£3.8m invested to plant 100,000 new trees in London

The Mayor of London has invested £3.8million into a fund that will plant 100,000 trees.

Grants have been awarded to sixteen projects in London, covering an area equivalent to 1,500 tennis courts.

The funding has been invested into projects including a Garden Network Catalyst Project in Lewisham, North Paddington Canalside in Westminster, West Kensington and Gibbs Green Area Assessment and the Lancaster West Estate landscape in North Kensington.

The funding aims to create 50 hectares of new publicly accessible woodland.

City Hall said the grant is designed to help combat the impacts of the climate crisis London has experienced, such as extreme temperatures, fires and flash floods.

City Hall analysis has revealed that if the necessary action is not taken a quarter of London’s rail stations, one in five schools, nearly half of London’s hospitals and hundreds of thousands of homes and workplaces will be at risk of flooding in the future. 

The Mayor awarded £2.55m in grants to four large-scale projects to improve biodiversity and access to green space in local areas vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – one of which is Consort Park and Dr Harold Moody Park in Southwark which will have the road between them removed as part of the project.

Sadiq Khan said: “Trees, green spaces and the natural environment have a critical role to play in tackling the climate and ecological emergency, and planting 100,000 new trees, including 50 hectares of new publicly accessible woodland will help make London a better, greener and safer place for everyone.

“I will continue to take bold action, particularly in the areas of the capital most vulnerable to climate change impacts.”

Pictured top: Consort Park and Dr Harold Moody Park in Southwark which is set to receive funding to boost biodiversity (Picture: GLA)