A NEW wood in Taunton which honours World War One veterans has received a boost from a housing developer.

Barratt Homes has donated £1,000 towards the creation of The Somerset Wood in Taunton as part of its new community initiative.

The Barratt Homes Community Fund donates £1,000 each month to a charity or organisation which improves the quality of life for those living in the region.

The new scheme is part of the company’s pledge to strengthen its ties with the areas in which it is building new homes.

The Somerset Wood, which is located in Cheddon Fitzpaine not far from Barratt Homes’ Northwalls Grange development, is the latest recipient of the fund and the money will be used support tree buying, planting and maintenance.

Work on the wood is already underway and once it is complete it will cover 9.5 hectares (23 acres) and comprise of 11,281 trees, which will be planted over the next three winters.

The total of 11,281 trees was chosen to match the number of names listed in The Somerset Book of Honour, kept in the South Transept of Wells Cathedral.

Compiled to record every Somerset man and woman who lost their life in The Great War, the book covers those who were born in Somerset, those who were residents in Somerset at the time of their enlistment, and those who served in Somerset-based units.

Russell Glimstead, managing director of Barratt Homes in Bristol, said: “This is such a fantastic initiative and one that’s to be applauded. Not only is it commemorating Somerset’s fallen in WWI but it’s also creating a woodland that future generations can enjoy. With Barratt Homes’ logo being a tree and the company having planted or retained 44,730 trees or shrubs across the region last year, it was fitting for us to be involved.”

The Somerset Wood project is being run as a partnership between Somerset County Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council, Cheddon Fitzpaine and West Monkton Parish Councils. The Woodland Trust is also donating trees.

Alan Hall, who has been leading the project, said: “It has been an honour to get this project off the ground in the short seven weeks from concept to getting the dedication ready for the Nov 9, 2018.

"We have had tremendous support from some 200 volunteers from that date to achieve the planting of the first phase of 1,600 trees.

"Over the next two years we will achieve the total of 14,000 trees, allowing for some failures to still achieve the 11,281 fallen personnel from Somerset.”

To find out more about the project visit https://www.somerset.gov.uk/libraries-leisure-and-communities/the-somerset-wood/