Landowners given money to improve air quality

Landowners could be paid to help improve the air quality of Lincolnshire by planting trees.

The Forestry Commission is trying to encourage farmers to do their bit for the environment by offering grants to landowners in the area if they plant trees on their property, BBC News reported.

Neil Riddle, a spokesman for the Forestry Commission, said: "We are on a mission to increase the level of tree cover in Lincolnshire, which is one of the lowest in England."

He added that the trees can improve air quality "by removing pollutants and contribute to our sense of well-being".

The £4 million fund will be spent by giving farmers £3,800 per hectare for planting new trees in their territory to help increase Lincolnshire's woodland cover from 3.2 per cent - behind the national average of 8.4 per cent.

As well as Lincolnshire, the Forestry Commission announced it wants to increase the number of trees in the East Midlands - an area which has a woodland cover of 5.3 per cent.

Posted by Lauren Steadman