Calderdale could see 2,500 more hectares of trees and woodland, thanks to a new tree planting and management plan for North and West Yorkshire.
The Council is being asked to support the White Rose Forest Strategic Plan (2025-50), as one of the partner organisations helping to deliver the work.
Councillors will discuss the plan, and Calderdale’s tree planting progress, at the next Cabinet meeting on Monday 2 June 2025.
The Council, in partnership with local organisations and community groups, is committed to tree planting as part of Calderdale’s Climate Action Plan. Trees help combat climate change by storing carbon dioxide, they help improve air quality for better health and wellbeing, they provide a home for wildlife, encourage biodiversity and help places to thrive by making them attractive and welcoming.
Over the last two years, thousands of trees have been planted across a range of sites in the borough, from areas of open ground to parks, roadsides and community orchards. For example, at Beacon Hill in Halifax alone, staff and volunteers planted over 2000 trees to form a 365m hedge and a small area of woodland.
These efforts contribute to the White Rose Community Forest – one of 10 community forests across England aiming to increase the involvement and connection of local communities with the planning, planting and management of trees and woodland in North and West Yorkshire. Partners include local and combined authorities, national parks and national landscape organisations, working alongside national, regional and local charities, businesses and community enterprises.
In Calderdale, the Community Forest’s new Strategic Plan aims to increase tree and woodland cover from 10.2% to 17.1% by 2050. This will increase the area of trees and woodland by around 2,500 hectares, including more tree planting on streets and in urban areas.
As part of the White Rose Community Forest, Calderdale can drive forward its priorities for climate action, nature and air quality by accessing funding to support work such as tree planting.
The ‘forest’ includes trees in gardens and on residential streets, in town and city centres, along transport routes, in parks and green spaces, by rivers, canals and lakes, on farmland and in the countryside.
Cllr Scott Patient, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Housing, said:
“We love trees in Calderdale! They help give our borough its distinctive beauty and are ecological superheroes, helping us fight climate change, mitigate flood risk and sustain our local wildlife.
“Being part of the White Rose Forest helps us boost our huge, borough-wide programme of tree planting that’s such an important part of Calderdale’s Climate Action Plan. Thanks to this, White Rose Forest has recognised Calderdale for leading the way in West Yorkshire.
“By committing to the ambitious targets in the White Rose Forest Strategic Plan, we can extend our tree planting to more urban areas, deprived communities and areas where tree cover is low. We also aim to get more people involved in tree planting for a sense of wellbeing and ownership, to help promote local biodiversity and address the ecological emergency by supporting nature recovery.”
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet meeting will be held on Monday 2 June 2025 at Halifax Town Hall from 4pm. The meeting can also be viewed online at https://calderdale.public-i.tv/core/portal/home(external link)