Major projects will bring the benefits of hundreds more trees to Hartlepool 

Hartlepool Borough Council planted 15 new trees around the edge of the King George V Playing Field on the Headland and a similar number at the nearby Central Bank Field.

It’s part of a project to plant almost 150 trees on the Council’s land in partnership with Trees for Cities – the only UK charity working at a national scale to improve people’s lives by planting and caring for trees in cities.

The planting dovetails with a much larger, recently-announced £475,000 initiative called 'Tree Equity for Hartlepool' involving the Council, Trees for Cities and other partner organisations. Having secured £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to kickstart the initiative, the multi-year project led by Trees for Cities will see at least ten hectares of trees planted in nature-deprived areas of Hartlepool over the next two years, as well as two new job roles to deliver the work.

The planting at the two sites today will contribute to this, and has been made possible by further match funding secured by Trees for Cities.

Councillor Gary Allen (left) and Roddy Shaw, Senior Development Manager (England) for Trees for Cities, plant one of the trees

The trees planted today – all broadleaf varieties such as the white oak, silver lime and water elm which will be able to establish themselves in a coastal environment – mark an important milestone for Hartlepool, which, as a coastal town, has one of the lowest levels of tree cover in the country.

Councillor Gary Allen, Chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Adult and Community-Based Services Committee, said: “We are excited and proud to be taking part in these major projects with Trees for Cities and other partners which will start to close the ‘nature gap’ due to the very low tree cover in the borough.

“Trees bring so many benefits. Not only do they provide shade and help reduce air pollution, they are a haven for wildlife - but they do even more than that.

“It’s well-proven that people who live with trees around them enjoy a better quality of life and getting outside and spending time in the calming areas trees create is really good for your mental health too.

“We are looking forward over the next two years to lots of planting opportunities for local people of all ages to get involved in.” 

A protective cage is put in place around one of the trees

Kate Sheldon, Chief Executive Officer at Trees for Cities, said: "We are delighted to embark on the Tree Equity for Hartlepool project, which is an important development of our UK coastal forestry programme.

“We look forward to working with the local community to begin a journey towards healthy, sustainable and equitable urban forest for Hartlepool."

Councillor Brenda Harrison, the Leader of the Council, helps to plant one of the trees