Forestry commissioners have been inspecting ambitious work to create the Central Scotland Forest between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The forest is a 620 square mile area including West Lothian, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, parts of East Dunbartonshire and South Lanarkshire. The aim of the work, led by the Central Scotland Forest Trust, is to double the area of woods and forests, plus carry out other environmental improvements.
Commission chairman Lord David Clark described the commissioners’ tour as a valuable exercise and said they had been impressed by efforts to ensure the new woodlands and improvements made life better for people.
More than 3,700ha of woodlands have been planted in the area since 1995. The Scottish Executive this year allocated £900,000 for special locational premium grants aimed at people wanting to establish woodlands on their land in the Central Scotland Forest area.
