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Neighbourhood planning

Get the most out of your neighbourhood plan – put trees in it! Woods and trees can help make your community a healthier, wealthier and happier place to live and work.

Trees are critical for the future of the planet and for our own wellbeing, health and happiness.

Credit: Richard Faulks / WTML

Neighbourhood plans are one way to look after your woods and trees. These plans have real status - they carry the same legal weight as local plans prepared by local planning authorities.

Your plan is your opportunity to shape your community's future, from the location of new homes and businesses to the protection and creation of new woodland and green spaces. Maybe you don't have many woods and trees near you. Or maybe there are plenty and you want to look after them. You can use neighbourhood planning to shape your local environment’s future and keep woods and trees at its heart.

Your neighbourhood plan will focus on the issues important to your local area. Each plan is unique. Some will only consist of one or two policies focusing on a specific issue of local concern. Others will be much larger - more like mini local plans with policies tackling a broad range of concerns.

Did you know?

In just one day, a single tree provides enough oxygen for four people.

Why include trees in your neighbourhood plan?

Trees are critical for the future of the planet and for our own wellbeing, health and happiness.

From the air we breathe to the water we drink, trees are vital to life on earth. They can also:

  • reduce air pollution
  • absorb CO2 from the atmosphere
  • give us shade and shelter
  • guard us against flooding
  • increase house prices
  • make our minds happier and healthier
  • create vital homes for wildlife.

Get in touch

If you're already working on your neighbourhood plan please let us know by emailing governmentaffairs@woodlandtrust.org.uk.