WESTBURY Town Council will offer residents the chance to spruce up their gardens with a free fruit tree as a way to increase biodiversity throughout the town.
The town council’s climate emergency sub-committee want to increase the number of trees in Westbury, but they do not currently own or lease any green space in town. The town council have now decided to offer Westbury residents the opportunity to plant a tree in their own garden – and the town council will be picking up the budget!
The town council aim to have the project in place by the end of November as the tree planting season runs from November to March.
In a statement to White Horse News, the town clerk, Deborah Urch said, “The town council has set aside capital funding for environmental initiatives over the next four years, as part of declaring a climate emergency. This money was agreed through its business planning process and mid-term financial plan.
“The climate emergency sub-committee has set aside £500 to purchase young native fruit trees and offer these free of charge to households. This is initially planned as a pilot to understand what the take up is in Westbury. If successful, we may run a larger programme, or make this offer on an annual basis. All households will be eligible to request one tree on a first-come first-served basis, all they will need is a space to grow a tree and the garden tools required. At this stage, we will not be offering this scheme to businesses, groups, or organisations.
“By providing free, smaller, natively grown fruit trees to households in Westbury, it will increase the number of trees, offer a beautiful addition to a garden, provide a free food source as the trees grow and support local wildlife.”
