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An "inefficient" scheme to plant nearly 500 trees in Swindon has fallen drastically short of its target. A report published by South Swindon Parish Council has revealed that only 16 of a planned 491 trees have in fact been planted within the current tree planting season. Seven sites had been identified within the parish as part of the council's Trees for Climate commitment to enhance the local area in partnership with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust .
The collaboration has seemingly failed to deliver on its pledge after a myriad of factors forced the operation to largely become a non-starter. The parish council is responsible for working with WWT to agree tree planting locations and consult residents on the schemes, before signing off the tree planting grant application and then delivering on the grant's stated objectives. WWT are then tasked with producing Land App tree layout drawings, selecting tree species and ordering the trees for planting, as well as determining how the trees are to be planted and maintained.
The Eastern Avenue Tree Orchard, the Coate Water Swamp, the Shaftesbury Avenue/Coate Water roundabout, Eshton Walk, Oldlands Walk, Windsor Road and Raglan Close and Caernarvon had all been selected as appropriate sites for a total of nearly 500 trees to be planted in 2025. However, the parish council has confirmed that no tree planting will be taking place at six of these seven locations in 2025, in part due to utility surveys not being carried out as planned. Recommended reading Plans unveiled to revive dilapidated town centre landmark Proposal for new local school approved by council Man who wants to build massive windmill in town says he needs help Other reasons include concerns over residential parking being affected in Eshton Walk and the risk of trees being planted too close to private properties in Oldlands Walk and potentially falling on the houses in stormy conditions.
Planned digging in Windsor Road and Raglan Close was also considered to pose a safety risk. The scheme had been funded by Swindon Borough Council resources, with payments made to WWT via the Trees for Climate scheme. An update presented at the leisure, environment and amenities committee meeting on Tuesday, April 1 branded the process "inefficient and unproductive", partly as a result of the WWT failing to live up to expectations.
The report stated: "South Swindon Parish Council had the potential to plant nearly 500 trees this planting season across seven sites. "However, the Parish Council have only planted 16 trees within the current tree planting season. "A significant amount of Parish Council officer time has been utilised to investigate and deliver 12 potential sites, and it has become evident that the current Trees for Climate process is inefficient and unproductive with a dependency on WWT who are failing to deliver at the timescales the Parish Council needs to successfully plant trees.
" 16 trees were planted at Eastern Avenue in March as part of the scheme, with assistance provided by the Lainesmead Primary School Eco-Warriors..
