Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether local authority planners have access to a UK-wide database to identify land available for tree planting and natural regeneration; and how long that land is available for.

Tree Preservation Orders and planning are devolved to local authorities. We expect each local authority in England to record the location of amenity trees it decides to protect with Tree Preservation Orders. As decisions on individual trees are a local matter, there are no plans to introduce a national dataset.

Looking forward, Local Nature Recovery Strategies provided for in the Environment Bill will map out the priorities for sustainable nature recovery across landscapes, including new woodland and hedgerow trees. The Bill also includes measures to require local consultation before street trees are removed, and will enable local authorities to require developers to secure net gain for biodiversity, including tree-planting and green space, when planning permissions are granted.