Tree planting
A key part of this improvement project is the planting of 63 mature trees along Great Ancoats Street to create a better walking route between the city centre and the local neighbourhoods. A further 8 trees (Japanese Flowering Cherry) will also be planted on Pin Mill Brow (these had to be relocated from Great Ancoats Street after unmapped underground utilities were detected.)
Our arboricultural team chose four species as excellent fits for the street environment, with the right characteristics to thrive in urban conditions:
- Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera fastigiata)
- Green Pillar - an upright form of the American Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
- Regal Prince - a rare hybrid oak tree (Quercus x wardii)
- Mount Fuji - Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus ‘Shirotae’)
The criteria for selecting the trees included:
- Trees that will grow to a reasonable height so that their lower branches can eventually be removed to give the required statutory height over both the highway and the pavement
- Trees that will not need constant pruning as they mature
- Trees that will eventually provide the stature needed for this location but will not outgrow their positions.
All of the new trees are being planted into underground pits that have been engineered to aid the rapid establishment of root systems.
In addition to these new trees on Great Ancoats Street, we recently announced a project that will see thousands of new trees in planting schemes across the city.