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Update (January 2012) on funding bid
Stoke on Trent City Council have been successful in their funding bid to the Forestry Commission to plant new community woodlands on land off Biddulph Road and Fenpark Road.
The funding will pay for the new trees and their aftercare as well as provide for new features to be included for the woodlands such as signs, gates and benches.
Update (July 2011) on proposals for new woodland on land off Fenpark Road and land of Biddulph Road
Thank you to everyone who took part in the consultation about the planting of new woodland in the city that took place during May and June. The feedback received from the events and website shows that there is overwhelming support for the tree planting.
The majority of people welcomed a new woodland in their area and stated that they would look forward to seeing it grow and using it. However, people were concerned about the closeness of trees to properties and the safety of using the greenspace.
Having listened to any issues and to minimise these concerns, the detailed design of the new woodland will adhere to the following guidelines:-
- No trees are to be planted within 10m of property boundaries
- The edges of tree blocks that are within 10-30m of properties and paths are to be planted with lower growing shrub species.
- Main paths will have open, unplanted zones each side of a minimum width of 5m.
People also wanted to see better maintenance of existing trees and paths on the site.
Our vision is to create new woodland, a ‘Diamond Wood’ for Stoke-on-Trent. This is part of the Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods campaign that aims to create sixty new 60 acre woodlands across the country to mark the occasion of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
New woodland provides an enriched landscape for people to use and enjoy as well as a special place for some of our best loved wildlife to live.
Please use the link from this page for answers to frequently asked questions. There's also maps of each site outlining the proposed planting at the bottom of this page.
Fenton East Ward
The site in Fenton is split in two by Fenpark Road. The northern area has very few existing trees or other features,
however, the southern section already boasts a number of well used features including Sammies Pool, the allotments and a football
pitch. We will preserve these uses and enhance them by incorporating them into a prestigious Diamond Wood.
Great Chell and Packmoor Ward
The site in the northern part of the city is on land off Biddulph Road and already has some well established tree
cover. The existing BMX track and pond on the site will remain unaltered.
Trees to be planted on both sites will be one to two year old trees, known as whips which establish well when planted. All species will be native trees such as silver birch, ash, hazel and oak.
Competition to name the woods
Over 80 entries were received.
The names of the woodlands, winning competitors and reasons for the names are:-
- Turnhurst Jubilee Wood for the wood off Biddulph Road in Great Chell and Packmoor. Entry received from Brian Gray of Kidsgrove. The area was the site of the Turnhurst Estate from 1700 and the name Turnhurst means estate on the wooded hill, from old English. Jubilee in the name reflects the royal links of the project as a whole.
- Six Crowns Wood for the woods on land to the north and south of Fenpark Road in Fenton East. Entry received from Joanne Pugh of Weston Coyney. It’s a play on words honouring the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent of which Fenton is often referred to as the sixth. It also commemorates the coronation of the Queen.
The naming competition ran on the city council’s website and via The Sentinel newspaper with the aim to create historic names that commemorate the event and also form part of the city’s heritage for years to come. A judging panel made up of sponsors and organisers made the decision. The competition was backed by B&Q and Kier Stoke, and was run in conjunction with The Sentinel.
Two prizes of £100 gift vouchers will now be received by the two winning competitors. In total 53 entries were received for the Fenton woodland and 31 were received for the Great Chell.