City Centre demo over Armada Way plans which 'deface Plymouth'
Around 3,000 people have signed a petition against the current designs for the multi-million regeneration plans
Last updated 11th Nov 2022
There’ll be a march through Plymouth City Centre this weekend over concerns about £12-million plans to regenerate Armada Way, and climate change.
The council say while trees will be removed at first to allow for the layout changes, eventually more will be replanted there.
Campaigners say more than 2,000 people have now signed a petition against the scheme - and are calling for a redesign to allow the trees to remain as part of an updated regeneration scheme.
The STRAW or 'Save the Trees of Armada Way' campaign has been set up.
In a lengthy response, Plymouth City Council said: "The number of healthy trees in the Plymouth’s Armada Way will double under the new regeneration plans. Almost 150 new trees will be planted and will be a variety of native and ornamental trees selected to provide year round interest including bark texture, leaf, flower/fruit, scent, autumn colour and more usable shade during hot weather.
"The tree planting scheme has been drawn up following a full tree survey by YGS Environmental to assess the condition and life of the trees along the Armada Way corridor. The aim had been to keep as many trees as possible depending on how healthy they are and where they are, however the survey showed that only 22 per cent of the trees were suitable for long term retention.
"Almost half of the existing trees are damaging the built environment. This is mainly due to trees planted being ‘field’ or countryside trees which are unsuitable for an urban environment.
"The species will be more resilient to pests and climate change, including increasing temperatures, drought and extreme weather events, something which the current trees will struggle with.
"Nobody at the Council wants to remove trees unnecessarily but we also do not want trees to wilt and struggle in an unsuitable setting. We intend to replace the majority of the existing trees which will enable us to provide significantly better rooting systems to promote healthier trees, with very limited on-going maintenance (limb removal, pollarding etc) while integrating a sustainable drainage system with the new tree pits. This will ensure trees receive the amount of water and nutrients they need to prosper.
"The new trees will be mature at planting, approximately 7 to 8 metres tall, creating an immediate and tangible benefit to the city centre. A total of 17 healthy trees will be retained where they can be worked into the design of the new Armada Way scheme. These include the Sweet Gum trees in the Piazza which are reaching a good degree of maturity and the large Tree of Heaven outside of the Copthorne Hotel.
"The planting conditions for these trees will be improved through a new planting specification to ensure they prosper and live longer. The existing trees are planted in poor quality ground conditions, constrained by walls, structures and post-war rubble.
"The majority of trees in Armada Way are reaching the end of their healthy lifespans, but the new trees are being planted with staggered lifespans to enable future replacement in a phased manner so that large scale replacement in a short period of time will not be needed. We will be moving some of the healthier mature trees to Forder Valley.
"This scheme is an enormous step forward both in terms of greatly increased number of trees, biodiversity, with more habitat spaces whereas the previous one featured just regular hard standing. The new scheme brings large areas of new habitat to the city centre, including reed beds, wildflower spaces, grasses and native shrubbery which will provide for a much greener and sustainable environment for wildlife.
"We are also introducing additional wildlife measures such as bat and bird boxes, insect hotels. It will also make passers by feel safer. At the moment the northern end is dark and attracts anti-social behaviour.
"Another major point is the sustainable drainage – the city centre is a critical drainage area with limited capacity. The new system will divert rainfall into the rill, which will water the trees and green spaces on either side during excessive rainfall events. This will allow for smart use of water, reducing the amount of water entering the combined sewer system which contributes to the discharge events into Plymouth Sound."