Sheffield's tree planting season well underway

Wednesday 17 December 2014

More trees will be planted across the city over the coming months as part of the Streets Ahead project.

Between November and April the Streets Ahead team are planting over 700 new trees, adding to the 2 million trees already in Sheffield.

The new trees will replace highway trees – those on the roadside and grass verges - that have been removed over the past year because they were dead, dying diseased, dangerous, damaging or obstructing the pavements and roads.

Cllr Jayne Dunn, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene, said: “This is the third planting season that we’ve replanted trees in a number of locations across the city and we’ll see many more new trees being introduced over the years to come.

Sheffield is a green city and we want to do everything we can to support our reputation. By removing dying, diseased and unhealthy trees over the next 25 years and replacing them with healthy, street trees, this will ensure that Sheffield has a healthy street tree stock for the future.”

Jeremy Willis, Streets Ahead Arboriculture Operations Manager, explained: “As part of the Streets Ahead project we carried out inspections of all highway trees across Sheffield, identifying those that need to be replaced. Now that we are in tree planting season we are replacing removed trees with a range of new, healthy trees.

“The trees that we are planting are typically eight to 10 years old and around 2.5 metres tall. The species have been chosen to suit each individual location and the local environment. All replanted trees will be watered and looked after until they establish themselves and start to enhance the local environment.”

The winter months are an ideal time to plant new trees as this is when trees are dormant and not growing, giving the new trees the best chance of survival.

Sheffield’s tree maintenance is part of the £2 billion Streets Ahead programme which will see roads, pavements and street lights upgraded, as well as a new generation of healthy, thriving trees.