Tree Equity for Hartlepool – the realities of community led tree planting in areas of low tree equity

The UK became the first country outside the USA to adopt Tree Equity Scores, launching the Tree Equity Score UK map in December 2023. The coastal town of Hartlepool has the second lowest tree equity score in England, with canopy cover as low as 0% in some neighbourhoods.  

In 2024, Trees for Cities assembled a diverse partnership to begin the long-term challenge of addressing the inequalities in access to the benefits that trees provide. This became the UK’s first town-wide Tree Equity initiative, combining strategic planning, community engagement, and urban forestry action. 

Funded initially from March 2025 to March 2027, the project has delivered extensive engagement activities, tree planting programmes, and the development of a new Urban Forest Masterplan for Hartlepool. The work has demonstrated how urban forestry can unite communities, organisations, and decision-makers around a shared vision for a greener, healthier future. 

Starting as one of the highest-priority areas in the UK for investment in Tree Equity and urban forestry, this project has transformed Hartlepool’s urban forest and Hartlepool has now achieved recognition as a Tree City of the World. 

This presentation will set the scene for urban forestry in the UK as well as the local context of a town facing social and environmental challenges. The presentation will show how this ambitious project is aiming to raise Tree Equity across an entire town; offer thoughts on what hopes to become a replicable model; and outline plans for phase two of the project.