Community consultation

In March and April 2022, we asked the community for feedback to help shape our draft Master Plan and Tree Management Plan for St James Park. We asked specific questions about trees along the central diagonal avenue and southern avenue of St James Park.

We asked about:

  • your preferred approach for replacing the elm trees along the central diagonal avenue and the southern avenue
  • which new tree species you would prefer to see planted along the central diagonal avenue.

We received feedback from different groups in our community through our online survey and onsite drop-in sessions.

What we found out

We asked our community to help decide the best way to manage some of the trees at the end of their life during our 2022 planting season.

Central diagonal avenue

There was a clear preference for how to manage the central diagonal avenue.

We presented 2 options to the community to find the best way to remove and replace trees along the avenue. We also provided a third option for the community to say they didn't have a preference. Out of these, 47% of people preferred the option to replace the trees one side at a time. This would involve removing and replacing trees on the south-east side first (where the trees are in poorer condition) and pruning the deadwood from the north-west trees. Arborists would then come back in 2 to 3 years to replace the north-west trees. This option was a clear majority compared to the other 2 options.

We also presented 3 options to the community to find out which tree species they wanted to see planted along the avenue. We found out 47% of people preferred to see the Chestnut-leaved Oak (Quercus castaneifolia) species planted along the avenue. This option was a clear majority compared to the other 2 options.

Southern avenue

We received mixed views about how to manage some of the trees along the park’s southern avenue:

  • 28% of people preferred the option to remove and replace all the trees along the avenue this year.
  • 21% of people preferred the option to remove and replace the trees on each end of the row of trees, and prune the 3 trees in the middle until they can also be replaced within 3 years.
  • 18% of people preferred the option to prune the deadwood on all trees this year, and remove and replace the trees in 3 years.
  • 30% of people didn’t have a preference.

Works we have completed

Based on community feedback, we decided on our approach to manage the trees in the park and started works in mid-June 2022.

Tree removals and pruning

We removed the trees on the south-east side of the central diagonal avenue and pruned the deadwood from the north-west side trees.

We also pruned the deadwood in the trees along the park’s northern avenue.

Based on mixed views in the community about how to manage the southern avenue trees, we decided to take a conservative approach. We removed the trees most in need of removal first and pruned the deadwood from all others.

The trees we removed and replaced are marked on the map below.

A map of St James Park showing 14 trees along the central diagonal avenue that we will remove and replace. It also shows 7 trees along the southern avenue that we will remove and replace.

New plantings

After we removed the trees, it was important that we made sure the soil conditions were improved before the new trees were planted. We then prepared the sites and kept them tidy until we could plant the new trees.

Between May and September 2023, we planted new trees along the central diagonal avenue. We also planted new elms along the southern avenue to replace the elms at the end of their life.

During pruning

When arborists prune the deadwood from ageing trees, they may find there is more damage to a tree than what they could see from the ground. As much as possible, arborists will try to save the tree. However, in extreme cases a tree may need to be removed.

We found 2 trees that needed to be removed and replaced in the park that aren’t marked on the map.

How we will use the timber

We have reused suitable timber from the trees and branches we removed in a sustainable way. They will be milled and create timber for future furniture-making. This helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and reduced the amount of chipping needed.