What is Woodland Creation?
Woodland Creation is a Cambridgeshire County Council initiative. The project aims to increase tree and woodland canopy cover, as well as expand hedgerows across the county and opening up potential opportunities, such as agroforestry.
. These actions help deliver:
- vital benefits for climate resilience
- carbon storage
- flood management
- biodiversity
- air quality
- public health.
This work also supports the ambitions of the County Council’s Tree and Woodland Strategy, which includes:
- deepening our understanding of existing tree and hedgerow assets
- designing planting approaches that improve access to trees and woodlands
- expanding and better connecting trees, woods and hedgerows across Cambridgeshire
The project is also aligned with priority Woodland Actions identified through the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS).
It helps to strengthen ecological networks and create a more resilient natural environment.
Please find the extracted Cambridgeshire and Peterborough LNRS Woodland actions in the pdf below.
Why do we need to create woodland in Cambridgeshire?
Cambridgeshire is one of the most tree‑depleted counties in England. Historic land‑use change, intensive agriculture, and the loss of traditional hedgerows and woodlands have left the landscape with limited tree cover. Many habitats are now small, isolated, or fragmented. This means wildlife has fewer connected spaces to move, feed and breed. The wider landscape is less resilient to climate change, flooding and declining soil health.
To address this we are working with communities, parishes, landowners and tenant farmers to expand and reconnect woodland, hedgerow and habitat networks across the county. Creating new areas of woodland and linking them to existing habitats. This will help
- strengthen ecological corridors
- improve biodiversity and flood management
- store carbon
- support healthier, more resilient landscapes.
Our approach is guided by the Lawton’s principles of nature recovery:
Bigger, Better, More and Joined Up.
This means:
- Bigger – expanding habitat areas so they can support more species and function more effectively
- Better – improving the condition and quality of existing habitats
- More – creating additional sites across the landscape
- Joined Up – connecting habitats so wildlife can move freely between them.
Applying these principles will guide woodland creation in Cambridgeshire. It will be strategic and coordinated. It will work at a true landscape scale. This will enable more efficient and effective delivery across partners, landowners and communities.
It recognises that delivering meaningful landscape-scale change needs collaboration. It depends on those who manage and care for the land.
Help shape Cambridgeshire’s Nature Recovery Network
We are inviting local community and parish groups, landowners and farmers to register interest in supporting the county’s expanding woodland, hedgerow and habitat‑creation efforts, as well as opening up potential opportunities, such as agroforestry.
We are seeking expressions of interest from those who may have land over 0.5ha suitable for:
- tree planting or small‑scale woodland creation
- hedgerow improvement or expansion
- broader nature‑recovery opportunities such as connecting habitats across the landscape.
We are especially interested in:
- lower‑grade agricultural land
- land next to existing habitats such as woodlands, wetlands, meadows or heathland
- land that can help to connect ecological networks across Cambridgeshire.
This call supports the Council’s climate and biodiversity goals. It recognises that true landscape‑scale change can only happen in partnership with those who manage and care for the land.
How to take part - call for sites
If you have land that may be suitable, please complete the secure online form by 30 June 2026 for the 2026/27 planting season.
Support available for community groups, landowners and farmers
Eligible landowners may be able to access:
- free tree packs for small‑scale planting
- free hedge packs with guards and canes to strengthen or extend hedgerows
- subsidised woodland planting through the MOREwoods programme, supported by a financial contribution from the Council.
These options are designed to support landowners of all sizes, from small planting opportunities to new woodland creation.
Online safety: A reassurance for applicants
We understand concerns about clicking unfamiliar links or downloading files. Please be assured that:
- the link provided leads to a secure Cambridgeshire County Council online form
- you will not be asked to download anything
- you will not be asked for sensitive or financial information.
Submitting a site does not indicate any intention by the Council to buy, lease or take ownership of your land. This is purely to register interest and begin a voluntary discussion.
Contact
For further information about the project contact: ecology@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
