Feedback on the NKDC Tree Strategy
Feedback on the NKDC Tree Strategy – Swinderby Parish Council. Reviewed Feb 2023.
Swinderby Parish Council welcomes the Tree Strategy 2020 and looks forward to working alongside the District Council in contributing to the key actions thereby helping to achieve the objectives.
Historically this Parish has seen a rapid decline in tree canopy coverage as evidenced by the removal of over 5000 oaks tress in one clearance activity 200 years ago and more recent years the felling of a substantial number of elms, some with TPOs never to be replaced. Infill within the village has also resulted in the loss of trees either directly as land is cleared or as an outcome of the tree being now near a new build.
To mitigate against the loss of tree coverage, Swinderby Parrish Council undertook substantial tree planting in the 1990s and this contributes significantly to the tree canopy in the Parish now. It is against this background that Swinderby Parish Council views the key actions within the Strategy as essential as together we ensure greater tree coverage for future generations. North Kesteven tree coverage present position nationally is disappointing, and we will fall further behind as many authorities have already embarked on extensive tree planting activities.
Recently the Parish Council has undertaken substantial tree planting as outlined in the summary of the environmental plan 2018 -2023. This has been in conjunction with the Woodland Trust, All Saints School, Swinderby and the local community. This will continue with more tree planting planned for 2023 and beyond.
The Parish Council felt that they would wish to comment in more details on the following:
1. Monitoring and Evaluation. Section 5.2 states ‘Part 4 of this Strategy outlines the range of actions that will be taken and that teams within the Council will monitor these actions.’ The Parish Council would wish the District Council to consider the use of an independent evaluators for example using the Woodland Trust or approaching a University to carry out the task. It maybe that there is enough interest in the local community and local Parish Councils to form a team to support the monitoring and evaluation of the Action Plan.
There are two reasons for this suggestion. The key actions are, inevitably, generic in detail and hence lead to smaller steps that must be undertaken if the desired outcome is to be achieved. Those who monitor and evaluate the action plan will need to ask questions related to these smaller steps in terms of accountability. It is a robust process that is required and one that is often avoided in many organisations. The evaluators could also provide ideas and support if a particular key action is proving difficult to move forward. It is the view of the Parish Council that this would be best provided by an outside agency if this Strategy is to successful.
Independent evaluators especially with experience in this field would be able to question whether the initial objectives are challenging enough in terms of what could be achieved.
It is worth noting that evaluation is a different process to monitoring and should be included in this section.
2. Planning and Tree Preservation. The Parish Council understands the tensions between maximizing the number of houses that can be built upon a particular piece of land and the need to deliver the Tree Strategy 2020. Therefore, we welcome the statements regarding safeguarding trees and creating green spaces linked to the planning process. However, there is little evidence in our experience that trees preservation in the past has received a ‘fair hearing’. We have applied for TPOs and they have been refused. We are having to take down two mature trees and reduce others in size because they are now ‘the wrong trees in the wrong place’ because of recent planning agreements. Finally, we have asked for a felled tree with a TPO to be replaced at least twice within the past three years but with no outcome. It probably is on highways land, but one would expect some liaison between the different council tiers. Therefore, appointing a tree champion within the District Council and respecting and acting upon their views could help provide a better balance between trees and houses.
3. Living Vision. The Strategy provides a vision, the danger is that that becomes a vision on paper only. Having a team or individual with the right skills committed to its delivery supported by robust monitoring and evaluation will ensure that the words on the paper become a living vision. This will be needed to be driven by the District Council.
Moving Forward.
1. Over the past five years we have started planting trees again in Swinderby Parish. This will continue and we would be willing to share our experiences with others and support them if required. One successful strategy we have used is working with the local primary school where there is a commitment from staff and pupils to increase tree coverage. We can provide you with data on the number of trees or bushes that have survived from our efforts. With careful watering and maintenance, we think it is approximately 80% of 120 whips provided.
2. Within the Parish we have three small pieces of land belonging to the Swinderby These are covered in trees, some planted by the Parish Council in the 1990s. We have discussed the need to register this land and to maintain the trees. The Parish Council in the past has planted on land and failed to register it. In one case in conjunction with the District Council. As land has become more valuable these pieces of land have been lost to private landowners. Although in many cases the new owners have maintained the trees originally planted by the Parish Council. Hence, the present aim to register all such land.
3. The government has announced £40 million pounds for trees to be built on new land. This would involve local land owners selling land and perhaps at a local level we could negotiate an approach using the knowledge we have in the parish.
Further Details on the Swinderby Trust.
a). The Swinderby Trust land was an outcome of the enclosure of Swinderby in the 16th century. Most of the has now been sold.
b). The Trust has limited resources and this together with the constitution means that it would be impossible to fund the registration of the land. Hence, there has been a commitment to find external funding.
c). The external funding would be used to survey the areas, register it with land registry and enhance the woodland by planting new and removing dead trees.
Is it possible to suggest ways or provide support on how this could be moved forward?
This would not add substantial to the tree coverage but would help create sustainable biodiverse areas and would be high profile.
Thank you for offering the opportunity to comment on the Tree Strategy 2020. We hope you find our comments constructive, and we look forward to working alongside NKDC in the future.
Swinderby Parish Council.
Reviewed Feb 2023. The Parish Council view the statement made by NKDC a long term commitment and therefore we consider it essential that we review the our statement. ( See the summary of the environmental action plan).