the community of Seend to plant more trees. The community wish for more trees was carried forward to the referendum version of the Seend NDP, so it is now part of the plan, reflected in the Green Infrastructure policies and other policies, and the plan aspirations for future projects. One of the accepted strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change is to create more woodland. The Seend NDP identified only one very small site in Seend Cleeve for possible tree planting. Suitably large tracts of land rarely become available and there is significant competition for solar energy sites and equestrian uses, as well as agriculture. Some of the land near to Seend is of very good quality and other areas are graded less so.
The environmental, social, economic, and health benefits of woodland are widely accepted and more prominently promoted in the heat of climate change. The UK Government has set out a 25-year Environment Plan supported by the Trees for Climate Fund. Woodland creation is now embedded as part of both national and international strategies for mitigating global climate change.
The creation of new woodland is regulated through the planning system. The Forestry Commission also has to be consulted to ensure new woodland fits with England's national woodland strategy. Some of the general regulatory criteria for community woodland creation requires:
Does Seend have land for woodland creation?
Seend has many acres of unimproved agricultural grassland surrounding the villages. Much of that land is subject to changing land use and some of it is no longer used in productive agriculture. Land not used for productive agriculture is vulnerable to development and should be earmarked for a greater need of woodland creation. Such land needs to be designated in our Seend Neighbourhood Plan and protected until it becomes available for woodland. Listing land as an asset of community value is a starting point for this.
What happens next?
Seend CLT has already tried unsuccessfuly to list land to create a community woodland as a community asset. Public support for the woodland project is managed by the local authority using the planning system. The former Asset of Community Value application will be found there under this clickable reference: https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z00001BK2EoAAL/acv202300016.
Trees for Climate Funding remains available until 2025. If you, or someone you know, owns land and is interested in creating woodland please let the CLT know. The land does not have to be sold. The woodland created under this scheme is normally the subject of a Conservation Covenant between the landowner and the funder. Woodland maintenance payments are available during the woodland establishment phase.
Where can I learn more about Trees for Climate, Community Forests and the Seend Project?
Where did the idea for a woodland come from?
People of Seend may recall the circa 2019 proposal of Avon Needs Trees (ANT) to acquire approximately 20 acres of land on the northern slopes of the Seend ridge at Bollands Hill for reforestation as part of ANT’s initiative to reforest the Bristol River Avon catchment for the purposes of climate change mitigation. The ANT project fell at the statutory archaeology survey because ANT’s charitable aims did not include the expenditure of funds on archaeology. At that time, it was considered that any reduction in tree planting density to protect archaeology was not best value for ANT charitable funds. ANT had received significant funding from the National Lottery Fund.
Why create a woodland on good agricultural land?
England needs more woodland - see this map of English woodland at: https://uk.treeequityscore.org/map#6.36/52.377/-1.691. Public consultation as part of the Seend Neighbourhood Plan 2020 - 2030 (Seend NDP) showed there was a desire on the part of the community of Seend to plant more trees. The community wish for more trees was carried forward to the referendum version of the Seend NDP, so it is now part of the plan, reflected in the Green Infrastructure policies and other policies, and the plan aspirations for future projects. One of the accepted strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change is to create more woodland. The Seend NDP identified only one very small site in Seend Cleeve for possible tree planting. Suitably large tracts of land rarely become available and there is significant competition for solar energy sites and equestrian uses, as well as agriculture. Some of the land near to Seend is of very good quality and other areas are graded less so.
The environmental, social, economic, and health benefits of woodland are widely accepted and more prominently promoted in the heat of climate change. The UK Government has set out a 25-year Environment Plan supported by the Trees for Climate Fund. Woodland creation is now embedded as part of both national and international strategies for mitigating global climate change.
The creation of new woodland is regulated through the planning system. The Forestry Commission also has to be consulted to ensure new woodland fits with England's national woodland strategy. Some of the general regulatory criteria for community woodland creation requires:
- Proposed woodland must be adjacent to a community and have support for its creations.
- There must be public access to the woodland.
- There must be an organisation available to take ownership of the woodland asset and to care for it into the future - certainly of the first 15 years after planting.
Does Seend have land for woodland creation?
Seend has many acres of unimproved agricultural grassland surrounding the villages. Much of that land is subject to changing land use and some of it is no longer used in productive agriculture. Land not used for productive agriculture is vulnerable to development and should be earmarked for a greater need of woodland creation. Such land needs to be designated in our Seend Neighbourhood Plan and protected until it becomes available for woodland. Listing land as an asset of community value is a starting point for this.
What happens next?
Seend CLT has already tried unsuccessfuly to list land to create a community woodland as a community asset. Public support for the woodland project is managed by the local authority using the planning system. The former Asset of Community Value application will be found there under this clickable reference: https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z00001BK2EoAAL/acv202300016.
Trees for Climate Funding remains available until 2025. If you, or someone you know, owns land and is interested in creating woodland please let the CLT know. The land does not have to be sold. The woodland created under this scheme is normally the subject of a Conservation Covenant between the landowner and the funder. Woodland maintenance payments are available during the woodland establishment phase.
Where can I learn more about Trees for Climate, Community Forests and the Seend Project?
- Trees for Climate: https://englandscommunityforests.org.uk/trees-for-climate/
- Community Forests: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/500-hectare-planting-boost-for-englands-community-forests
- CLT Briefing for Seend Parish Councillors (PDF) (with maps)
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Registered at Companies House, Company Number 11485428
Registered at Companies House, Company Number 11485428