Trees and the Public Realm - Westminster City Council

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