Wyre Council owns trees on parks and opens spaces as well as in cemeteries and car parks. We are also responsible for trees on closed churchyards. Our trees are managed sustainably with the emphasis on attending promptly to hazardous trees and those affecting properties.
We also manage street trees on some minor roads in the borough acting as agents for Lancashire County Council’s Highways Department. Trees on A roads and in the rural areas are managed by the county council directly.
Wherever possible the council aims to manage its trees on a minimum intervention basis, carrying out tree works where necessary, for example: when a tree becomes hazardous, and allowing where possible full height and canopy development. This accords with modern urban forestry practices and addresses both a recognised trend towards encouraging larger trees in towns, and also to an anticipated need for larger trees to mitigate climate change and contribute towards a net zero carbon rating.
Urban woodland
As part of our commitment to tackling climate change, we are working with the Woodland Trust to create new native woodlands by planting 25,000 trees
We currently own three areas of mature urban woodland -Towers Wood and Pheasant Wood in Thornton Cleveleys and Broadwater Wood in Fleetwood.
Our woodlands are managed to provide both public amenity and biodiversity benefits. Towers Wood and Pheasant Wood are both publicly accessible, but are subject to an ongoing management plan aimed at enriching their biodiversity value through thinning, retaining deadwood and re-stocking to increase the native species component. Neither site has car parking, but on-road parking is available nearby.
Broadwater Wood is a 3.4 hectare woodland, and is not accessible to the public but has considerable biodiversity value and in spring features a stunning carpet of woodland flora.