The London Borough of Redbridge seeks to assist the London Mayor’s target to increase tree canopy cover in London by 10% by 2050. The Council’s Climate Change Action Plan and Green Urban Landscape policy for council maintained land both identify that tree planting should be a priority and that this should include planting in urban areas to deliver the benefits of trees to where people live.
Highway tree planting
The Council is creating new tree positions on the Highway starting in Goodmayes Ward.
We have also successfully obtained grant funding from Thames Chase and are aiming to plant 13 trees in new positions on Oakwood Gardens and Leamington Gardens.
Goodmayes street trial tree planting scheme
Oakwood gardens and Leamington Gardens are being considered for planting, offering a fantastic opportunity to bring the benefits of trees directly to your neighbourhood to help clean up local air quality and combat the impact of climate change.
The following 13 locations for the new trees have been chosen to ensure they don’t impact on existing drop kerbs or restrict driveway access and tree species will be chosen on their suitability for the area and nearby properties.
We will be completing underground checks during the coming months to ensure locations are suitable before planting is carried out during April 2025.
This scheme is a trail, pending the success of this scheme, the council will be looking to increase tree planting in new positions on the Highway during the following planting season between November 2025 – April 2026.
The council directly employs specialists to manage over 40,000 council trees, the staff from the council's arboricultural and horticultural team will manage this planting project over the next few years.
This website page will be updated with new information as the scheme progresses and when available this should include trial hole locations, planting plans and a method to raise issues if they are not addressed in the frequently asked questions listed below. If you would like to be alerted when there is an update for this planting scheme, please register your interest and we will notify you when there is new information.
Locations of trial holes
These are the Planting Locations (PDF 1.1MB) that show the locations of the first set of trial holes, which are identified as the numbered red dots, for the following roads:
- Leamington Gardens
- Oakwood Gardens
Frequently asked questions
Why plant on the street?
Why plant in my street?
This project proposes to plant trees on the footpaths outside residential properties to start replacing canopy cover that has been lost from private properties, to provide the benefits of trees directly to where people live.
The proposed area for Highway tree planting will be in the South Ilford area within Goodmayes Ward. Goodmayes Ward has been selected as it contains the 20th lowest number of Highway trees, 1.9% of total, this ward contains just 4% of total canopy cover in Redbridge, and is the 16th lowest of coverage in Redbridge.
Can I choose the species of tree that will be planted?
The range of species that are suitable for a street is limited, so you will not be able to propose a species to plant; however, if you have a preference on flower colour we may be able to meet that request.
Provisionally species that are proposed are listed below:
- Amelanchier canadensis
- Betula albosinensis 'Fascination'
- Crataegus laevigata 'Crimson Cloud'
- Crataegus monogyna 'stricta'
- Halesia carolina
- Parrotia persica 'Vanessa'
- Prunus 'Kanzan'
- Prunus litigosa
- Prunus 'Royal Burgundy'
- Sorbus comixta 'Olympic Flame'
- Styrax japonicus 'June Snow'
Can I have a tree outside my house?
Once planting plans have been created and shown on this website, if there is no position plotted on the plan outside your house, then either we did not consider the position suitable or the distribution of the trees on the road meant that a tree outside your house would have been too close to anther tree.
Can I help look after a tree?
Once planted residents will be encouraged to adopt, water and sow native wildflowers in tree pits to improve establishment and increase biodiversity, for further information please see our Adopt and water a tree website page.
Will the trees cause a mess with leaves and fruit and block light?
There are some negative effects of having tree near residential properties and these include dealing with fallen leaves and fruit and blocking light; however, the benefits of trees are considered to outweigh these seasonal nuisances. Additionally, trees will not be planted that produce large fruits, smaller species will be selected, the council’s cleansing team clear fallen leaves from footpaths on a regular programme and the trees will be regularly inspected and pruned to maintain them within reasonable bounds.
Will the tree cause damage to my house?
Tree related Subsidence damage to houses is a complex risk that warrants careful consideration. Subsidence damage is not inevitable and is not predictable within an acceptable margin of error. When selecting tree species to plant in a road, we select the right tree so it does not get too large and the tree is added to a management cycle to maintain it within reasonable bounds.
The trees will be planted with a root barrier that will direct tree roots downwards and will reduce the likelihood of surface roots causing damage to footpaths and driveways.
Will the trees reduce car parking opportunities?
The tree positions that are chosen should not impact parking in the street; where suitable positions will be selected to go in between property boundaries so planting should not impact existing or future footway crossings. Where there is footway parking, tree positions will allow for enough room for vehicles to park on either side of the trees which should not reduce the total number of available parking positions in the road .
When a resident applies for a footway crossing to drive onto their property the arboricultural and horticultural team will be consulted as part of the application process and the size of the crossing may be reduced to preserve a future tree position; however, reductions in crossing width are unlikely to be significant and should only be around 60 centimetres.
How will the tree be maintained?
The London Borough of Redbridge has an established tree maintenance regime. In the first three years the trees should be watered, support stakes adjusted, and minor pruning work carried out to improve the tree’s form. The tree will be inspected annually for safety and at least once every three years for pruning work to maintain the tree within reasonable bounds. If a tree dies it will be removed and a replacement tree planted in the winter.
What if my question has not been answered above?
If the information provided does not address your query relating to a tree identified on the planting plan, please contact us using the following email address GreenUrbanLandscape@redbridge.gov.uk.
In order for the arboricultural and horticultural team to advance the project and provide sufficient time to investigate and respond to enquires about a proposed planting position, please only contact about us about this planting project if your enquiry relates to a position on a planting plan and that addresses an issue not included in these frequently asked questions.
