Trees and the Public Realm - Westminster City Council

Page 16
Trees and the Public Realm (Draft)
27. In order to identify areas that require similar planting treatment then, this document
divides the city into areas of similar townscape character, shown on the plan on the
previous page. These townscape areas have been based on existing conservation
areas, which have been extended and combined where appropriate.
28. Descriptions of each of the townscape areas are provided in Appendix B to help guide
a planting that respects its surroundings 4 . Relevant advice in this area comes from
English Heritage’s ‘Streets for All’ guidance. In this there is, for example, a strong
presumption against planting trees on formal streets of Georgian and Victorian houses
if they were never intended to have street trees as part of the original design. They were
consciously omitted to give greater effect to the landscaped garden square. This is a
good example of why it is important for this guidance to provide an understanding of
the historic development of Westminster’s townscape, in order to ensure that planting
and replacement decisions maintain its integrity and create successful places. While
this guidance takes these principles into account it is mindful that many of
Westminster’s streets have changed over time and now accommodate modern
additions to the street scene. As a principle, this document seeks to preserve good
historic examples of type where streets have minimal modern interventions and where
tree planting was not part of the original design. In other cases where the original
historic fabric has been interrupted there is flexibility to consider opportunities for new
tree planting where it is part of a coherent design approach. In these cases, each
opportunity will be considered on its own merits.
General townscape guidance: Excerpt from English
Heritage’s Streets for All: A guide to the
management of London's streets (2000).
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4 The special character of each conservation area is described in an audit, either complete or being
undertaken, and for further information reference should be made to those documents, which in effect
take precedence over the descriptions found in Appendix B.