Trees and the Public Realm - Westminster City Council
Trees and the Public Realm - Westminster City Council
Trees and the Public Realm - Westminster City Council
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Trees</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Realm</strong> (Draft) Appendix F - 1<br />
APPENDIX F<br />
TREES ON OTHER SITES WHICH AFFECT THE<br />
PUBLIC REALM<br />
Planting <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>scaping in <strong>the</strong> public realm is commonly associated only with parks, squares, avenues <strong>and</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r public open spaces. Yet even in <strong>the</strong> densely developed area of central London, traditional townscape<br />
contains also a wealth of o<strong>the</strong>r green spaces. These include <strong>the</strong> grounds of institutions, publicly-assessable<br />
areas within major developments, communal gardens <strong>and</strong> even <strong>the</strong> cumulative effect of planting in long<br />
stretches of residential front <strong>and</strong> rear gardens. The principles contained in <strong>the</strong> body of this document also<br />
apply to <strong>the</strong>se areas.<br />
This appendix provides brief discussion of some additional issues that should be considered in making<br />
planting decisions in <strong>the</strong>se areas, however only insofar as <strong>the</strong>se decisions impact on <strong>the</strong> public realm. As has<br />
been noted in <strong>the</strong> body of this document, this is not intended to cover <strong>the</strong> breadth of issues which can arise<br />
over privately-owned trees (such as tree subsidence, TPO assessment <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> like).<br />
Tree planting on development sites<br />
As noted in Section 3 of this document, trees add value to development. However, <strong>the</strong> number of trees<br />
planted is less relevant than <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>and</strong> scale of <strong>the</strong> trees planted. It is <strong>the</strong> larger l<strong>and</strong>scape species of<br />
trees that confer <strong>the</strong> greatest benefit. These benefits include: attractiveness, stature, creating a sense of<br />
place, assisting with way-finding <strong>and</strong>, crucially, for casting deep shade <strong>and</strong> cooling our buildings, public<br />
squares <strong>and</strong> meeting places in future.<br />
The principal aim should be “<strong>the</strong> right trees in <strong>the</strong> right places”, with <strong>the</strong> emphasis not on numbers of trees,<br />
but <strong>the</strong> inclusion of trees that are able to grow into specimens of quality <strong>and</strong> scale for that site.<br />
The council will, where appropriate, require suitable l<strong>and</strong>scaping of developments that as a minimum<br />
maintains existing levels of amenity. This can be secured through <strong>the</strong> use of planning conditions <strong>and</strong> Section<br />
106 agreements. The objective will be to enhance <strong>the</strong> amenity of <strong>the</strong> development <strong>and</strong> its environs through<br />
tree planting, <strong>and</strong> also to increase biodiversity.<br />
For <strong>the</strong> successful implementation of <strong>the</strong>se policies, <strong>the</strong> council usually encourages designers, l<strong>and</strong>owners<br />
<strong>and</strong> developers to incorporate planting <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>scaping in new developments in a way that complements <strong>the</strong><br />
historic character of <strong>Westminster</strong>. In certain large scale developments, however, it may be appropriate to<br />
incorporate tree planting as part of a contemporary setting.<br />
Street layouts, geometries <strong>and</strong> networks should aim to make <strong>the</strong> environment self-explanatory to all users,<br />
<strong>and</strong> features such as trees (in addition to o<strong>the</strong>rs such as public art, planting, lighting <strong>and</strong> architectural style –<br />
see <strong>the</strong> <strong>Westminster</strong> Way for more details) can assist navigation <strong>and</strong> potentially reducing <strong>the</strong> need for<br />
cluttering signs.<br />
Street lighting should be planned as an integral part of <strong>the</strong> design of <strong>the</strong> street layout, <strong>and</strong> in conjunction with<br />
<strong>the</strong> location <strong>and</strong> anticipated growth of planting. The potential for planting to obscure lighting through growth<br />
should be considered when deciding what <strong>and</strong> where to plant.