Landowners in Northumberland who saw their woodlands devastated by one of the worst storms in living memory are set to benefit from new Government funding to help restore some of the damage.
Storm Arwen battered the county in November 2021, causing widespread power outages and felling thousands of trees, with the worst affected areas in the north and on the coast.
Now, councillors have backed £1.5 million funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that will enable the team behind the Great Northumberland Forest to support landowners to 'restore and enhance' around 300 hectares of damaged woodland across the county.
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Eligible landowners will receive financial support to restore small individual woodlands and shelterbelts of trees which were significantly damaged in the storm.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the council's cabinet, leader Coun Glen Sanderson said: "Everyone will remember the damaged caused by this horrific event.
"It wasn't just the effect on communities, individuals, towns and villages across the county that lost their power for so long - it also had a devastating effect on woodland, particularly in the north and in coastal areas.
"It was to the extent that hundreds and hundreds of trees were blown down. They will need to be replaced and replanted.
"Defra have come up with this £1.5 million funding which will be dealt with by the county council and will be open to eligible woodland owners. It will help to repair the damage caused and provide the funding to ensure that effective replanting takes place."
The council has said that resilient tree species will be planted, enhancing biodiversity and nature recovery as well as improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions in the county – helping Northumberland reach its carbon neutral target by 2030. It is also hoped that landowners will see this as an opportunity to expand their woodland area where appropriate.
The Great Northumberland Forest is a plan to plant millions of trees, thereby creating more wooded landscapes across the county. There is now a legal target to increase tree canopy and woodland cover to 16.5% by 2050 in England, and this funding will play a part in achieving this.
Areas where woodland is most at risk of being lost will be prioritised to ensure the most damaged locations in the county recover from this significant storm event.
The cabinet unanimously agreed to include the £1.5 million from Government into the capital programme for the Great Northumberland Forest.
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