Legal Protections for Ancient Trees

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The tree action plan and the tree planting that Defra is encouraging are about commercial timber as well as woodland planting for leisure or other requirements. We import far too much of our timber at the moment; it is better for sustainability that we plant our own. But everything has to be planted in the right place, we need the right kind of species and, importantly, we need to look to the future, because climate change will change which species will be viable for the long term.

[Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Trees (CB)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

It is the turn of the Lib Dem Benches.

[Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (LD)]

My Lords, I am happy to hear from the Minister that the recommendations will result in the tree action plan by the end of this year, but will she bear in mind that there are no protections for trees that do not have tree preservation orders? By the time people realise those trees are under threat, it is too late: they have come down.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

We are looking at those exact protections as part of what we are doing to better protect trees going forward. As part of that, it is also important that we look at how, within the planning system, we support the trees that need to be supported, and at how we ensure that, where trees are felled, the right species are replanted in the right place to make the difference that we need to see if we are to plant trees as part of our climate change strategy.