Surrey council throws weight behind motion calling for rethink of tree planting strategies
Elmbridge Borough Council voted through calls for an updated trees and green spaces policy
A Surrey district council has thrown its weight behind a motion calling for a rethink of tree planting strategies as the climate crisis grips the county.
Elmbridge Borough Council voted through calls for an updated trees and green spaces policy that reflects challenges posted by the rapidly changing climate.
Surrey County Council’s 2020 tree strategy set out a target to plant 1.2 million new trees by the end of the decade – one tree for every Surrey resident.
But Elmbridge’s motion, tabled by Councillor Katerina Lusk (Conservative: Cobham and Downside) called for the incoming East Surrey council’s strategy to reflect tree survival rates, not just the number planted.
East Surrey Council will assume all local government responsibilities for the area – including those carried out by Surrey County Council – from April 2027.
Councillor Lusk said: “We live in one of the most wooded counties in England. I think we could all see this summer the damage that climate change does to our woodlands.”
The motion claims that many newly planted trees throughout Elmbridge are dying within a year because they are not receiving the right aftercare or are not the appropriate species.
“My motion is very simple. If our climate is becoming less predictable, we need to help nature become more resilient,” Councillor Lusk said.
“That means thinking carefully about what we plant, where we plant it and, crucially, what happens after we plant it.”
She added: “There is little point celebrating the number of trees we plant if a significant number of them are dead a year later.”
The motion calls on Elmbridge to “work with East Surrey Council during the transition so that it inherits a trees and green spaces strategy adapted for drought”.
As well as including survival rates in its metrics, it also backs favouring drought-tolerant trees and planning for watering and aftercare.
Other council members were overwhelmingly supportive of the aims of the motion, but some pointed out that many teams working on tree planting in Surrey are already working in line with its suggestions.
Elmbridge’s climate change lead Councillor Ashley Tilling (Liberal Democrats: Weybridge Riverside) said: “It seems to me to be a restatement of existing policy. Our excellent green spaces team is already doing this.
“It is difficult to establish new trees, particularly during these longer, hotter summers and these wetter winters.
“And I don’t think we should really expect our council services – our smaller green spaces team – to be doing the job on their own.”
Councillor Tilling urged people who care about trees in the county to join the Surrey Tree Warden Network to get involved.
But the spirit of the motion was overwhelmingly supported by Elmbridge council members, and was resoundingly passed when put to a vote.