Cash granted for two new 'micro woods' in Selby and Tadcaster

The woods will be planted in 2024/25

Two new mini-woodlands are to be created in North Yorkshire to mark the King's coronation.

The "micro woods" will be funded by a £35,000 grant from the government's Coronation Living Heritage Fund.

They will each be about the size of a tennis court and will be planted at Wighill Playground in Tadcaster and the Leeds Road Recreation Ground in Selby.

North Yorkshire Council said the sites were chosen as they were among housing development and near schools.

The authority said the site at Wighill Playground would be about 3,300 sq ft (300 sq m) and the Selby site would be 3,498 sq ft (325 sq m).

Both will be planted in 2024/25 with a variety of locally-grown native broadleaved trees and shrub species.

The council said they would create a natural habitat in two urban areas and by capturing carbon dioxide emissions would contribute to its climate change strategy.

Micro woodlands grow much faster than conventional woodland planting schemes and also absorb more carbon due to their density.

"These woodlands will also create rich habitats for wildlife to flourish, and act as another asset to help contribute to our carbon reduction goals," said Greg White, the council's executive member for waste services.

The Coronation Living Heritage Fund is supported by £2.5m in funding through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' £758m Nature for Climate Fund.