Pudding Wood, Surrey
Transforming 155 hectares of low-grade agricultural land in southern England to new woodland and biodiverse habitats designed to sequester carbon dioxide and increase biodiversity over the long term.
June 2026 - Community update
In May, we:
Throughout June we will be running our internal volunteering days for staff within L&G. We are aiming to get 500 of our staff involved in the site.
We plan to learn from these volunteer days, and will then look to run community volunteer days for local people towards the end of the year.
Getting ready for Phase 2
Phase 2 works for the site are in the planning stage. These works are scheduled to start in August, and will run through to April 2027.
These works will cover additional tree planting and habitat creation.
Designing a new community woodland
As part of Phase 2, we are proposing the development of a community woodland. We recently held an event with local residents to help us shape the design of the woodland.
The area for this woodland is shown in the map below:
About the project
The State of Nature report finds that the UK is now one of the most nature depleted-countries on Earth. Our people and communities are feeling the effects of that environmental damage. They include everything from flooding to pollution.
That's a big challenge for us as a society. But it's also an opportunity to make a difference for our generation and others to come.
So we're drawing on our expertise developing real assets, like affordable housing. And we're building on it by developing long-term nature-based solutions. They can help us tackle the twin challenges of climate change and nature loss.
Our Pudding Wood project is a great example of that. Through our commitment to it, we want to show that we can both:
Our plan for biodiversity
We aim to achieve the Local Nature Recovery Strategy's goals by:
Existing habitats
The Site supports priority habitats, including:
Future habitats
New habitats we will create include:
Supporting priority species
Local priority species we're supporting include:
Woodland creation
Deer fenced enclosure installed prior to tree planting.
Protecting the young trees from deer browsing is essential to establish the young trees and reduces the need for larger individual tree guards.
Mixed native woodland being planted in tree tubes.
The tree planting is being done by hand by a group of volunteers. After some instruction and with a bit of supervision, tree planting can be effectively taken on by young and old alike.
Native black poplar is one of the UK’s most endangered tree species. Re-establishing this species in areas of wet woodland habitat creation is a priority for its long-term conservation.
Mixed native woodland planted inside a deer fenced enclosure.
Without the deer fence, the young trees would get browsed off by Roe, Fallow and Muntjac Deer.
Mixed native woodland planted inside a deer fenced enclosure. Shorter wraps protect the base of the tree from rabbits, mice and voles.
Mixed native woodland planted in tree tubes extending and linking areas of ancient semi natural woodland.
Increasing native woodland habitat is a key priority for nature conservation; well-designed woodland can enhance the landscape by linking and joining existing wooded features.
Mixed native woodland planted inside a deer fenced enclosure.
Without the deer fence, the young trees would get browsed off by Roe, Fallow and Muntjac Deer.
Low impact machinery being used to undertake coppicing in a 20-year-old native woodland.
Creating glades and coppice coupes benefits wildlife and introduces different structures within planted woodlands. Dormice, bats and butterflies benefit from opening and new growth in a woodland setting.
Local community benefit
The idea? Woodland or orchard space for community access and benefit.
Potential outcomes:
Contact us
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the project, please get in touch