Blackpool secures £1.8m grant for tree planting initiatives

The Blackpool town council announced that new trees would be planted in the town, funded by a £1.8m grant provided by United Utilities. Jane Hugo, the cabinet member responsible for climate change, stated: “The first wave of these trees will be ready for the 2025 planting season.” She further commented that the financial support from the water company was expected to contribute to establishing “a greener and healthier future for residents.” Blackpool, the Lancashire resort, has already seen thousands of trees planted through a 10-year initiative scheduled to continue until 2030. Nevertheless, approximately 1,300 of these planted trees have been excavated and stolen, reportedly for commercial resale. Additionally, over 2,000 trees sustained damage during the period from 2020 to 2021. In a subsequent revelation, it was disclosed that planting six trees on Edward Street, along with constructing an underground nurturing system for them, incurred a cost of £174,000. A response to a Freedom of Information request indicated that conventional methods of excavating a pit and filling it with soil “almost always resulted in failures of the trees.” The response further explained that a tree “really requires a full grass verge with deep top soil to give space and medium for roots to grow” – especially when facing windy and dry conditions.