Forestry England manages two nursery sites, one at Delamere in Cheshire and the other at Wykeham in Yorkshire. Following a detailed review of future tree seedling supply needs, Forestry England plan to close Wykeham nursery and to concentrate production at its Delamere facilities. Forestry England is strengthening the resilience of tree supply by investing to adapt to the impacts of climate change and biosecurity challenges.

The nurseries exist primarily to supply trees for Forestry England; the closure at Wykeham will not impact upon current or future tree planting ambitions nationally or by Forestry England. In support of their biosecurity assurance protocols Forestry England only plant trees grown in Britain with Plant Healthy certification.

Forestry England has been proactive in strengthening biosecurity across their operations and were the first locations in which the Plant Healthy audit protocols were tested. Forestry England are working closely with industry partners in encouraging the development of robust biosecurity assurance across the whole tree nursery sector.

Following a detailed review of future tree seedling supply needs, Forestry England proposes to close Wykeham nursery and to concentrate production at its Delamere nursery facilities. The nurseries exist primarily to supply trees for Forestry England; the closure at Wykeham will not impact upon current or future tree planting ambitions nationally or by Forestry England. The proposed closure does not require a formal Environmental Impact Assessment, though assessment of any future plans for usage of the site will need consideration under the relevant regulatory processes.