New urban mini-woodland spaces are set to be created with thousands of new trees planted in a district’s bid to become carbon neutral this decade.

Six locations on council land across Thanet have been identified as potential sites but only once funding has been secured.

It is hoped tree planting in these areas will ensure Thanet District Council realises its ambition to reach net zero on its core carbon footprint by 2030.

TDC estimates the proposed areas of woodland in Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate could absorb approximately 1,140 tonnes of carbon emissions over 30 years - equal to 3,800 new trees.

Mike Humber, director for environment at TDC, said: “Every tree planted in Thanet brings wide-ranging benefits to our community.

“Four hectares of new woodland would increase local biodiversity, help to mitigate some of the effects of climate change and support our ambition of reaching net zero by 2030.

“We are working hard on initiatives to cut emissions, such as investing in electric vehicles without our fleet and removing gas boilers from council-owned properties. As part of this project, we are also looking at how any remaining emissions can be absorbed.

“Mini-woodlands are just one of the initiatives we are pursuing to protect our environment and keep Thanet a green and vibrant place to live.”

This latest scheme follows work to plant 1,100 trees in Ramsgate from 2022 to 2023 in partnership with Trees for Cities.

Four Ramsgate parks for that scheme were chosen as they fit the funding criteria because they were in need of improved biodiversity and canopy cover.

The sites selected for the mini-woodland tree planting scheme include four in Margate - Dane Valley Road, Garlinge Recreation Ground, Northdown Park and Tivoli Park.

The other two sites in Broadstairs are the Memorial Recreation Ground and St Peter’s Recreation Ground.

The extra funding needed to make the project a reality can now be applied for as the proposed sites have been agreed by councillors.

Potential funding may be possible through a number of funding streams including KCC’s Plan Tree Scheme, the Environment Agency, Southern Water and community/memorial schemes.

The sites the council creates mini-woodlands on will need to be closely looked after for three years with watering and other health care and are expected to take 10 to 20 years to mature.

Tree management strategies will need to be put in place to secure the health and longevity of the mini-woodland on a longer-term basis.

In a statement, TDC spoke about the six areas approved for mini-woodlands.

A spokesperson said: “The areas were selected because they are all designated as open spaces in the council’s Open Space Strategy, which prohibits the land from being developed.

“The council has no plans to change the open spaces designations in these areas.”