As part of National Tree Week, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has announced £200,000 of funding for England’s newest Community Forest in Cumbria.
This welcome additional funding over four years will contribute to a wider £1.1 million already received for the Cumbria Coastal Community Forest project from Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs), with the Community Forest is ready to start planting this winter.
England’s newest Community Forest in Cumbria is being led by Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Woodlands and The National Trust, in close partnership with other local councils including Barrow Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Allerdale Borough Council.
Thousands of trees will be planted along the western coast of Cumbria to create up to 150ha of new woodland, the equivalent of one tree planted for every resident in Copeland, Barrow and Allerdale over the next five years.
NDA chief executive, David Peattie, said:
“It’s our mission to clean up the UK’s earliest nuclear sites safely, and we have a legal and ethical responsibility to do that sustainably, with care for our communities and the environment.
“The Cumbria Coastal Community Forest will provide a lasting legacy that is beneficial to the people of Cumbria, its wildlife and the environment.
“We invest around £15 million each year in enabling permanent, positive, and significant social and economic change in our communities, investing in projects such as this which will benefit future generations for years to come.”
