Issues and Options for the Ipswich Local Plan Review

Comment

Representation ID: 24898

Received: 27/10/2017

Respondent: The Woodland Trust

The plan should recognise the role trees/woods can play as part of SUDS. Woodland can help adaptation strategies cope with the high profile threats to water quality and volume resulting from climate change. The FC's publication, The Case for Trees (2010) explains how: 'the capacity of trees to attenuate water flow reduces the impact of heavy rain/floods and can improve the effectiveness of SUDS'. Trees can help reduce surface water flooding in urban situations too, regulating the rate at which rainfall reaches the ground. Slowing the flow increases infiltration and the ability of engineered drains to takeaway excess water.

Comment

Representation ID: 24905

Received: 27/10/2017

Respondent: The Woodland Trust

We favour the use of access standards to determine the amount of new greenspace which may be required, particularly as part of new housing or commercial development. The Woodland Trust has developed an access to woodland standard for use by local authorities. This aspires that everyone should have a small wood of at least two hectares in size within 500 metres of their home.
Tree planting/woodland creation can be developed in other ways. Putting street trees in new and existing housing areas can be of great benefit, particularly in reducing air pollution.

Comment

Representation ID: 24911

Received: 27/10/2017

Respondent: The Woodland Trust

We strongly support the Council's proposal to include a country park and around 20 ha of new woodland as part of the Ipswich Garden Suburb. We do not have sufficiently detailed knowledge of Ipswich to be able to recommend other areas for tree planting and woodland creation. However, we are ready to work with the Council on taking forward planting when you have identified suitable areas.

Comment

Representation ID: 24913

Received: 27/10/2017

Respondent: The Woodland Trust

We recognise that the cost of maintenance of landscapes/open space is a significant issue for councils. We would ask you to consider planting of small areas of woodland on existing areas of grass, where these are less well used, or in new developments to put in woodland before the houses are built. Our report, Trees or Turf shows clearly that woodland gives many more environmental, social and economic benefits than does short mown grass (e.g. carbon sequestration, removal of pollutants from the atmosphere, shading of buildings in summer etc) and can also be managed significantly more cheaply.