£50K grant to create community orchards in Wiltshire
The Council's been given cash to mark King Charles' Coronation
It's hoped we'll see more community orchards across Wiltshire, after the Council was given £50,000 of Government funding.
The Coronation Living Heritage Orchard Fund aims to plant more trees, in celebration of King Charles coming to the throne.
Applications are now open for Wiltshire groups, parish councils, schools and others with control over land to ask for support towards new orchards.
They can go on private or public land, so long as there's some community involvement.
Money can go towards purchasing trees, protection measures and commemorative signage, with planting taking place next autumn and winter.
Cllr Dominic Muns, Cabinet Member for Environment, said:
“This is a very exciting project to be a part of and I would encourage people to apply for the funding so we can have as many community orchards across the county as possible.
"It will be great to see our community come together and I look forward in time to seeing what fruits will be harvested from the orchards.
“A key priority in our business plan is taking responsibility for the environment and one of our long-term aims is to increase our tree canopy coverage to 17%, in line with national government targets.”