Devon council buys land to plant 25,000 new trees

A council has bought 65 acres (26 hectares) of land in south Devon to create a community woodland.

South Hams District Council said it was planning to plant 25,000 trees on the site in South Brent in a bid to tackle climate change and increase biodiversity by 20%.

It said the planting, due to start later in the year, would be supported through a partnership with the Woodland Trust and its MOREwoods scheme.

The government's Trees for Climate Land Acquisition Fund supported the purchase, which council leader Julian Brazil said would "leave a lasting legacy".

Mr Brazil said: “We will be working with local schools, social prescribers and other local community groups.

"It will leave a lasting legacy for the South Hams."

"It is the start of us planting a tree for every resident of the South Hams," he added.

As part of the woodland, the fields in the parcel of land would continue to be a productive landscape and parts of the site grazed, the council said.

It added that an orchard and a market garden would be created in partnership with local group Sustainable South Brent (SSB) to deliver the project for their local area.

SSB vice-chairman Hayden Gabriel said: “Varied habitat creation and nature recovery in this zone of woodland, increased local food production and a natural educational resource are just some of the many advantages on offer."

The proposals are due to be shared with the local community at a drop-in event on Wednesday 14 August at the Old School Community Centre in South Brent.

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