To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether he plans to plant trees in South Antrim as part of the afforestation programme, Forests for Our Future.

I launched the Forest for our Future programme in early March at a tree planting event where I was joined by 500 school pupils and together we planted 1,000 trees. The afforestation programme will plant 18 million trees by 2030 throughout Northern Ireland, including areas in South Antrim, to contribute to the UK’s net zero carbon target and provide more woodlands for people to enjoy.

My Department is working across government and with representatives from the

Local Councils, which includes the South Antrim area, to help identify available land and produce plans for its planting.

I have recently announced the opening of a revised Forest Expansion Scheme, which reduces the minimum area for application to the scheme from 5 hectares to 3 hectares, to encourage more tree planting of woodlands in all areas. In addition, my Department is also developing a new small woodland grant scheme to support farmers and other landowners to plant suitable trees in smaller areas to complement their existing holdings and land management.