SMALL businesses in Sedgemoor will be asked to fund the planting of more trees in the district.

At Sedgemoor District Council’s full council meeting on Tuesday, January 17, councillors discussed proposals put forward in a petition signed by 1,294 people.

The petition, created by Andrew Tiller, calls on the council to find funds from its budgets or seek developer contributions to plant more trees.

The petition urged the council to ensure:

n More trees are planted by developers in and around new developments

n That working with Somerset County Council and parish councils more trees are planted at suitable locations on roadside verges and in parks

n That businesses putting up new buildings must ensure an adequate number of trees in the immediate vicinity of the new building

Leader of the council, Cllr Duncan McGinty said: “Here at Sedgemoor, along with our neighbouring district authorities and Somerset County Councils, we have acknowledged the climate change emergency.

“We have the goal to become carbon neutral by 2030.

“We also recognise that planting trees is part of the solution and one of the ways of achieving this.

“In recent years, we have been planting larger more mature trees, as unfortunately, we found that the smaller trees were often subject to vandalism.”

Cllr McGinty said the council could not tackle the issue alone, and would need help from community organisations, residents and businesses.

“The council will seek to secure appropriate landscaping and tree planting through landscaping and s106 planning obligations.

“We fully agree that more trees could be planted at suitable locations - where they will not have an effect on visibility or safety - on roadside verges and in parks and will encourage SCC and parishes to identify suitable locations.

“However, there is a cost to all of this. I am proposing a start-up Tree fund of £5,000, for native and fruit trees to be planted.

“Full details are yet to be finalised but the scheme will be well publicised.

“More importantly, our Climate change group shall be asking our business community if they would like to contribute to this fund as part of the corporate social responsibility ethos.

“Large businesses are well placed to meet their CSR responsibilities but small businesses are not.

“Large businesses are classed as having 250 employees or more; well over 95 per cent of businesses in Sedgemoor are far smaller and do not have the opportunity contribute to any CSR activity.

“The Tree Fund would be an ideal place for small businesses to be able to off-set some of their own carbon footprint.”