A Midlands manufacturer has put down roots in Herefordshire, showing what policy can deliver well away from London. Brook Farm is being turned into a mixed woodland with public access and flood benefits built in. For northern councils and SMEs weighing up land use and carbon plans, it’s a practical guide with numbers, not just slogans.

In a Forestry Commission case study published on 28 November 2025, the plan is clear: the EWCO‑funded project at Brook Farm will plant 124,400 mixed broadleaf and conifer trees across 146 acres - roughly 59 hectares. The aim is to offset FW Thorpe PLC’s operational emissions as part of a wider carbon strategy while opening the site to the public, reducing flood risk, supplying future timber and boosting nature recovery.

Progress is already tangible. In an FW Thorpe investor update filed on 3 October 2025, the company confirmed 82,000 trees were planted in spring 2025, with around 75% survival after a notably dry summer. The update also notes the work is managed by Group Marketing Manager Kate Thorpe and supported by an England Woodland Creation Offer grant of up to £1.3 million via the Forestry Commission.

The company’s own write‑up adds more local colour: the Brook Farm estate extends to 195 acres, with plans to connect existing woods and slow water using leaky dams. Paths, waymarkers, benches and a small car park are proposed so walkers can reach the site from the village - the sort of detail that turns a planting scheme into a place.

For landowners considering similar work, the England Woodland Creation Offer is built for practical delivery. Grants cover standard capital costs up to a per‑hectare cap, plus annual maintenance of £400 per hectare for 15 years. Where designs deliver public benefits, additional contributions are available - for example up to £3,700 per hectare for recreational access and £1,000 per hectare for flood risk management. Projects must follow the UK Forestry Standard.

Two figures are worth reconciling. FW Thorpe describes Brook Farm as a 195‑acre site, while the Forestry Commission case study refers to a 146‑acre woodland creation area. That points to the planting sitting within a larger holding, leaving space for paths, water features and future management.

For readers in the North, this isn’t just a tidy project down the A49. EWCO is open across England, and the blend of carbon planning, flood work and public access can suit upland farms above the Aire and Calder, valley sides along the Tyne and Wear, or lowland edges near Preston and York. The trick is picking sites that add clear value to the places people actually live and work.

The corporate lesson matters too. FW Thorpe’s climate plan is validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, with a group‑wide net‑zero target for 2040. In plain terms: cut factory emissions first, then use measured, long‑term woodland to balance what’s left - and design it so local people can enjoy it.

There’s a local economy story here as well. Good schemes bring steady work for nurseries, fencing crews and path builders, and once open, woodlands draw regular footfall for cafés, pubs and farm shops. Done with care, you get cleaner watercourses, more wildlife and a calmer river after heavy rain - outcomes that matter from Carlisle to Calderdale.

If you’re aiming for the 2026 planting season, start now. Forestry Commission advisers can help shape site design, species mix and the evidence needed to secure additional contributions, and officials say EWCO will transition into Environmental Land Management without gaps in support. That’s one less excuse for delay - and another reason this model can travel north.