Pope Lane nature reserve to see 10,000 trees planted

The Pope Lane nature reserve Pic: spud frawley

A decision has been approved for 10,000 trees to be planted at Pope Lane nature reserve.

The council agreed plans for the first phase of delivery of Preston City Council’s allocation from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

Preston is receiving a conditional allocation of £5,243,004 to invest in the city from 2022/23 to 2024/25, which includes the tree planting project.

The nature reserve runs between the M6 at Ribbleton and the River Ribble, joining onto the Brockholes Nature Reserve.

Councillor Freddie Bailey, Cabinet member for environment and community safety at Preston City Council, said: “The UKSPF will provide £2.6bn of much needed investment for local initiatives by March 2025.

“Lancashire’s total allocation is £54m funding with Preston receiving a conditional allocation of £5,243,004 to invest in the city from 2022/23 to 2024/25, including £80,000 for a community tree planting project, providing a total of 10,000 trees during 2023/24 and 2024/25. The planting will take place during autumn/winter of both years.

“A total of 7,000 trees will be planted for the Pope Lane community scheme, which will help improve the city’s tree cover, reduce Co2 emissions, increase biodiversity and enhance the overall quality of the Pope Lane nature reserve.

“Under the Council’s delegated decision powers, Ribble Rivers Trust was chosen via tender process and will be working with the community to deliver this project.”