Armada Way regeneration: "No Council takes the decision to remove trees lightly"

The Leader of Plymouth City Council says the regeneration plans for Armada Way are in the "best interests" of the future of the City Centre.

Environmental campaigners protested against the scheme, calling for the trees there to be saved and to not be replaced.

Cllr Richard Bingley says their survey found that the existing trees are causing damage to the built environment.

He adds no authority takes the decision to remove trees lightly and that the new ones being planted will be mature:

"Our Council's initial request from the design team was to establish how many healthy trees with good longevity could be retained, whilst creating the best overall plan for the future use of Armada Way for the long term. This fed through to our proposals.

"We see Armada Way is a major regeneration and jobs creation catalyst for the whole City Centre – somewhere we want to see as a new linear urban city park with a whole range of spaces and multi-use areas – something the existing layout does not provide as the majority of Armada Way is largely inaccessible or unusable for any meaningful activity.

"This area is also unfortunately a magnet for antisocial behaviour issues and drug/alcohol use due to the nature of the existing enclosed planting arrangement. We have been granted this once in a generation opportunity as a result of our Transforming Cities Funding – which is required to be spent by March 2023."

Read more: City Centre demo over Armada Way plans which 'deface Plymouth'

Cllr Bingley adds: "A large scale, 19-day consultation was undertaken in 2018 including workshops, roadshows across the city, and a unit on New George Street for the public to see the plans.

"This consultation exercise, which was based on a previous arrangement for Armada Way which included significantly less tree planting and green credentials than the new scheme, received 84% approval from the public comments. Work halted for a long while after that due to the pandemic, however the new design was presented to the public at an engagement event which was heavily publicised at the end of September, which again received positive feedback – particularly when the scheme details were explained and our rationale.

"No Council takes the decision to remove trees lightly and this has been subject to thorough consideration of our existing stock and how this will work with plans for regeneration of Armada Way.

"The proposal for Armada Way is to replace a number of existing trees with specimens which are more appropriate for an urban, city centre environment. Informing our decision to remove the trees has been a comprehensive and detailed tree survey which provided as much information as possible about the trees along Armada Way.

"This tree survey showed that only 22% of the trees are considered suitable for long term retention. It was also identified that existing trees were causing damage to the built environment, with 42% of trees considered to be causing either minor or visually identifiable damage or will do so in future, which is primarily due to the trees planted being ‘field’ or countryside trees which are unsuitable for an urban environment.

"They are planted in war time rubble, crushed aggregate and concrete, constrained within the 1980s landscaping scheme which has reduced their longevity through a lack of access to water and nutrients – this is clear from the heave of footways and landscape features because of trees with unsuitable rooting systems in the area."

Cllr Bingley says a total of 17 trees - deemed high/moderate quality and to be making a "significant" contribution to the area for 40/20 or more years - will be retained on the corridor.

He adds that they will be replacing the trees with around 50% additional healthy trees (164 in total, 147 new).

"A new, greatly improved diversity and mix of both UK native and ornamental trees will be planted in groups to create a sense of place and order (Oak/Elm/Alder) with more ornamental ‘focal’ trees in particular key locations. The new trees will be planted within soft landscaped areas to accord with their ideal growing conditions.

"The new trees will be mature at planting, approximately 7-8m tall, creating an immediate and tangible benefit to the city centre, with the groupings allowing for usable areas of shade. New planting at the scale and layout proposed will enable us to provide significantly better rooting systems to promote healthier trees, with very limited on-going maintenance (limb removal, pollarding etc) whilst the integration of a sustainable drainage system with the new tree pits will ensure trees receive the amount of water and nutrients they require to prosper.

"It is also important to note that, with a large number of trees in Armada Way headed towards the end of their healthy lifespans, that the new trees are 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 also be looking to reuse the timber from felled trees to create natural play spaces in the city centre and surroundings, as well as explore other opportunities, as well as the provision of timber.

"We are also looking at opportunities to translocate 17 trees which are of an appropriate size and suitably to be moved and will be reusing healthy shrubs in our parks or offering to the public for donation.

"We understand for some this may not be the response some are hoping for, however this regeneration plan for Armada Way, has followed the science, and is in the best interests of the future of the City Centre, environmentally, economically and socially. New shops, businesses and accommodation will be attracted.

"The area will be transformed into pleasant, safe, tree-lined open space. This will allow our city centre to be sustainable in the longer term, reducing flood events, increasing biodiversity, and planting trees which will live long and healthy lives for the next 100 + years."

For now, the City Council have just announced that their plans to chop down trees on Armada Way have been paused subject to review.

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