The more than 100 trees in the centre of Plymouth, whose overnight felling helped bring down the Conservative council, are to be replaced with almost double the number.
Council leaders are releasing plans to regenerate Armada Way in the city centre, planting 202 new trees and creating a large children’s play area the size of five tennis courts.
Councillor Tudor Evans, the Labour leader of the city council, said the trees would not be “little spindly things” and that he had chosen older specimens with large girths so the area would immediately look better with a good canopy.
Last March, the then Tory council authorised the felling of more than 100 trees, which were taken down overnight to the horror of local residents who woke the next day to find wood strewn across the walkway.
The uproar over the destruction of the trees led to the resignation of the Conservative leader of Plymouth council, who signed off on the decision to chop down the trees as part of a £12m city centre regeneration scheme.
Then, in local election in May, the party lost control of the council. The local Tory MP Johnny Mercersaid the decision to fell the trees was a factor in the loss. “The way the Conservative council did it, particularly at night – I obviously would have done it differently,” he said.
Now, the Labour-controlled council hopes to salvage the area. The new scheme will include a “play village” for children made of the wood from the felled trees. There will be water fountains for young people to play in during the summer, as well as play apparatus.
The council has consulted biodiversity specialists and chosen 16 species to plant, including silver birch, field maple, Turkish hazel and Judas trees. The area will also be used to help assuage pollution from the city’s rainwater, will include a new surface water drainage system powered by solar panels and will recycle the water to maintain the plants and trees.
Evans said: “The trees will be about eight metres high and they’ll have a big girth around the trunk of up to 35cm, so they’re not little spindly things that you sometimes see planned. These are going to be ready to go.”
Because of the technical aspects of the scheme including lighting, CCTV and the drainage system, it will take about 70 weeks to complete, but some parts including vegetation will be installed sooner, he said.
Evans said hewas most excited about the play area: “There’s going to be places where kids can climb, swing, run and jump and have fun and so it’ll be a destination playground, something that people will come into the city centre for and and stay and it’ll be great for families. I’ve got grandchildren and I just think they’re going to love it.”
