In 2020, Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) set a target to plant 1 million trees by 2030. However, it has failed to set a) an annual tree planting target b) include it as one of the Council’s Key Performance Indicators. As a result, it is probably little surprise from the evidence to date that tree planting rates are falling woefully short of the required rate.
On 27th August 2025, I wrote to the Chair of CBC’s Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee about the issues highlighted above and asked three questions. The email is set out in full below.
“As Chair of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, I am sure you will be aware of Central Bedfordshire Council’s (CBC’s) target to plant 1 million trees by 2030. This target is set out in the Central Bedfordshire Sustainability Plan 2023-2030 (2024 refresh) under Milestone 3.5.3 on page 50.
This target is also highlighted in CBC’s ‘Strategic Plan Aim 3’, which is contained in Appendix B of the meeting pack for the 4th September 2025 meeting of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, although in this case it seems to have been downgraded to an aspiration, not a target. I have also attached a screenshot of the relevant portion of this Appendix. You will see that the description does not make sense, as the sentence – “These would not all be planted by CBC and would also reflect.” despite the full stop, is clearly incomplete.
Descriptions
1. Can you advise me what the missing part of this sentence is, as it is relevant to how CBC is to achieve the 1 million trees target?
Although CBC’s Sustainability Plan sets out a target of 1 million trees planted in the Central Bedfordshire area by 2030, inexplicably, there is no annual target for tree planting by which the Council can be held accountable. Further, while the 1 million trees by 2030 forms part of the Sustainability Plan, it is not included in the Executives’ Key Performance Indicators. Without an annual target for tree planting in Central Bedfordshire, and the absence of tree planting statistics in the CBC Executive’s Key Performance Indicators, it is hardly surprising that the rate of tree planting is falling well short of that required to achieve the 1 million tree target.
One of the Council’s core aims is to: “Ensure that environmental, sustainability and climate resilience impact will be at the heart of all Council decision-making”.
2. Can you advise me why Central Bedfordshire Council has set a target to plant 1 million trees by 2030, but has failed to set an annual tree planting target, and tree planting rates are not included as one of the CBC Executive’s Key Performance Indicators?
Central Bedfordshire Council’s tree planting for the last five years is set out below. Figures are taken from CBC records. There are some minor statistical conflicts, amounting to a few hundred trees, depending on which source is used.
| Year | Trees Planted |
| 2020/21 | 4,599 |
| 2021/22 | 19,942 |
| 2022/23 | 42,735 |
| 2023/24 | 14,304 |
| 2024/25 | 7,030 |
The total number of trees planted in Central Bedfordshire from 2020-2025 is 88,610 or 88,542, depending upon the source. This means that around 900,000 trees will need to be planted in the next 5 years, at a rate of around 182,000 trees for each of the next five years.
3. Can you advise me how Central Bedfordshire Council intends to meet the 1 million tree planting target by 2030, as contained in its Sustainability Plan?”
There followed a flurry of activity, and I was grateful to receive responses from both an Executive Member and the relevant Council Officer. For clarity, Executive members are elected Councillors, whereas Council officers are employed by the council, similar to how a civil servant is employed by central government.
During these exchanges, I was asked to change my Facebook post (I had posted the above email on Facebook) to say that I have the answers I need and that Central Bedfordshire is doing really well in planting trees. I replied to this request as follows: “I’m sure that you will understand that I cannot say that the council is doing really well at planting trees, with no firm evidence that they are doing so. When the figures from outside agencies are collated and added to the 88,000 figure, this may help”.
I also set out that the 2020 Sustainability Plan explicitly states that the target of 1 million trees was “to be planted by the Council”. There is a screenshot of this commitment below.
I noted that by 2023, this commitment was changed in 2023 to CBC and others, as the Council “cannot deliver this alone”.
There were further follow-up emails, including a reiteration of my original three questions and a further comprehensive response to these questions from a CBC Officer. My reiterations are set out below in bold, followed by CBC’s answer. Please note that ‘members’ refers to elected Councillors. The answers are posted with permission.
Re Question 1: I do understand the target now includes the contribution from a range of partners, not just that of CBC. However, in the original document, it does set out a target of 1 million trees “to be planted by the Council”. I have attached a screenshot of the relevant section of the original Sustainability Plan, dated 2020. I can see that by 2023, the progress update (screenshot also attached) has changed tack and says that the target to plant 1 million trees “in” Central Bedfordshire (rather than by the Council) is a challenge and cannot be delivered alone. This may be poor drafting, or it may be a realisation that the 1 million tree target was somewhat overambitious, but the statement in the 2020 plan is unambiguous. I have trawled through many sets of minutes on this issue and have been unable to get further clarity. I have noted that Marston Vale contributed 30,000+ trees in the 2022/23 planting season. However, this is already included in the 88,000+ total, as set out in a further screenshot attached from 2024.
Answer Re Question 1:
The original intention was always for the 1 million tree target to be a Central Bedfordshire-wide aspiration, not solely a Council-led initiative. The infographic you referenced does contain a drafting error. Thank you for pointing that out, and I apologise for any confusion it caused. While the 2020 Sustainability Plan used the phrase “to be planted by the Council,” it also described the target as aspirational. This has since been clarified in the refreshed Sustainability Plan adopted last year, which reflects the broader, partnership-based approach.
In practical terms, achieving this scale of planting will require the creation of new woodland. Suitable sites are limited, and it makes more sense in terms of expertise and long-term management to support partners like the Forest of Marston Vale, who have the capacity and funding to deliver large-scale planting.
The cumulative figure reported so far does not yet include planting by partners and other landowners, although it does include a CBC-led project at Beeston which was funded through the Trees For Climate fund managed by the Forest of Marston Vale. As mentioned, we’re launching a tree tally shortly, which will provide a more comprehensive picture of planting across the area, including contributions from a wider range of stakeholders. This will be reported in our Annual Progress Report 4, which will be reviewed by the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee (SC OSC) this autumn, giving Members every opportunity to scrutinise progress.
Re Question 2: It will strike many people as bizarre that there is an overall tree planting target, but there is neither an annual target nor a Key Performance Indicator for tree planting. Obviously, this is a political choice, but the lack of either means there is not only a lack of political accountability, but there is naturally likely to be less of a political drive, as the performance of elected officials in this area of tree planting is not being judged. On a human level, we’ll always pay more heed to work we know we will be assessed as ‘passing or failing’ upon. I think CBC should rethink the lack of an annual target and an associated KPI. However, my understanding is that these are decided by the Executive rather than council officers.
Answer Re Question 2:
To date, there hasn’t been a request from Members to set an annual target or quota. Arbitrarily dividing the total over the years of the plan wouldn’t reflect the realities of funding cycles, land availability, or delivery capacity. That said, I agree that greater visibility and accountability would be helpful.
Our priority has been securing funding and delivering planting projects, but once the tree tally is in place, we’ll be in a better position to consider how frequently the wider data should be collected and whether a KPI or annual target would add value. We’ll also engage with partners on this.
Re Question 3: Thank you for this information. I am confident there is a genuine commitment among CBC officers to progress this issue. It remains to be seen whether there is the genuine political will, both locally and centrally, to assist in this commitment. As it stands, the current tree planting rates are falling well short of the rate required to reach the 1m target. The situation is likely to improve once further data has been collated, which you mentioned is due to be published in the Autumn. I have been asked elsewhere to amend my Facebook post to say that “the region is doing really well in planting trees”. I’m sure you will understand that I cannot say this until I have been provided with evidence. This does not in any way imply a lack of effort or commitment on your part and that of others.
Answer Re Question 3:
As outlined in my previous email, once the tree tally is complete, we’ll have a clearer picture of planting rates across Central Bedfordshire and how they compare to the 1 million aspiration. Currently, only CBC-led planting is reported, that is, planting we’ve funded, secured funding for, or delivered directly across our estate and highways.
Members have shown strong support for tree planting, as evidenced by the adoption of the refreshed Sustainability Plan. However, the funding landscape is extremely challenging. The end of the Local Authority Treescapes Fund is a significant loss, particularly as replacement funding doesn’t cover maintenance, which is critical to ensuring trees establish successfully and effectively removes this a an option.
This issue isn’t limited to tree planting. For example, the closure of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund means there’s currently no grant funding available for energy efficiency improvements to buildings and schools. As you’ll be aware, local government is facing considerable financial pressures, and funding is being prioritised for statutory services and support for vulnerable residents. The proposed new funding methodology from central government may redistribute resources to areas with higher deprivation, but as it stands, Central Bedfordshire is likely to receive less funding than it currently does.
Conclusion
I believe there is a genuine commitment to achieving the 1 million tree planting target across Central Bedfordshire. Whether there is a genuine political will remains to be seen. The current political leadership could indicate its commitment to sustainability, accountability and transparency by a) adopting annual tree planting targets and b) adding tree planting rates to the CBC Executive’s Key Performance Indicators.
I certainly do have some sympathy with CBC (and other councils) regarding their lack of funding. For many years, funding has been eroded and as a result, services have been cut to the bone, with many councils struggling to provide much more than the bare minimum statutory services they must provide. The public is rightly fed up with things around them not working properly. The loss of the ‘Local Authority Treescapes Fund’, withdrawn on 6th August 2024, is certainly a blow to local councils achieving their sustainability objectives.
The closure of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund (closed to new applications in 2024) will also have an impact, although evidence I have gathered suggests that Central Bedfordshire (other than Cranfield University and Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue) was not successful as a council in pitching for funding.
On 15th May 2025, the government also announced that the Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) would not be funded for the 2025/26 financial year. This fund provides grants for public sector organisations to engage specialist and expert advice and skills needed to create robust heat decarbonisation plans for future works funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund, which as I said above has now closed! Ironically, the Council did play a significant role in obtaining LCSF funding for schools in the council area (although not their own estate) in the 2024/25 financial year.
The much-needed decarbonisation of our economy and protection of our environment will require political will and investment at the local and national levels of government. The jury is still out on the genuine commitment of either.
Julian Vaughan
1st September 2025
Source and Further Reading
Local Authority Treescapes Fund: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-authority-treescapes-fund
Central Bedfordshire Council 2020 (Original) Sustainability Plan: https://centralbedfordshirecouncil.sharepoint.com/sites/Communications/Website%20and%20intranet/Forms/AllItems.aspx?
Central Bedfordshire Council – Tackling Climate Change and developing our sustainability plan: https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/122/climate_change/672/climate_change_-_tackling_it_and_our_strategy
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme Phase 4 Grant Recipients: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme-phase-4/phase-4-public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme-grant-recipients
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme Phase 3 Projects Awarded Funding: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme-phase-3
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme Phase 2: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme-phase-2-closed-to-applications
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme Phase 1: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme-phase-1-closed-to-applications/phase-1-public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme-project-summaries
Julian Vaughan 