Latest news with #PlymouthTreePeople
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ancient woodland threatened by £156m Manadon upgrade in Plymouth
Trees in ancient woodland could be cut down and homes and gardens compulsorily purchased as part of a £156m scheme to improve a traffic City Council is consulting on plans to add new lanes on the approaches and exits of Manadon roundabout to the north of the city to increase protection campaigners are concerned that could mean cutting down trees in Manadon Wood and said there was a lack of trust in the council after it cut down more than 100 trees at night in Armada city council said it was negotiating with property owners about buying land and some trees would have to be felled but said it would plant new trees in their place. One of the proposals is to add another lane on the approach to the roundabout on the A386 Outland Road which runs alongside ancient Curno is a volunteer with Plymouth Tree People, a charity that works to protect and increase the number of trees in the said: "The council has said there will be a lot of trees that need to be removed and they will be doing a three-for-one replacement."Our worry is that doesn't value the trees as they are - so a little sapling might not need replacing whereas some of the ancient or veteran trees are much more valuable and the ancient woodland in particular is irreplaceable."Mr Curno said following the Armada Way tree-felling, trust in the council "does need to be built up".He said: "The Armada Way independent learning review stated that trust is the one thing the council needed to work on and this is the sort of scheme they can use to work on that trust." John Stevens, cabinet member for transport at the Labour-led council, said the council was consulting on all aspects of the scheme: "We have learned, we are a learning council."Stevens said some trees would have to be removed "inevitably" but the council would replace each tree lost with "at least three trees".Regarding the possibility of compulsory purchase orders on homes and land in the area to facilitate the project, Stevens said: "In all schemes where you're expecting improvements to lanes there might be the loss of some land but that wouldn't be against the will of the people who are actually living in them now."Plymouth City Council has £133m of funding from the Department for Transport to pay for the scheme and said it wanted to improve traffic flow for everyone passing through Manadon as the city expands. The effectiveness of the plans and the cost of the scheme are also being called into question by the Conservative councillor for the area, Chris said: "Plymouth does not have a very good track record of either financial management or project delivery."The amount of disruption residents are going to face for ten years - people losing their gardens, losing their houses as well."There's a lot of concern locally and we need to make sure the council are actually listening and can adapt the scheme to suit local people's needs."More information events will take place on Friday at Manadon Sports Hub and on Saturday at Central Library with the public consultation closing on 24 June.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Arboretum marks 50th anniversary
A Plymouth community tree project is marking its 50th anniversary. Radford Park Arboretum, in Plymstock, was started in 1975 and now includes more than 150 different types of tree. Initially local people fundraised for trees and then they started planting on the 27-acre site between Radford Lodge and Hooe Lake. Volunteer and horticulturalist Graham Titchmarsh said: "Some are quite rare nationally, and very interesting, and we have quite an unusual wide range of varieties." The first tree to be planted was a sequoia Californian redwood. Severe winter gales followed by the summer drought of 1976 then resulted in the loss of 80% of the original trees planted. Many were ornamental trees or endangered species from other countries that can now no longer be exported. Over the years volunteers have replanted the area with native species and there are now about 300 trees on the site. "Going forward, we need to assess each tree's needs and add to the native population here," Mr Titchmarsh said. The arboretum is popular with people living nearby, including Kevin Warley, who has a memorial tree to his father there. "We've lived in the area all our lives and my father loved his gardening so he came down and helped," he said. He added: "The park has been here since Tudor times so we're just enhancing it for people. "It's one of Plymouth's best kept secrets." A booklet marking the 25th anniversary of the site included comments by the city council's nature conservation officer at the time, Andy Stevens. He said in the booklet: "We are indebted to those members of the community who have put so much effort into achieving a valuable resource". The arboretum continues with the support of volunteers who help to manage the current trees and plant for the future. To mark the 50th anniversary, the Plymouth Tree People worked with Oreston Academy to plant 12 new trees on the site. A cherry tree was also planted by local MP Rebecca Smith. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ First trees planted after city centre felling Thousands of trees planted to create rainforest Tree planting to boost flood resilience under way Plymouth Tree People Oreston Academy Radford Park Arboretum
BBC News
09-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Plymstock arboretum marks 50th anniversary
A Plymouth community tree project is marking its 50th Park Arboretum, in Plymstock, was started in 1975 and now includes more than 150 different types of local people fundraised for trees and then they started planting on the 27-acre site between Radford Lodge and Hooe and horticulturalist Graham Titchmarsh said: "Some are quite rare nationally, and very interesting, and we have quite an unusual wide range of varieties." 'Best kept secret' The first tree to be planted was a sequoia Californian winter gales followed by the summer drought of 1976 then resulted in the loss of 80% of the original trees planted. Many were ornamental trees or endangered species from other countries that can now no longer be the years volunteers have replanted the area with native species and there are now about 300 trees on the site."Going forward, we need to assess each tree's needs and add to the native population here," Mr Titchmarsh arboretum is popular with people living nearby, including Kevin Warley, who has a memorial tree to his father there."We've lived in the area all our lives and my father loved his gardening so he came down and helped," he added: "The park has been here since Tudor times so we're just enhancing it for people. "It's one of Plymouth's best kept secrets." A booklet marking the 25th anniversary of the site included comments by the city council's nature conservation officer at the time, Andy said in the booklet: "We are indebted to those members of the community who have put so much effort into achieving a valuable resource".The arboretum continues with the support of volunteers who help to manage the current trees and plant for the mark the 50th anniversary, the Plymouth Tree People worked with Oreston Academy to plant 12 new trees on the site. A cherry tree was also planted by local MP Rebecca Smith.
