Tree and Woodland Strategy

East Lothian Council has prepared a draft of a Tree and Woodland Strategy. You may have read about this in the Policy and Strategy December newsletter. This strategy is the Forestry and Woodland Strategy required by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and will replace the 2011 Edinburgh and Lothians Forestry and Woodland Strategy in East Lothian. It helps fulfil the Council’s duty to promote sustainable forest management as required by the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 and will help deliver the forthcoming Local Development Plan.  The Strategy has no end date. However, its focus is on the next 10 years in line with delivery of the East Lothian Climate Forest.

The formal consultation process will commence with an online survey, which will go live on 13^th June and end on 31 August. The draft Strategy and related assessments, including the Draft Environment Report, will be available for view at https://eastlothianconsultations.co.uk/housing-environment/tws (note the link will not work until 13^th June). This website will have mapping where you can zoom in to see more detail than is possible in pdf format. A survey questionnaire will be available following the links from this site. We hope most responses will be made via this site.  Alternatively we will welcome your views by email or letter. Email should be send toldp@eastlothian.gov.uk or mail can be sent to TWSEL, Planning Service, East Lothian Council, John Muir House, HADDINGTON, EH41 3HA.

As statutory representatives of your communities, we are keen to obtain the views of all Community Councils on the Strategy. As noted above, the formal consultation period for this Strategy will start on 13^th June. However, we are aware that many community councils do not meet over the summer. I have therefore attached a copy of the draft Tree and Woodland Strategy (minus Appendices, which will be on the website) and the Non-Technical Summary of the draft Environment Report.  I hope that this will allow you to make arrangements for sending us your views before the end of the consultation period at the end of August.

In June we will be arranging public drop-in events where officers will be available to speak to people and answer any queries about the Tree and Woodland Strategy.  The Tree and Woodland Strategy  is one of several projects that the Council will be consulting on in June (as you may know).  The drop in events listed below will also have officers present to discuss other ELC projects which include  pre-Evidence Report engagement on the Local Development Plan, and our forthcoming Economic Development Strategy, Poverty Plan, Biodiversity Action Plan, and Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy.