Tree planting: Government 'very unlikely' to meet planting targets for both timber and nature restoration

A government watchdog committee has warned England is meeting less than half of its annual tree-planting target, raising concerns about how it will meet its woodland recovery and timber construction goals.

The Environmental Audit Committee has issued a new report, saying the government is “very unlikely” to meet its target of 30,000 hectares planted by March 2025 - with only two planting seasons left before the deadline. The government goal covers both woodland restoration, vital for improving Britain's natural habitats, and home-grown timber for the construction industry.

But the committee warned the current rate of planting is less than half of what it needs to be to meet those targets, with Forestry England - the government agency responsible for managing England's public forest estate - only planting 303 out of an intended 2,000 hectares since 2021.

The committee raised concerns this would leave the UK more reliant on importing foreign timber, and said the government lacked both a single strategy for the timber sector - and a clear plan to integrate it with planting for nature restoration and climate change mitigation.

Committee chair Philip Dunne said: “The construction industry is increasingly looking to move away from steel and concrete to lower carbon alternatives, and timber is well placed to step in."

Increasing productive forestry was "welcome", he said, but the government had to make sure this was not at the expense of biodiversity. “The government’s target to plant 30,000 hectares of woodland in the UK by March 2025 is welcome, and by and large ministers appreciate the conflicting challenges and demands on woodland.

“But the committee is concerned that England is currently way off meeting its contribution to that UK-wide goal," Dunne continued. The rate of planting must increase, he urged government, not only to achieve greater biodiversity, but to make sure locally-grown timber supplies were maintained.

The committee urged the government to create an overarching, holistic strategy for domestic timber growth, that would incorporate the various goals together. Forestry England also currently lacked the resources to ensure trees were planted according to the UK Forestry Standard, the committee added, which should be rectified “urgently”.

Dunne added that the public sector was only responsible for a quarter of the UK's woodland. "The private sector is therefore responsible for the lion’s share of planting, but with unclear strategies, overly bureaucratic schemes and a lack of clear leadership on planting on the public estate, there is little in way of incentive."

He urged the government to consider the committee's warning report carefully, ahead of its planned Land Use Framework - due to be released later this year.

A spokesperson for the Defra - the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - said it was still committed to having 16.5% of England’s total land area covered by woodland by 2050, but recognised there was “much more to do” to speed up planting.

“Since the start of this Parliament, we have planted or supported the planting of over 10.8 million trees," they said. “Increasing tree cover is at the heart our pledge to meet net zero ambitions, which is why we are investing £650 million during this Parliament in transforming England’s treescapes."

Tree planting rates were now at record levels, they said, but the department would continue to work with partners in both the private and public sector "at pace" to increase the nation’s tree cover and boost the forestry sector.