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The Ashford borough is to be flooded with tens of thousands of new trees for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
As part of 'The Queen’s Green Canopy' initiative, almost 135,500 trees will be planted – one for every resident who will be living in the borough in 2022.
The planting will be happening over the next three winters, and is seen as a major boost to Ashford Borough Council’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.
A report published prior to the June 24 cabinet meeting where it was discussed reads: “We will be calling on everyone in the borough to help with this ambitious plan, providing the opportunity to not only grow trees but to grow communities, together.
“This is an opportunity to thank Her Majesty for her 70 years of service, celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee and promote the importance of trees.
“There will be a particular focus on supporting urban and the most disadvantaged communities to plant trees.”
In the report, each 50cm to 1m tall tree is estimated to cost about £2 including a stake and non-plastic guard.
The report adds: “Consequently the cost of a tree for everyone in the borough in 2022 will be approximately £271,000.
“To ensure there is sufficient promotion of this project to draw in the required volunteers for planting and land provision, it is suggested there is a communications budget of £10,000.”
A further £37,000 has been proposed to hire a knowledgeable officer to oversee the programme for two years.
The financial side of the plan has been aided by Forestry Commission’s ‘Urban Tree Challenge Fund’, through which ABC has previously secured funding for 6,666 trees at Chilmington Green.
A borough council bid for money from the Treescapes fund to plant 30,000 trees is currently under way and a separate bid is being lodged for a second round of funding from the Urban Tree Challenge pool.
The planting will not be limited to council-owned land, with a policy laid out to contact private landowners and custodians who might volunteer their land.
The council hopes to create a community “tree army” to help plant and care for the trees, which would cover more than 56 football fields if planted in one location.
Because of the sheer scale, the council noted: “This is not feasible on land we own. We will need to call upon the resources of everyone in the borough to come forward with sites where trees can be planted and nurtured.”
