Question reference: S6W-04095
- Date lodged: 8 November 2021 Registered interest
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 November 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding (a) it has allocated to and (b) has been distributed through the Woods in and Around Towns programme in each year since its inception.
Answer
The Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme provides support to expand and sustainably manage Scotland’s urban woodlands while encouraging people to use and enjoy them. The programme supports activities in socially deprived communities and contributes to improving people’s health and well-being, sequestering carbon and helping our urban communities adapt to a changing climate.
The programme facilitates collaboration between local authorities, the private and the community sector to deliver initiatives ranging from the Central Scotland Green Network, Clyde Climate Forest and recent Lost Woods Project that provided the opportunity for children from all of Glasgow’s primary schools to take part in a mass tree planting scheme.
Under the current Forestry Grant Scheme the average annual funding available for the improvement and management of existing urban woodland is £750,000-£900,000 and for the creation of new woodland in areas covered by the Central Scotland Green Network, which is a focus area for the programme, is £8 million.
The total value of approved projects under these grants is:
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
Improvement and management | £157,783 | £800,617 | £855,885 | £939,162 | £550,977 | £582,772 |
Woodland Creation (CSGN) | £4,350,219 | £8,799,331 | £13,329,490 | £8,738,268 | £8,363,875 | £11,537,432 |
This spending is often part of larger projects that draw funding from a range of sources.