The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today (29/01/2020) announced that thousands of new street trees will be planted across 20 boroughs. London has secured over £2m by the Forestry Commission from the Government’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund. It received one fifth of the national fund to plant almost 7,000 street trees across the capital. The funding was secured in collaboration with London boroughs, who will plant and maintain the new trees.
Sadiq has matched funding from the Forestry Commission with over £1m from the Mayor’s Greener City Fund. This is alongside £280,000 from the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone, and £1m from participating boroughs.
As a result of the funding, 2,898 trees will be planted in London by end of March 2020, and a further 4,040 trees will be planted next winter.
The Mayor has also awarded £1.1m to 54 community projects. These new projects will be delivered over the course of 2020 across 23 boroughs.
London’s trees are estimated to provide at least £133m of benefits to Londoners every year. They help improve air quality by removing 2,241 tonnes of pollution annually.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said:
“I’m doing everything in my power to make London zero-carbon and one of the greenest, most sustainable cities in the world. London’s trees are the lungs of our city and they can make a real difference improving quality of life in local neighbourhoods.
“Simple steps like planting trees help us address the climate and ecological crisis. These additional street trees and improvements to green spaces are targeted in areas where they’re most needed. As the world’s first National Park City we will continue our bold action to preserve and increase tree coverage across London.”
