ONE thousand new trees are to be planted in Sheet as part of a campaign to see one planted for every one of the 120,000 East Hampshire residents.

Adhurst Allotment Association has set aside three acres at the community allotments in Waterworks Road to plant the mixed woodland.

The trees and planting equipment were bought from the Woodland Trust with a £665 grant by East Hampshire District Council member Nick Drew.

He is heading up the council’s tree-planting campaign and said: “Planting 120,000 trees will bring a host of benefits, from protecting our climate to enhancing the local environment.

“It’s fantastic that Adhurst Allotment Association and Adhurst Estate owners Guy and Alison Lubbock decided to plant a new woodland that will be enjoyed by generations of Sheet residents.”

The association has taken advice from The Woodland Trust and the South Downs National Park on when and how to plant the trees and on the variety to be planted.

Adhurst Allotment Association member Steve Amos said: “We have around 20 varieties of trees to plant along with the stakes and guards that will protect them in the early weeks.

“It’ll be a lot of work for our members to plant them all but we’ve got willing volunteers from the association and the local Scouts have promised to help out too. The new wood will be seen not just by those working their allotments but by walkers and even commuters on the train to London.

“It’ll be a really magical addition to the village and we are all very excited to get started.”

The majority of the trees will be planted in the autumn, although 150 elm trees, of a type resistant to Dutch Elm Disease, have already been planted at the allotments.

Find out more about EHDC’s tree planting initiative online at www.easthants.gov.uk/tree-planting