Decision details

Purpose of Report

To seek agreement to use a specific Council owned site for the development of a new woodland. The proposed location was detailed at Appendix A to the report.

Decision

That the identified site, as detailed at Appendix A to the report, be transferred to Community Services to develop the site as a new woodland / wildlife habitat to improve biodiversity for the City.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

To not proceed with this proposal.

Reasons for the Decision

The City of Lincoln Council had declared a climate change emergency, and was taking a number of steps to drive local changes where it could, specifically to contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change. One way in which the Council proposed to achieve this was to develop a project where more trees could be planted, helping not only to make a physical change, but also to promote the benefits and value of trees in the wider city, signifying as they do, that there was still hope that the most severe impacts of climate change could be avoided.

To achieve this, it had been necessary to consider a wide range of possible sites in Council ownership, and to assess their viability for planting by being mindful of other competing pressures for development, and their existing habitat value.

The proposed site was currently grassland, approximately 3.45ha in size, and was situated between Simon’s Hill allotments and the River Witham. It could be accessed from the cycle / footpath, which ran between Newark Road and Boultham Park.  It was not proposed that this area would be fully open to the public for two reasons: a) public access spaces carried a higher level of maintenance requirements that imposed an extra cost and b) it would be a nature conservation area, so disturbance by the public would be minimised to protect the ecological value.