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Urban Forest Strategy

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The 2050 Urban Forest Strategy for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole provides a vision, key guiding principles, and priorities for action so that residents, visitors and businesses in our conurbation get the most from trees both now an in the future.

Few coastal conurbations can boast a treescape as diverse, extensive, and spectacular as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's.

In light of the quality of this resource, the production of an up-to-date strategy focused on trees and woodlands was one of the key action points identified in the adopted Green Infrastructure Strategy.

The strategy replaces legacy documents previously used in each of the individual former authorities and offers an up-to-date road map that will be part of the draft Local Plan.

This will sit alongside the Green Infrastructure Strategy, Climate Action plan, Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan and forthcoming Urban Greening design guide and Dorset Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

About the Urban Forest Strategy

The Urban Forest Strategy was written by a Green Infrastructure Planning Consultant, under the supervision of a working group involving multiple council departments that since January 2023, including Greenspaces, Planning policy, Planning development, Urban development, Highways, Community services as well as with representation from Public Health Dorset.

Wide public consultation was progressed and resulted in a Tree and Woodland Engagement Survey conducted from 24 October 2022 to 2 January 2023, which attracted 308 responses. Additionally, two half-day stakeholder workshops were held on 29 September 2022 and 10 March 2023 with a cross-sector and multidisciplinary group of over 50 participants. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councillors have also been engaged, through the workshops, and in separate briefings.

These activities have added legitimacy to decisions taken on the design, implementation and actions planned for the strategy. The views collated have enabled the writing of a robust and coherent strategy to 2050 that sets out the Strategy Vision:

By 2050 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will be home to a sustainable urban forest delivering benefits to people and wildlife in every neighbourhood, according to its character and needs.

Trees and woodlands, regardless of ownership, will be managed in balance with our valuable open heathland habitats as a critical infrastructure and a positive investment underpinning healthy lives in a nature-rich setting.

Our urban forest will attract widespread stewardship amongst residents, young and old, businesses, developers, landowners, council departments and other public, private, and not for profit partners.

The strategy is guided by 6 principles:

  • fairness - grow the urban forest providing access to trees for all residents
  • benefits - consistently utilise the full range of benefits that trees can provide
  • resilience - nurture a healthy, diverse, and climate resilient local tree population
  • responsibility - build a committed and knowledgeable community of professionals and individuals caring for local trees
  • value - coordinate and improve data and resources to optimise benefits derived from the local tree population
  • innovation - use research to build a better future for trees and their uses

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