Over a million new trees will be planted in the North West following a £15 million funding boost into The Northern Forest project.
The North of England is home to around 13 million people, but this beautiful part of the country that us Mancunians call home has just 7.6% of woodland cover, which is significantly lower than the England average – and this is why The Woodland Trust launched the ambitious project back in 2018 to transform the landscape of the area for years to come.
The Woodland Trust is working together with City of Trees Manchester, The Mersey Forest, White Rose Forest, HEYwoods, and the Community Forest Trust to drive forward this government-backed initiative.
Stretching from Liverpool across to Hull, with the M62 as its spine, The Northern Forest will comprise of 50 million trees planted over 25 years.
More than a million of those trees will be in the North West.
Simon Mageean – Programme Director for the Northern Forest at The Woodland Trust – said: “This new funding is massively significant for this project and enables us to push on with this new phase.
“Not only do these new trees have the power to transform people’s lives through all the green space they bring in areas of traditionally low tree cover, they are also set to bring a big boost to our fight against climate change and encourage nature recovery.”
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Spanning over 120 miles across the cities of Bradford, Salford, Hull, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, The Northern Forest will help provide natural flood management, boost wildlife habitat for woodland birds and bats, and protect ancient woodland areas and iconic species – such as the red squirrel.
It will also improve health and wellbeing by providing a tranquil space for millions of people living in the area, and will generate more than £2 billion for the country’s economy.
The Northern Forest will comprise of 50 million trees planted over 25 years / Credit: The Woodland Trust
The Northern Forest will both “accelerate the creation of new woodland” and “support sustainable management” of the existing woods right across the area.
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According to the Woodland Trust, more trees, woods and forests will deliver a better environment for all by “improving air quality in our towns and cities, mitigating flood risk in key catchments, supporting the rural economy though tourism, recreation and timber production, connecting people with nature, and helping to deliver improvements to health and wellbeing through welcoming and accessible local green spaces”.
City of Trees is one of the ‘Community Forests’, and is the Greater Manchester part of The Northern Forest.
The Northern Forest will both “accelerate the creation of new woodland” and “support sustainable management” of the existing woods / Credit: The Woodland Trust
Speaking on the new £15 million funding boost, Jessica Thompson – Director at City of Trees – said: “This investment must not only provide the means to ensure our landscape is resilient to our changing climate, but also have a positive impact on people’s lives in the North.
“City of Trees is committed to ensuring that the investment in trees and woodlands open up opportunities for training and green jobs.
“We’ve seen the impacts of COVID-19 and lockdown and people relying on quality greenspace for their mental health and wellbeing [and] we want to encourage people to get directly involved in planting trees and looking after trees for years to come.”
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You can find out more information about The Northern Foresthere.
Featured Image – The Woodland Trust
News
Salford Red Devils granted another adjournment over unpaid debts
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils have been given one more adjournment and yet another stay of execution, being given another two weeks to find the money to cover their unpaid debts.
The local rugby league side, which has been wrapped in all manner of struggles both on and off-pitch over the past year or so, reportedly needs to pay around £700,000 to HMRC alone and still owes roughly £5 million in total to various creditors.
To no surprise, regular matchgoers, neutrals and even rivals alike have expressed their continued disappointment with the club, mainly at the lack of transparency and clarity from the organisation throughout this long, drawn-out process.
This is coming from a wire fan but no club deserves to be left in the dark even longer than they already have done it’s nothing but a disgrace to the sport of rugby those owners and the court should be ashamed of themselves.
Updating fans on social media, this is all the information they have communicated at this time: “Salford Red Devils can confirm that HMRC have granted the club a two-week adjournment, providing additional time in which to secure the necessary funds.
“We would like to reassure supporters that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a positive resolution. Further updates will be shared as soon as possible.”
It’s worth noting that the current owners have reiterated that they inheited around £3m in existing debt before they took over the club, but assurances over their own investments have still come to nothing; meanwhile, with many still waiting on wages, players and staff alike have now left.
Having been propped up by loan players and emergency loans, the team is now closer to a skeleton crew than it is an outfit capable of competing in the premier division.
Either way, the outrage remains and is only growing stronger. One user wrote on X: “A good approach by them if they was legit would be to engage and bring in The 1873 to bridge the communication black hole (they created).
“The problem with that is if they did it would expose them for what they are… Extortionists using the club as a vehicle.”
More alarm bells were raised recently when assistant coach and Krisnan Inu – who was also director of the company set up to take over the business – withdrew himself from a key position behind the scenes.
Speaking of The 1873, the outspoken supporters trust took no time at all in issuing a response of their own, adding: “The judge presiding over today’s case has adjourned by 14 days. This adjournment has dragged the uncertainty on even longer.
“Every delay makes planning for 2026 harder and keeps the club stuck in limbo when it desperately needs clarity and direction.
“The fans, the players and the future all deserve better — The 1873.”
You can see the rest of their statement in full down below, but for now, what do you make of this seemingly neverending saga, Salfordians?
‘Christmas chaos’ on the cards as Manchester tram drivers vote on staging strike action next month
Emily Sergeant
There could be major disruption to festive travel in Greater Manchester next month, as hundreds of tram drivers are currently voting on whether to strike.
Almost 320 tram drivers are being balloted over working conditions and fears around fatigue.
The drivers – who are members of the union, Unite – all work for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots in Manchester – and they operate trams on all routes in Greater Manchester.
As it stands, the drivers’ shift patterns currently mean they have to work 450 hours over a 12-week period, which results in some having to work 50 hours on, followed by just two days off, then back into another 50-hour work pattern.
Drivers also have fewer rest days compared to all other operational departments, and this is said to be causing safety concerns around fatigue.
‘Christmas chaos’ is on the cards as Manchester tram drivers are currently voting on staging strike action next month / Credit: TfGM
Drivers say they concerned about operating heavy vehicles while exhausted and unable to have proper breaks, but after raising the issue with management, Unite has been told there is ‘no funding available’ to support any ‘meaningful’ improvements to working patterns.
Instead, management has asked drivers to start work earlier – which Unite says is only ‘adding insult to injury’.
The ballot is set to close on 11 November, and if drivers vote in favour of industrial action, strikes could then begin in late November, causing widespread cancellations and delays throughout the region during the busy festive shopping period – particularly coinciding with Manchester’s world-famous Christmas Markets, known for attracting millions of visitors to the city each year.
“Any strike action will cause a great deal of disruption but it is entirely the fault of Metrolink, which is not taking the issue of driver fatigue seriously,” commented Unite Regional Officer, Colin Hayden.
Emily Sergeant -
27th September 2021 
