Gloucester City Council urgently seeking a tree officer

Trees provide habitats for wildlife, contribute to cleaner air and provide cover on hot and rainy days

A council planning to plant more trees to tackle climate change is struggling to fill the job vacancy.

Gloucester City Council is aiming to achieve net zero emissions across the district by 2045, a target which was brought forward from 2050.

Currently, the role is being partially covered by existing staff.

Council leader, Richard Cook, said: "A number of short-term options are being explored whilst the job description is being reviewed."

As well as planting trees, the tree officer's duties would involve checking on the health of trees and responding to concerns over trees in the city.

A spokesperson from the council said the salary and terms and conditions of the role are competitive, but recruitment is more challenging than usual in the current job market.

The job description and pay grade evaluation are currently being reviewed, given the lack of interest in the role.

Councillor Sebastian Field highlighted the importance of filling the vacancy quickly.

He said: "The issue for us is that the tree team is very busy and has been overwhelmed by tree work and we feel the budget is not big enough to deal with all the tree works in the city.

"It's all well and good to plant trees. We desperately need more trees and it's part of the climate action plan but we also have to maintain the ones we have," he added.

The role will be advertised again, and in the meantime, the council has said it is working hard to minimise the impact on service during the recruitment process.