Greening Hastings
IAN BUNCH argues that the council needs to step up to the mark and lead a volunteer army to plant trees in Hastings.
Most of us love trees and understand the great benefits they can bring to help in mitigating the effects of climate change. Once established, they last for decades and need little or no maintenance. Trees absorb CO2, and provide habits for wildlife. They give shade, significantly reducing the temperature of their surroundings, and they delay water runoff, thus helping to prevent flooding. So what’s not to like about trees?
The one thing we can do quickly and locally to reduce climate change is to plant more trees. Hastings Borough Council (HBC) should be proactively pushing this agenda. It should be the number one long-term priority. HBC declared a climate emergency years ago. They set a target of net zero by 2030, so planting trees is an obvious part of the solution.
Roads and verges are maintained variously by HBC, ESCC (East Sussex County Council) and some housing associations. We need these various organisations to work together: step up, recognise the requirement and take action. You can’t expect volunteers to be motivated if they are unsure about council approval.
If HBC used just a little of its public relations machinery – at practically no cost – to create interest in tree planting and maintenance, they could generate a veritable army of volunteers to do the legwork. I’m not suggesting the council needs to spend a lot (I know they don’t have any money) but regular PR on the subject and some admin help would generate a lot of interest. Without this proactive approach you’ll never inspire the groundswell of support that exists in Hastings – just awaiting the council’s leadership.
Along the coast, a charity, Make Eastbourne Green, has been set up “to double Eastbourne’s tree cover by 2030”. They’ve already planted more than 17,000 saplings. As their website, treebourne.org,says: “We’re working with the council and independently, to find sites – large and small – where we can plant trees. Our aim is to maximise the capture of CO2 emissions before they can escape into the upper atmosphere and wreak havoc on the planet’s climate. In short, we plan to turn Eastbourne green.” Why isn’t that happening in Hastings? We could be a leading town in UK, with beautiful tree-lined streets, if the various public bodies could only get their acts together and support such a scheme.
Hastings Borough Council’s 2023-24 Corporate Plan update makes no mention of trees; he earlier final climate emergency action plan of March 2022 mentions planting more trees in the cemetery and recycling of Christmas trees – nothing more!
The starting point should be HBC and ESCC stating clearly and unequivocally that they want more tree planting; that they will actively support applications if submitted by local groups and that they will work with volunteer groups to make this happen.
Unfortunately, I’m told by the Council:“The highway verges in Hastings are now lined with established young trees of various species, there is little space left unplanted.”and “We now have excellent tree cover within our streets.” Both these statements are demonstrably wrong.
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