Residents of Cambridgeshire were recently shocked to learn that more than 90 per cent of the trees planted as part of the A14 upgrade had died. At a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council’s full council, Cllr Edna Murphy (Lib Dem, Bar Hill) said that the project had failed, and called for the authority to press National Highways to ensure the tree planting project is successful.

Cllr Murphy's motion noted that changes must be made in order to ensure that future plantings will be successful.

This news came on the heels of thousands of trees dying along Norfolk County Council's Northern Distributor Road (NDR). This failure led to more than 3,000 trees needing to be replanted and casts serious doubt on NCC's ability to deliver effective mitigation and compensation measures in relation to  the proposed Norwich Western Link. 

It is essential for communities across England to recognise how vital tree planting is for environmental reasons and for climate change mitigation.