30 trees

In October 2019 Hackney London Borough Council unveiled its ‘biggest tree-planting scheme in a generation’. The scheme will see around 5,000 street trees, on top of a four-figure number in parks, delivered by the end of 2022. This is an excellent response to climate change and will also see an increase in biodiversity, making Hackney borough a pleasant place to live.

In contrast, the City of Edinburgh Council are cutting down trees. Despite being signed up to the Tree Charter, the council is hell bent on destroying perfectly healthy trees in the name of ‘progress’. Thirty of these trees line the east stretch of Ocean Drive in Leith, between Constitution Street and Tower Place. These trees will be cut down to make way for the tram to Newhaven.

This is very sad. These urban trees are some of the only trees left in north Leith. They’ve been here for approximately 15 years, so together, these 30 trees have around 450 years of maturity. When they are cut down, the council is supposed to replace on a 2 for 1 basis in the immediate vicinity – that is two new trees planted for every one tree cut down. This sounds great in theory, but there’s two problems – saplings really aren’t a replacement for mature trees and unless they are well looked after are likely to perish (see Leith Links for example), and it is unclear as to where 60 trees could be planted in the vicinity, given that most of the existing green space is being concreted over for trams and other developments.

It is debatable as to why they have to be cut down at all, given that it does not appear they will impinge on any tracks or cables required for the trams.

Some examples from other cities where trams run close to trees:

Urban trees bring many benefits to the environment, not least of which is air pollution cleaning, which in such a high density and highly trafficked area such as Leith, is very much needed. In fact Friends of the Earth published their annual league table of Scotland’s most polluted streets back in January 2020, and Salamander Street, just a stone’s throw away from Ocean Drive breached the legal limit when it came to particulate matter with 19.44 micrograms per cubic meter compared with the 18 permitted.

Trees also help the physical and mental wellbeing of people. I think it’s a real shame to lose these trees from the local area, so I decided to start a project that would talk about the life of urban trees and the reasons they should be preserved and not destroyed.

#save30trees