New trees planted in Sandwell's open spaces in green initiative
A council is marking the completion of the first stage of a series of tree-planting projects in its borough.
Sandwell Council has celebrated planting 1,000 trees and 300 shrubs in the Yew Tree and Painswick Close open spaces as part of the council's commitment to making the borough a greener and more welcoming place.
The project, which chose the site for planting following discussions with the local community, is funded by the Woodland Trust as part of its MoreWoods project and by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
The initiative is intended to be the first in a series of tree planting projects across Sandwell and the wider region in a coordinated approach with the West Midlands Combined Authority through the Virtual Forest Initiative, since 2020, almost 600,000 newly planted have been registered by residents, businesses and local authorities.
Councillor Charn Singh Padda, Sandwell Council cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said: "This project shows how important it is for us as a council to ensure that Sandwell is a green and pleasant borough in which to live and to visit.
"I look forward to seeing more and more projects such as this throughout the borough."
The project will see more new trees planted across Sandwell's green spaces in years to come.
Councillor Pete Hughes, Sandwell Council's cabinet member for regeneration and the WMCA, said: "Sometimes people may think of regeneration as being solely about projects such as large construction sites, but this kind of project is also vital to ensure that Sandwell in particular and the West Midlands more widely are places in which people want to do business."
