Welcome to Portsmouth’s Urban Forest Master Plan
What is an Urban Forest Master Plan?
An Urban Forest Master Plan is a strategic document that sets out a vision for the trees across a town or city. It helps the town or city to ensure that its trees are healthy and long-lived, so they can enhance the natural environment, improve residents’ health and wellbeing, and help to mitigate some of the impacts of climate change.
Portsmouth’s Urban Forest Master Plan will take a long-term approach, focusing on actions that Portsmouth City Council (PCC), other stakeholders and landowners, communities and residents, can take in our quest for a greener, healthier, and more climate-resilient city.
Tying in with relevant strategies, such as the PCC Greening Strategy (2023), and incorporating data on the city’s trees, backed up by urban forest research, the plan will provide a set of targets that can be measured over time.
Why do we need an Urban Forest Master Plan?
As our climate warms, with increasing spells of extreme heat, and as it becomes wetter, with episodes of intense rainfall, nature-based solutions, such as trees, are an important tool in mitigating these impacts. Trees don’t just provide climate benefits, they also provide space for nature to live and move around. Furthermore, there is a multitude of health and wellbeing benefits associated with trees, as they create pleasant spaces for recreation, socialising and exercise.
To ensure we are maximising the benefits provided by trees, we need to take an informed strategic approach that plans for the long term; an Urban Forest Master Plan provides this direction.
Creating an Urban Forest Master Plan
To inform the plan, PCC firstly needed to understand the species, age, and condition of its current trees. It also needed to know the value of the benefits these trees provide, and their distribution across the city.
In 2024, PCC worked with Forest Research (the research arm of the Forestry Commission) to undertake an i-Tree Eco survey across Portsmouth. The survey covered parks and green spaces, residential areas, as well as streets and commercial areas, and provided the important tree information.
The survey showed that Portsmouth needed to focus on helping its trees to become long lived (as this is when they provide the greatest climate benefits). It also needed to increase species diversity (important in managing threats from pests and diseases) and to focus on planting new trees in the right places (where there is an issue such as excess heat), for example.
Alongside the data about the trees, the i-Tree Eco survey also sought the views of people who live, work and/or study in Portsmouth (Social & Cultural Values survey). PCC received over 1,000 responses, amongst which:
· 65% reported that they would like to be able to see more trees from their home
· 84% agreed or strongly agreed that: ‘Portsmouth is a better place because of its trees’
Improving air quality and reducing pollution, providing shade and cooler air, and preventing flooding, were some of the top benefits of trees, according to the survey respondents.
Following the survey, PCC decided to engage urban forest experts Treeconomics, to combine this feedback with urban forestry best practice, and turn these into a plan for Portsmouth.
Working with a host of teams across PCC, as well as external organisations, a plan has been drafted that will provide the strategic direction needed to create a resilient treescape that benefits the city. Before completing the plan, we are seeking the views of Portsmouth residents and communities around the overall direction of the plan.
Vision and Goals
To achieve success, having a clear vision and carefully crafted goals is essential. A vision provides direction and purpose, while goals outline the core steps necessary to reach that vision.
Portsmouth’s Urban Forest Vision: Healthy trees, thriving city, greener future
Portsmouth’s urban forest will create a greener, cooler, and more liveable city, strengthening its unique coastal character. By investing in tree care, protecting mature trees, and targeting tree establishment where it is needed most, we will enhance biodiversity, boost climate resilience, and enrich community life for future generations. A healthy treescape means healthy places and healthy people, shaping a city where people and nature can thrive together.
Portsmouth’s Urban Forest Goals:
1 – A treescape with a diverse range of species – helping to reduce its vulnerability to climate change and the threats from pests and diseases.
2 – The right trees planted in the right places, ensuring they become long-lived and able to provide multiple benefits for communities and nature.
3 – Working collectively with communities and landowners across Portsmouth to continually build a resilient treescape.
In order to achieve these goals, and make the vision a reality, the Master Plan is built around targets with three core themes. Targets within each core theme are structured around a comprehensive set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). For each of these KPIs, an assessment of current performance is made, ambitions are laid out, and specific actions are defined and prioritised.
Tree and Woodland Structure targets focus on assessing quality, quantity and distribution.
Community Framework targets aim to create structured leadership in the council and the community, and build crucial partnerships.
Sustainable Resource Management targets look at the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the urban forestry programme.
Why Consultation Matters
Your input is crucial for developing a successful Urban Forest Master Plan for Portsmouth. Our urban trees play a significant role in shaping the city’s environment, health, and quality of life. By gathering the views, experiences, and ideas of people who live, work and visit the city, we can ensure the plan reflects the needs and priorities of the community.
As part of the 2024 i-Tree Eco Project, the Council, along with Forest Research, undertook a hugely successful Social and Cultural Values Survey. The views, outlooks and opinions of over 1,000 respondents have been used to inform the vision and goals of this Master Plan. The aim is to continue to build on this success, asking you to have your say, shaping a plan that will act as a catalyst for a resilient treescape.
