Yorkshire Water creating a new 25-hectare woodland outside Cottingham

Yorkshire Water is planting over 38,000 native trees to create a new woodland on its land outside Cottingham, near Hull. 

The new 25-hectare woodland will see 38,325 native trees planted in collaboration with the Woodland Trust. This project is funded by DEFRA’s Nature for Climate Fund under the Northern Forest ‘Grow back Greener’ grant scheme administered by the Woodland Trust. It will help to deliver the Humber Forest and the wider Northern Forest stretching from Liverpool to Hull, and work has started this week (28 November). 

The native trees, such as oak, birch, aspen, rowan and wild cherry, will be planted on land around Yorkshire Water’s Cottingham Water Pumping Station, which provides clean drinking water to Cottingham and surrounding areas. The Pumping Station is located next to Hull City AFC’s training ground. 

Hazel Earnshaw, lead countryside and woodland advisor, at Yorkshire Water, said: “Woodland cover in England currently stands at 10% of total land area. The East Riding of Yorkshire has a canopy cover of just 5.05%. This woodland will be on the outskirts of the least wooded city in the UK. We are always looking at better ways to use our land to help improve the environment and protect water quality and this project at Cottingham will help to do both. 

“The new woodland will help boost local biodiversity, protect water quality and help with climate change. Alongside the typical large woodland trees such as oak we’ll also plant lots of smaller flowering species such as cherry and hawthorn to help support biodiversity and enhance the landscape. 

“We are also planning to extend access to the area to include new permissive routes, while being sensitive to the need to protect water quality and retain some areas exclusively for nature conservation. By improving access to local people, we can help support health and wellbeing and improve physical and mental health.” 

Yorkshire Water will hold community planting days after Christmas where residents can help plant some of the trees.  

Alasdair Fagan, lead outreach advisor at the Woodland Trust, said: “We are delighted to be involved in this project which will provide more trees for the Humber Forest and wider Northern Forest, stretching from Liverpool to Hull. Although East Yorkshire has lots of natural features it is particularly low on tree and woodland cover. The woodland will comprise of 24 native tree species and these trees will bring many benefits – for nature with new homes for wildlife, by capturing carbon to help combat climate change, and for people bringing them more access to nature and all the wellbeing benefits this brings.” 
 
The new tree planting project follows similar schemes across Yorkshire Water land to create new woodlands. To date Yorkshire Water has planted almost 300,000 trees with many more planned for this winter.