As one of the North of England’s leading regeneration companies, Harworth Estates works alongside local communities, public bodies, developers and other professionals to bring old brownfield sites back to life.

They are dedicated to regeneration and turn derelict land into residential development, commercial sites, low carbon energy schemes and agricultural estates.

As part of their commitment to restoration, Harworth is currently involved in a number of projects and schemes that have led to active tree planting.

This includes the delivery of Logistics North – the North West’s largest new employment development, offering 4 million square feet of manufacturing and distribution space, just off the M61 motorway in Bolton.

As the freehold owners of the site, Harworth has committed to creating a 226-hectare country park, in partnership with The Forestry Commission and Red Rose Forest, that will sit alongside the employment development.

Red Rose Forest has been involved with many planting schemes over the years, and­ is now working in partnership with the Oglesby Charitable Trust on, 'City of Trees’, a new movement which aims to double the tree cover within the region and, within a generation, plant a tree for every man, woman and child that lives there.

The aim is to double the tree cover within the region and, within a generation, plant a tree for every man woman and child that lives here.

Harworth understands and shares this vision. “Tree planting forms a key part of our delivery strategy for the country park,” said Partnerships Manager Iain Thomson. “We are proud to be supporting City of Trees and believe it will add vibrancy and colour to Greater Manchester –significantly improving the places in which we live and work.”

“The park will be a huge asset to businesses at Logistics North and to local residents in Bolton, Wigan and Salford, as they will have access to a range of footpaths, bridleways, cycle ways, wildlife and woodland areas.”

The green space will provide an attractive and tranquil environment for people to enjoy, with panoramic views of the surrounding region and a variety of social and leisure opportunities.

“A number of our other sites include Country Park amenities and they are extremely well received,” said Iain Thomson.

“There are very few motorway junction-located employment sites that offer this facility and we hope companies consider the benefits of this in deciding to move to the development.”

38,000 trees and shrubs have been planted at the country park, all protected with shelters.  Three different native mixes have been planted and a total of 11 different species used, including pedunculate oak, silver birch and rowan. Shrub species including hawthorn, hazel and crab apple have also been planted.

To date, there have been excellent survival rates amongst the trees and shrubs, with some areas of the park achieving a 93% planting success rate.

“This first phase of planting has made a huge impact on the site and area – the trees and shelters can be clearly seen from the M61”, said Andy Long, Woodlands Officer at Red Rose Forest. “It is a very visible sign that the work on the park has started.” 

“There are always hurdles to jump when planting so many trees, but the landscaping contractors, Ashlea Limited, together with Harworth, have worked hard to give the trees and woodland the best start possible.”

The remainder of the work on the park will be taking place later this year and will see the site really take shape with the completion of public footpath diversions to give the public unrestricted access to the Park.

“It has been an interesting and thought-provoking process, as the park needs to appeal to many different groups,” said Iain Thomson.

“Our partnership with both Red Rose Forest and Forestry Commission has been invaluable to beginning the work at the Country Park. Their expertise and enthusiasm has been vitally important and we are pleased that we engaged with them as early in the process as was possible.”

To find out more about the work being done by Harworth Estates, head to their website. And to discover more about the City of Trees Movement, head here.