Street Trees: Love Them or Lose Them!

In this blog post, a resident of Penrhyn Avenue writes about nearly losing much-loved street trees exactly when the community needed them the most.

We may take them for granted, but street trees aren’t luxuries. Trees can transform where we live from being bearable to a real joy. Did you know that one study by Loyola College in Chicago found that a 10% increase in local tree cover in one urban area was strongly-correlated with lower levels of assaults, narcotics crimes and robberies? Or that young silver birch trees at a roadside can reduce particulate matter from traffic by 50% in the houses on the street? The benefits are endless, yet the residents of Penrhyn Avenue have learned that it’s easy to lose them forever without constant vigilance.

Two years ago,residents at the eastern end of Penrhyn Avenue woke to the sound of chainsaws. Six mature cherry trees that had provided the street with vital protection from pollution for decades were being felled due to disease. We were disappointed, but understood the council’s reasoning and were relieved to hear that they would be replaced within six months.

Fast forward 18 months, with residents confined to their houses in the pandemic. We could only stare out of our windows onto a tree-less, tarmac-covered street dominated by parked vehicles and speeding cars with loud exhausts. There was silence from the council’s tree department however, and the empty, muddy tree pits had been repeatedly driven over. A truly depressing sight at a time we most needed optimism. It was only by chance during a site visit from a member of the council’s highways team that we learned the pits had been listed to be tarmacked over, and no trees would be replanted. Instead of nature on our doorsteps, more space was to be given over for car parking. A reason given was that cars would damage the young trees when parking!

This was frustrating to hear. We hadn’t asked for more parking, only for our trees to be replaced. As a community, we felt we had to escalate. Senior councillors and all relevant council departments were emailed by a significant portion of residents, explaining the situation. Cllr Clyde Loakes in particular appeared to grab this with both hands and in no time at all, we’d received an email from both Clyde and the tree department saying five of the six tree pits would be replanted soon.

Eventually, the tree pits were replanted with acers. Although young and bare, they already make Penrhyn Avenue a more pleasant place to be. By definition, an avenue is lined with trees, and by working together with Cllr Loakes and the council, Penrhyn Avenue can continue to be an avenue for decades to come. We can’t wait to watch these beautiful trees grow and develop.