Earlier this year we reported in the Society’s Magazine how Lambeth were no longer replacing street trees. The reason is not hard to find – the Council’s resources have been cut and they have other commitments that take higher priority. Street trees bring many benefits – better air quality, greater pride in our local environment that in turn encourages community well-being, a resource for wildlife, even enhanced house prices! To write them off as a low priority is to our mind shortsighted, but if local authorities cannot be moved, alternatives will need to be pursued.
Over the summer we carried out a survey of all the streets on the Lambeth side of Herne Hill. It was not always easy to say where a tree used to grow. Many pavements have been patched and re-patched so often that you cannot say for sure, though sometimes a tree pit filled with black tarmac is all too evident. We concluded that in the 44 streets we surveyed there was a need to replace 117 missing trees (i.e. tree pits that were empty or capped, or trees that were dead), and about 380 locations where a new tree would be of benefit.
Given the hard economic realities of the time and having recently had a meeting with one of the Councillors for Herne Hill ward, we do not feel optimistic about a change in council policy in the foreseeable future. We were too late to put in a bid for any help from the Mayor of London’s Street Tree Initiative/Re-Leaf scheme, and we do not know at this stage whether that scheme will be carried forward to next year. In any case it is only for new planting, unfortunately – not for replacement trees. We are in touch with Trees for Cities, who have planted many trees in London, including Lambeth, but their resources are of course finite. Currently, they have no plans for planting in Lambeth.
We have also learned about the experience of residents in Rollscourt and Cosbycote Avenues who, on having the good fortune of finally getting their street and pavements renewed by Lambeth, decided that their best prospect of having replacement trees as well would be to pass the hat round and pay for 10 themselves. These wil lbe planted as part of the street improvements. This is not cheap (around £450 per tree) but it needs to include insurance and three years’ after-care by the Council.
The way forward?
We have discovered that there are many people who care greatly about the trees in their street. When a tree is lost they want “something to be done about it”. However, the Society lacks the resources to carry through a project that would see 44 streets properly provided. While we will continue to campaign and raise awareness on the issue and follow up any possibilities of public funding, we think that in the current climate the most effective means of ensuring that our streets stay green is for residents of individual streets or groups of streets to organise locally and raise the necessary funds for new trees themselves.
Lambeth has not, it seems, abandoned all pavement improvement works (probably because they are under a statutory duty to maintain the pavement). When such works are carried out, this is of course the best time to include provision for tree planting in the scheme. We have information about the next streets to be resurfaced and to have new pavements, so if you have neighbours keen to get involved in using this opportunity, email us at [email protected]
In Southwark we have a list of all the missing or dead trees we have been notified about, and are in contact with the Tree Officer. It seems likely they are in much the same situation as Lambeth, but we are going to put in an application for replacement trees to Dulwich Community Council under the Cleaner Greener Safer initiative.
Compared with some London areas the streets of Herne Hill enjoy a good number of trees, but that number is steadily falling. Without action from residents our streets will lose something of great value.
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