Manchester City Council has set out a plan to plant around 64,000 new trees all across the city region by 2050.
Since the launching the region’s first ‘tree strategy’ all the way back in 2005, more than 125,000 new trees and tree hedges – including 125 community orchards, and fruit tree groves – have been planted all across Manchester by both Manchester City Council and partner organisations such as City of Trees, the orchard project, and others.
And that “growing ambition” isn’t stopping there either, as several hundreds more trees are set to be planted over the next six months.
It’s just one part of an emerging 10-year Tree and Woodland Action Plan that’s ultimately setting out to “boost Manchester‘s tree cover” and will be considered at an Environment, Climate Change and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee this week.
The new plan comes after Council-commissioned ‘Growing Manchester’s Trees’ study, which looked at how the city’s treescape has evolved, and how it can be improved for the future, concluded that there’s a significant scope to increase the city’s tree canopy cover from its current level of almost 19% of tree cover to almost 22%.
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Manchester City Council sets out plan to plant tens of thousands of new trees / Credit: Oliver & David Dixon (via Geograph)
The draft of the Tree and Woodland Action Plan that’s being considered this week is said to “envisage the Council working with organisations and other stakeholders across the city” to achieve that goal.
This means that an estimated 64,000 new trees would need to be planted.
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Reaching this ambition will require new collaborative bids to sources such as the Government’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund.
After the planning meeting this week, the Council insists that local Manchester residents will be consulted on the new Tree and Woodland Action Plan – which sits alongside the Council’s existing Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy to promote and protect green open spaces and waterways – before it would officially be adopted.
Around 64,000 new trees could be planted across the city by 2050 / Credit: Alex Indigo (via Flickr)
Should the plan be approved by local Councillors and Manchester residents, it would be adopted sometime in early in 2024.
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“With every year that passes, it feels like we understand more about the benefits of trees – not just in combatting climate change by removing and storing carbon but also in supporting resilience to its impacts by reducing flood risks and providing shade,” admitted Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Environment at Manchester City Council.
“Tens of thousands of trees have been planted since we first started looking at this issue strategically and we now have a better understanding than ever of where our trees are and where more are needed.
“Now we want to work with residents and organisations in the city to support the planting of even more.”
Featured Image – City of Trees
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GMP appeals after pedestrian potentially involved in police pursuit dies following M60 collision
Emily Sergeant
A public appeal has been issued after a pedestrian was killed following a collision between the M60 and M66.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that the pedestrian – confirmed to have been a 19-year-old man – was struck by a vehicle travelling southbound on the M66 as it meets the M60 at Simister Island at around 9:40pm this past Sunday evening (16 November).
According to investigating officers, it’s believed the deceased male may’ve been in a car previously involved in a pursuit with a GMP patrol.
A blue BMW X3 was initially spotted driving at speed on Bury Old Road and then went through a red light, which led to a police pursuit.
Police lost sight of the vehicle, before subsequently finding it on the Junction 18 roundabout of the M60, where it was believed to be abandoned after having collided with another vehicle, and the passengers had fled the scene on foot along the motorway.
Once the BMW passengers had fled the scene, this is what is thought to have lead to a collision with a Tesla – where the 19-year-old man sadly died.
Now, police are appealing to the public for information, witnesses, and CCTV or dashcam footage.
At this time, no arrests have been made in relation to the incident, and in line with what is said to be ‘normal procedure’, referrals have been made to GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for investigation.
Speaking as the appeal has been issued, DC Ian Lawton from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU), said: “Officers initiated a pursuit in accordance with policy after a vehicle failed to stop for police after being seen driving at speed, and the subsequent collision and tragic fatal injuries are now part of an independent review with the IOPC.
“We extend our condolences to the family, and are appealing for anyone with information to please come forward and report.”
Can you help? Any with any information is asked to contact GMP on 0161 856 4741, quoting reference number 3150 of 16/11/2025, or information can also be shared using the ‘report’ tool or LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – David Dixon (via Wikimedia Commons)
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‘Powerful’ new BBC documentary to tell the stories of the Southport victims’ families
Emily Sergeant
The BBC is set to tell the stories of the Southport attack victims’ families in a powerful new documentary airing next month.
The Southport attack was a tragedy that hit the nation like no other last summer, and the new hour-long documentary, titled Our Girls: The Southport Families, follows the parents of three young girls – nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe – who tragically lost their lives in the process.
Last summer, the three little girls had excitedly gone to a Taylor Swift-themed dance class – but tragically, they never came home.
Over the last nine months, a small team from the BBC followed the families’ journey through unimaginable grief and the beginnings of hope, and now their deeply personal interviews are to be shown alongside family footage shared for the first time.
Producers say the ‘moving’ documentary will show the joy the girls brought, and the legacies the parents are now building in their memory.
Set to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in early December, viewers will get to watch as the parents plan to create lasting legacies in their daughters’ names – Alice’s Wonderdance, Bebe’s Hive, and Elsie’s Story.
It will also show the parents’ fundraising efforts to build a playground at the school attended by two of the girls, which they hope will become a space for ‘joy, remembrance, and community’.
“This inspirational film is a heartfelt tribute to Alice, Bebe and Elsie, told through the voices of those who knew and loved them most,” explained Richard Frediani, who is the Executive Editor at BBC Breakfast and BBC News.
“It is both heartbreaking and uplifting, a testament to the strength of three families united in grief and now driven by purpose to ensure their names are never forgotten.”
Sarah Campbell, who is a BBC News correspondent, added: “Our hope is that people will take from their story that it is possible to find light and humanity in the darkest of times.”
Our Girls: The Southport Families will air on BBC One on Tuesday 9 December at 8pm, and will later be available on iPlayer.
Emily Sergeant -
6th November 2023 
