Forest Plan / Executive Summary

Executive Summary

The Cumbria Community Forest Plan presents a long-term vision and our first 5-year action plan for a major programme of tree and woodland establishment in Cumbria. It is an evidence-based strategy for trees and woodland which responds to local need and opportunity, integrated with delivery of a wide range of benefits with and for Cumbrian communities.

England’s Community Forests – of which there are 15 – deliver social, economic and environmental benefits and have demonstrated success in working with communities, landowners, and public, private and voluntary sector organisations to do so. The national delivery partners in England’s Community Forests include the Forestry Commission, National Trust and the Woodland Trust.

Production of this Forest Plan is a condition of UK Government funding for Cumbria Community Forest (CCF) through the Trees for Climate programme. This funding is currently provided to the Community Forest Trust and administered locally by Raise: Cumbria, home of Cumbria Community Forest.

Raise is the local organisation leading on strategy and delivery for Cumbria Community Forest. Raise convenes the CCF Partnership comprising strategic stakeholders, along with the Raise Collective of art practitioners, foresters, local experts and academics. Raise takes an innovative approach shaped by the team’s diverse expertise and values, and celebrates neurodivergence.

Raise has led the co-creation of this Forest Plan, with input and scrutiny from the CCF Partnership and commissioned experts, in consultation with local stakeholders, through engagement of under-served communities, and within a framework determined by England’s Community Forests.

Delivery of the Cumbria Community Forest Plan will be in partnership with local government and statutory bodies, woodland creation partners, landowners and community link organisations, through mechanisms set out in the Plan. 

This 25-year strategic plan for Cumbria Community Forest will be lodged with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs by 31st March 2025 and published subsequently in an interactive format via the Raise website. It will be subject to ongoing review and updating according to need, including through processes of Local Authority adoption.

What’s in the Plan

Context

  • We introduce the Forest Plan and the roles of Raise, England’s Community Forests, partners and funders.
  • We identify relevant local policies and strategies in land use, climate, biodiversity, economy, public health and water, and demonstrate where the Forest Plan complements these.
  • We review the national policy context, drawing from prior work from the England’s Community Forests network.

Community Manifesto & Principles

  • We present a Community Manifesto and a set of Guiding Principles for delivery of Cumbria Community Forest. These arise from a programme of arts-led engagement across Cumbria in summer 2024, working with under-served groups in relation to woodland access and activities.

Vision, Goals & Progress

  • We offer a long-term vision for Cumbria Community Forest which is ambitious and inclusive, built around four central goals of delivering healthy treescapes, creating access, facilitating community stewardship and championing neurodivergent culture.
  • We summarise our progress so far including over 850 hectares of treescapes planted.

Evidence

  • We review local needs and opportunities for community forestry, presenting the findings of our commissioned geo-spatial analysis, which combines landscape and social data.
  • We present findings from our engagement pilot programme, and a model to expand our arts-led approach to community engagement.

Delivery

  • We set out a 5-Year Action Plan, Funding Strategy and Monitoring & Evaluation Framework, demonstrating a practical, resourced and accountable delivery strategy.