Trees, hedges and woodland

Get involved

There are plenty of ways to get involved with tree planting; whether you would like to plant trees on your land, plant trees at a volunteering event, or generally learn more about resources, funding and support for tree planting.

If you are a DCC employee and would like to learn more about tree planting volunteering opportunities, please complete this short survey
If you do not work for DCC but are interested in tree planting volunteering events, please visit the Parklife SW Eventbrite Page
If you are interested in tree planting and would like to plan your own project, we recommend you check out the Right Place Right Tree guidance.
If you would like to learn more about the resources and support for tree planting, including funding and grant projects, please visit the Devon LNP

Why Devon's trees, hedges and woodland are important

Trees, hedges and woodland are an integral part of Devon’s countryside and towns, and they provide multiple benefits to society, including filtering air pollution, reducing surface water runoff /contributing to sustainable drainage, providing wildlife habitats, improving water quality and the stabilising of soils and slopes.

Devon’s hedges are particularly special. They are of great historical importance, define the county’s beautiful farmed landscapes, and support an immense amount of wildlife. The Devon Hedge Group website provides information on Devon’s hedges are why they are so important for biodiversity and landscape.

Also of special value are Devon’s orchards, Ancient Woodland, veteran trees & ancient pasture woodland as they form part of its historic landscapes, including many historic parkland estates and deigned landscapes. Download the Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Guide which explains what ancient & veteran trees are and why they are important. Also visit the Ancient Tree Inventory, which allows users to search, submit and update records for ancient/veteran trees.

Trees, hedges and woodland are also key parts of our green infrastructure in and around cities and towns – visit the Devon County Council GI strategy

Guidance on establishing new trees and hedges

In 2021, Devon Local Nature Partnership published the ‘Right Place Right Tree’ guidance. This should serve as a starting point to anyone looking to plant trees or increase tree cover. To access the guidance head over to Right Place Right Tree – Devon Local Nature Partnership (devonlnp.org.uk)

For guidance on establishing new street trees, Devon County Council has recently produced a guidance document on ensuring the successful establishment of street trees, which provides a wealth of information on tree establishment and long term protection.

The Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) has also produced a number of useful documents on the establishment of trees within urban areas. One such document is the Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure: A Guide for Specifiers, which looks to improve species selection so that urban designers can provide our towns and cities with diverse and resilient palette of trees that are capable of thriving in challenging urban environments. Please also visit Trees in Townscapes: A Guide for Decision Makers and Trees in Hard Landscapes: A Guide for Delivery for further information.

The Forestry Commission has also produced a Tree Care Guide to help with the establishment and growth of planted trees. The Woodland Trust has also produced a wide range of helpful guidance in creating and establishing woodland.

The Forestry Commission has also produced an Urban Tree Manual that provides advice on selecting and procuring the right tree for the right place in urban areas. It also highlights long term issues of the threats to existing trees from pests, disease and climate change, and describes the benefits to the environment and for the wellbeing that urban trees can provide.

For guidance on establishing new hedges and hedgerow trees, please visit the Devon Hedge Group website.

Ash dieback and other threats to Devon's trees, hedges and woodland

Devon’s trees, hedges and woodland are subject to constant pressures arising from both natural and human sources. These include urban expansion, the effects of climate change, management neglect, alterations to agricultural practices, and risks posed by pests and diseases introduced from other parts of the world.

Future climate change could lead to a change in the frequency of extreme weather events, such as strong winds, winter storms and droughts. This will put significant stress on many of our native trees and hedge species that are not adapted to such extreme conditions.

The threat from introduced pests and diseases to our trees, hedges and woodlands has never been greater. You can reduce the risk of further contamination and spreading of harmful insects, bacterial and fungal organisms by employing good biosecurity measures. The Forestry Commission provide guidance on biosecurity and preventing the introduction and spread of harmful organisms – pests, pathogens or invasive species. For general guidance, DEFRA’s publication Tree Management Plan (April 2014) gives further information.

A current major threat to Devon’s trees, hedges and woodland is arising from the spread of ash dieback throughout the county. For more information, including a call for action now to combat this disease in Devon, please visit the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum website

Protection of Devon's trees, hedges and woodland

There are a number of ways that trees are protected by law within the UK. These include Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs), Conservation Areas, the Felling Licence system, Restrictive Covenants, and planning conditions within the planning system. It is important to find out from your local council whether any legal restrictions apply before you undertake any work on trees as you may be liable to prosecution if permission is not first obtained – The Arboricultural Association has produced a useful guide to Trees and the Law.

Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) are orders made by the local district planning authority to protect specific trees, groups of trees or woodlands in the interests of amenity. Please visit your local district council website to find out the location of TPO’s in your area. For further information, please visit the government advice pages on Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas.

Each of Devon’s city/district council TPO pages can be found below:

Hedges are protected under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 and removal of a hedgerow needs to be agreed with your local district planning authority first to make sure it’s legal to do so. For more information on the Hedgerow Regulations and your role and responsibilities, please visit the above link. More information about protection can again be found on the Devon Hedge Group website.

Trees, hedges and woodland can also be protected through the development and use of best practice guidelines such as the British Standard 8545:2014 (Trees: from nursery to independence in the landscape), British Standard 5837:2012 (Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction) and other useful guidance published by The Trees and Design Action Group.

Devon County Council's roles and responsibilities

Devon County Council, as the highway authority, recognises that trees can pose threats to health and safety – particularly along highways in where they are in close proximity to buildings. In order to manage this health and safety risk, trees experts regularly inspect trees on Devon County Council land.

Furthermore, many hedges and trees grow on the edge of the highway and mark its boundary with private property. In these cases, the adjacent landowner or occupier is responsible for maintaining them. To find out more about the maintenance of roadside hedgerows, please visit the Devon County Council hedge maintenance webpages.

To find out advice on dead/dangerous trees, and information on Devon County Council’s policy and guidance towards trees, please visit the Devon County Council tree maintenance webpages.

Devon County Council also plays an important role within its partnership working, such as with the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum, the Devon Local Nature Partnership, the Devon Hedge Group and inputting into AONB and National Park Management Plans.

Current projects and grant schemes

Devon County Council and its partners are involved in a number of projects across the county which are looking at tree and woodland planting.

Saving Devon’s Treescapes, supported by Devon County Council, aimed to provide hope and action in the face of the alarming changes that are already affecting Devon’s precious treescapes. This partnership project is led by Devon Wildlife Trust and has supported local communities across the county to plant and nurture thousands of replacement trees.

The Emergency Tree Fund Project was funded by the Woodland Trust. Through this grant, Devon County Council was awarded almost £300k to spend on tree planting across Devon. As of 2024, Devon County Council have planted over 40,000 trees through this funding, working closely with district, parish, town councils and community groups. In 2023, Devon County Council were successful in securing further funding from Forestry Commission through the Local Authority Treescapes Fund. This grant funding effectively extended the Emergency Tree Fund project duration and allowed DCC to keep funding new tree planting.

The Woodland Creation Accelerator Project was funded by Forestry Commission and is being led by Devon County Council in partnership with Plymouth City Council. This project has accelerated tree planting across Devon by providing the staffing resource to administer more grant schemes. This work also involved DCC working more closely with the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest team. This project has an ambitious target to plant over 400ha of trees across several years, with the majority of these trees being planted in the PSDCF area.

The Woodland Trust also offer support for large scale funding through MOREwoods; this funding is designed to help create new habitat for wildlife across the UK.

DEFRA are offering funding to farmers and land managers in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), National Parks and the Broads through The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.

Other grants available to landowners for woodland planting include the England Woodland Creation Offer, the Hedgerows and Boundaries Grant Scheme and Countryside Stewardship.

To find out more about grant funding and resources for tree planting please visit the Devon LNP.

Devon Hedge Group

How many trees does Devon County Council plant?

Devon County Council does not have a single, co-ordinated programme for tree planting.

Instead, different parts of the authority get involved in tree planting for a variety of reasons including:

Supporting nature recovery, landscape enhancement and amenity
Countering the effects of tree disease, specifically ash dieback
Addressing climate change, particularly by sequestering carbon through the growth of trees
Offsetting and ameliorating the unavoidable impacts of new development and infrastructure schemes, including the achievement of ‘biodiversity net gain’.

Some tree planting is undertaken directly by the County Council on land that its owns or controls, for example, in its Country Parks, on its farms estate, or on the highway network.

Far more planting is undertaken on land owned or controlled by others, but facilitated by the County Council through grant schemes, free tree initiatives or through its funding of, or involvement in, projects led by others. A selection of these is described in the tab above ‘Current projects and grant schemes’.

Since 2016, Devon County Council has funded the planting of just over 49,000 trees. See below an infographic which highlights the areas planted within 2016-2022 (approx.18,000 trees).

A3 DCC Trees 2016-2022

In our most recent tree planting season (2023-2024), we maintained momentum, planting 14,150 trees, across Devon, predominantly on private land. In the season prior, we planted 17,125 trees across 21 sites (excluding free tree scheme sites), over a mix of public and private land.

Given the variety of approaches to tree planting, there is no way of properly recording all of the trees planted by or on behalf of Devon County Council. However, provided below are two tables which list:

Tree planting supported / funded by DCC on land owned or controlled by others.
Tree planting undertaken by DCC on land in its ownership / control, excluding any planting that is undertaken linked to new development or infrastructure schemes (the details of which are available through relevant planning applications)

Please make note that the tree planting included in the following tables is ‘additional tree planting’ and does not factor in tree planting carried out by DCC linked to planning and development. For example, DCC planted just over 7500 trees through the recent Modbury Cross woodland creation and road landscape reinstatement scheme. This type of planting is not additional and is therefore not included in the following tables.

Table 1.

Tree Planting Supported / Funded by DCC on Land Owned by Others

YEAR	MONTH	LOCATION	WHIPS	STANDARDS	SPECIES	PURPOSE
2024	Feb./March	Carter Avenue	785		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	St John’s Playing Field	215		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	nr Glenn Cottage	425		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	Knowle Farm	725		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	Sweetfield West	475		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	Rodsworthy Lane	1200		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	Shooting Lane	825		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	Nr Chipley Quarries	1200		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	Trigon Farm	1475		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	A399 Ridgegate	1250		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2024	Feb./March	Aller Brook	1425		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	December	50 privately owned sites around Devon	2250		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Phear Park, Exmouth	230		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Imperial Recreation Ground, Exmouth	145		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Honiton Bottom, Honiton	234		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	The Glen, Honiton	40		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Jurassic Car park, Seaton	153		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Multiple (additional planting at sites listed in the above 5 cells)	298		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	New Cemetery, Newton Poppleford	525	5	Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Sports Field, Newton Poppleford	800	26	Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Old Cemetery, Newton Poppleford		8	Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Burrow Green, Newton Poppleford		4	Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	December	150 privately owned sites around Devon	6750		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Jawbones, Dartmouth, TQ6	400		Mixed broadleaves	Queen’s Green Canopy event plus 3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	The Spinney, Woodlands, Ivybridge, PL21 9TU	100		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Blachford Road, Ivybridge PL21 0AD	500		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Ivybridge Cemetery, Woodland Road, Ivybridge	250		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Greenway, Crediton	20		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Avranches, Crediton	30		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Lord’s Meadow (field eastern end), Crediton	100		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Lord’s Meadow (western park), Crediton	50		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Barnfield, Crediton	15		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Starkey Close, Tidcombe Walk, Tiverton	100		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Graters Copse, Tiverton	50		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Land east of Heathcoat Way, Paradise, Tiverton	50		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Crow Bridge, near Shortlands Road, Cullompton	200		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Filham Park, Ivybridge	600		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Victoria Park, Ivybrige	500		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	MacAndrews Field, Ivybridge	300		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	St Peters Way, Ivybridge	50		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Holman Way, Ivybridge	50		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Wembury Primary School, Knighton Road	600		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Public Recreation Field, Thomas Down	225		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Wembury Community Orchard	275		Native hedge shrubs	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2022	Feb./March	Wembury Recreation Ground, Barton Close	250		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2021	Dec.	Follaton Arboretum, Totnes	200		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement, carbon and wildlife benefit *
2021	Dec.	70 privately owned sites around Devon	3,150		Oak, Birch & Hazel	3/2/1 ADB & Queen’s Green Canopy planting Devon Free Tree Packs *
2021	Jan./Feb.	40 privately owned sites around Devon	1,800		Oak, Birch & Rowan	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement planting through Devon Free Tree Packs
2020	Oct.	Westpoint, nr. Exeter		26	Orchard apple varieties	New orchard planting arranged by DCC to support launch of Saving Devon’s Treescapes
2020	Feb.	40 privately owned sites around Devon	1,800		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement planting through Devon Free Tree Packs
2020	Feb.	31 sites around Devon owned by parish councils	31		Oak, rowan, small-leaved lime, Cherry dun ‘mazzard’, wild cherry, hornbeam, beech	3/2/1/ ash dieback commemorative landmark tree planting (size 100-180cm)
2019	March	Farm Nr. Hemyock	1,350		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 ash dieback replacement planting / wildlife benefit – tree planting and new hedge
2018		No records available
2017		No records available
2016		No records available
		Total =	34,471	69

Notes:

1. These figures exclude DCC’s most significant support for tree planting through the ‘Saving Devon’s Treescapes Project, which for £50,000 / year was provided in 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22. The ‘Delivery Phase’ of this lottery assisted project aims to plant 250,000 trees,at a large number of publicly and privately owned sites across Devon, particularly in 5 ‘focus areas’.

2. In relation to line 6 (Westpoint), all 26 orchard trees were purchased in October, but only 6 planted-out immediately; the remaining 20 will be planted in January 2021

3. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are planting scheme which form part of the DCC Emergency Tree Fund initiative. Some of this planting has been arranged directly by DCC but in many cases it has been done through grant agreements with the relevant District Councils.

Version 2 – March 2022

Table 2.

Tree Planting Undertaken by Devon County Council

YEAR	MONTH	LOCATION	WHIPS	STANDARDS	SPECIES	PURPOSE
2024	Feb./March	Southacott Farm, Mariansleigh	1900		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit
2023	Feb./March	Glebe Farm, Rattery	1325		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Cobberton Farm (1), Tigley	1050		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Cobberton Farm (2), Tigley	1200		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Bulleigh Elms Farm, Ipplepen	3250		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Ashburton Road, Bovey Tracey	645		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit *
2023	Feb./March	Bowd Junction, Sidmouth	450		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit *
2022	March	Middle Winsham Farm, Nr. Braunton	325		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit *
2021	Dec.	Grand Western Canal Country Park & LNR		50	Mixed broadleaves	Celebration of 50th Anniversary of the Country Park*
2021	Nov.	County Hall, Exeter		2	Oak & Birch	Queen’s Green Canopy – Planting to Celebrate Platinum Jubilee
2020	Not known	Grand Western Canal Country Park & LNR	55	5	Mixed broadleaves	Gapping-up of hedges alongside canal / Amenity trees
2019	Dec.	Stover Country Park & LNR	2,000		Mixed broadleaves	Conservation management – planting around new wetland management system
2019	Dec.	Lower Chitterly Farm, Silverton	200		Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Wildlife benefit
2019	Nov.	County Hall, Exeter		9	Mixed broadleaves	3/2/1 Ash dieback replacement / Carbon sequestration / Amenity benefit
2019	Jan. / Feb.	Stover Country Park & LNR	1,200		Mixed broadleaves	Conservation management – restocking of felled conifer block with broadleaves.
2019	Not known	Grand Western Canal Country Park & LNR	35	1	Mixed broadleaves	Gapping-up of hedges alongside canal / Amenity tree
2018	Not known	Grand Western Canal Country Park & LNR	600		Mixed broadleaves	New length of hedge close to canal
2017	Not known	Grand Western Canal Country Park & LNR	225	3	Mixed broadleaves	Gapping-up of hedges alongside canal / Amenity trees
2016	Not known	Grand Western Canal Country Park & LNR	275	4	Mixed broadleaves	Gapping-up of hedges alongside canal / Amenity trees

		TOTAL =	14,735	74

Notes:

Sites with an asterisk (*) show where planting was undertaken as part of DCC’s Emergency Tree Fund initiative.

To date, DCC has planted 49,349 trees (2016-2024)

Version 4 – April 2023

Why is there such a strong focus on tree planting?