The Head of Corporate Strategy has submitted a reportto seek approval for the Urban Forest Strategy.

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.    Approve the Oxford Urban Forest Strategy – A Master Plan to 2050, which sets out the strategic direction for how we, as a city, protect, manage and expand our urban forest to help tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.  Officers will take opportunities to seek external funding opportunities to facilitate the implementation of the strategy; and

2.    Authorise the Head of Corporate Strategy to make minor editorial amendments to the strategy document.

The Head of Corporate Strategy had submitted a report to seek approval for the Urban Forest Strategy.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for Parks and Waste Reduction, introduced the report which built upon some of the findings of the Council’s 2019 Citizen’s Assembly on Climate Change. The Strategy was ambitious, for the whole city, and set out a framework for action to 2050. The involvement of stakeholders was essential, this was not something which could be achieved by the Council on its own. It had become apparent that areas of deprivation in the City had less canopy cover than others; the Strategy would seek to address this. At the heart of the Strategy was the importance of the “right tree in the right place”.

The Director of Corporate Strategy emphasised the importance of wide stakeholder and community engagement with the Strategy. While the Council would of course respond to the Strategy where it was able to do so, the majority of land was not owned by it.

It was agreed that every effort should be made to provide additional tree cover in shared outdoor spaces close to flats and homes without their own gardens.

While there was general support for trees and tree planting in the wider community it was also recognised that trees were perceived by some and in some circumstances to be a nuisance. It would be helpful if damage to pavements caused by tree roots was always remedied as a priority. Similarly there would be occasions when the removal of a tree (obstructing a cycle lane for example) would, on balance, be preferable to letting it remain.

The removal of trees from front gardens (to facilitate off-street EV charging) was agreed to be a challenge.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.    Approve the Oxford Urban Forest Strategy – A Master Plan to 2050, which sets out the strategic direction for how we, as a city, protect, manage and expand our urban forest to help tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.  Officers will take opportunities to seek external funding opportunities to facilitate the implementation of the strategy; and

2.    Authorise the Head of Corporate Strategy to make minor editorial amendments to the strategy document.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 15 September , will consider a report on the Urban Forest Strategy. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations thereon.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for Parks and Waste Reduction; and  Amanda Ford, Environmental Quality Team Manager, have been invited to attend for this item. 

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for Parks and Waste Reduction, introduced the report which represented another workstream flowing from the Council’s declaration of a climate emergency. The strategy sought to look at the city’s tree cover and consider how best to manage and develop our urban forest.  The work on the strategy highlighted that there was a correlation between areas of deprivation and lower levels of canopy cover. At its heart was the desirability of having “the right tree in the right place”.  Amanda Ford, Environmental Quality Team Manager, added that the Council was committed to increasing opportunities for biodiversity wherever they arose, something to which tree planting would contribute although it was important  to note that it was not the only means of delivering biodiversity net gain and carbon capture.  Planting trees on important wetlands or species rich grasslands would harm our natural environment as it would destroy these natural habitats and these habitats have been found to sequester more carbon than trees . In addressing the position of the  city as a whole and, therefore land which was not owned by the Council, it would be necessary to encourage other land owners to participate. An important source of funding for this work would be via developers’ contributions coming from developments across the city where there is a requirement to offset the loss of biodiversity. Currently under policy G2 of the Oxford Local Plan 2036 developers are required to ensure that schemes deliver a net biodiversity gain of 5% over the position prior to development.  In many cases this net gain cannot be delivered within the site boundaries and it might well be that the off-setting scheme could include some new habitat creation within the city’s boundaries,  which includes tree planting.   The Committee was very supportive of what the Strategy sought to achieve but raised a number of detailed points.

It was noted that the Strategy might conflict with the city’s other ambition to increase the use of electric vehicles; there were reports of residents wishing to remove trees from front gardens to facilitate off street parking and charging. Similarly, paving front gardens for that purpose contributed to flooding risk. The Environmental Quality Team Manager said these wider points would be noted and taken into account in the preparation of the EV charging strategy,  while observing that some trees would be protected by virtue of Tree Protection Orders and, in addition, conservation area consent is required for the removal of any tree within a conservation area

Some existing and well established trees in the city caused problems for residents as they block light and or drop leaves/seeds etc. It was agreed that this intelligence should inform decisions about future tree planting and the principle of the right tree in the right place.

Management of the city’s trees fell to Oxford Direct Services (ODS) and it would be important to ensure that there was capacity to deal with an expanded tree stock. This might be best achieved by inviting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43