A14: Trees
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2026 to question 121208 on A14: Trees, what steps National Highways is taking to ensure the survival of replanted saplings on the A14 during heatwave temperatures and drought.
Answered by Simon Lightwood
National Highways has put in place measures to improve the survival rates of replanted saplings. This is part of its new approach to tree planting, designed to better account for increasing environmental pressures, including changing weather patterns and drought.
During the current period of hot and dry weather, the saplings alongside the A14 are being watered weekly, using water from the borrow pits created during the construction of the A14 scheme. Other measures include the use of soil improver and an organic moisture-retention product. After the summer, National Highways will undertake a survey of the replanted saplings to assess survival rates.
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