A housebuilder has helped plant 125 trees on the edge of a new neighbourhood taking shape in the Staffordshire village of Essington. Vistry Group is building 230 new homes at Bovis Homes’ The Steadings development off Hobnock Road in the village.
The housebuilder has teamed up with local volunteer group, the Friends of Essington, and Forest of Mercia – a company which runs environmentally-friendly projects – to plant the saplings on a third of an acre plot of land outside the development.
Members of both organisations and Bovis Homes employees planted a mix of rowan, cherry, crab apple and birch trees, on land next to Hobnock Road on Wednesday 2 March.
Colin Richards, a founder member of Friends of Essington, said: “We are delighted that Bovis Homes agreed to get involved when we and Forest of Mercia approached them about allowing us to plant some trees on their land outside the development.
“As a village volunteer group, we are always looking out for ways that we can improve the local environment and this is a perfect example of being able to make that happen. Tree planting and litter picking are two obvious ways in which we can help make Essington, and the surrounding area, a better place to live in.
“It was enjoyable to go along on the day and plant these trees which we hope will help put a smile on the faces of people who walk or drive along that section of Hobnock Road.”
Forest of Mercia CIC, which is based in Hilton Green, near Essington, is a not-for-profit organisation which organises and runs environmentally-friendly projects across Staffordshire and the West Midlands.
The company is taking part in the government-funded Trees for Climate scheme which provides trees to be planted throughout England.
Dave Knowles, a director at Forest of Mercia CIC, said: “The Friends of Essington came up with the idea and we contacted Bovis Homes about the possibility of planting these trees outside The Steadings. To our delight they were very receptive and helpful and allowed the event to happen.
“We got the saplings through the Trees for Climate scheme and met with volunteers from the Friends of Essington and staff from Bovis Homes to carry out the planting. It was a nice touch from Bovis Homes to see some of their people come along to help us plant the trees.
“These trees, as all trees do, will help improve the air quality in the local environment by taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it as carbon. They are quite nice to look at too.”
Freya Halsall, marketing assistant at Vistry Mercia, said: “We were more than happy to get involved and allow the groups to plant the trees on our land at the edge of The Steadings.
“As a socially responsible housebuilder, we feel it is very important to enhance the areas in which we build new homes. These trees will make the neighbourhood greener and provide a much more pleasing aspect to the development as a whole.”
Forest of Mercia also worked with Vistry to plant 165 trees at Bovis Homes’ Fletcher’s Rise location in nearby Wombourne.
Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News
