Urban Tree Planting
Introduction to Urban Tree Planting
Urban trees have a huge range of benefits, both for wildlife and for people. As well as being good for our mental health, they help to clean our air, mask noise, absorb greenhouse gases, reduce flood risk, provide shade and protection, and reduce the urban heat island effect.
Trees also provide valuable wildlife corridors which can bring the countryside into the town by providing connectivity for invertebrates, birds and bats.
We work closely with partners and community groups to plant trees around the county. Several projects are currently underway to plant trees in urban areas.
Please see the East Sussex Highways website for more information on how we look after trees or to report a problem with a tree.
Eastbourne
Treebourne has been awarded a grant by the Urban Tree Challenge Fund and are working with Eastbourne Borough Council to plant 1,000 street trees over the next two years. You can find out more on their website at Treebourne | Greening Eastbourne streets.
Seaford
East Sussex County Council has been awarded a grant by the Local Authority Treescapes Fund. It will pay for the removal of almost 100 tree stumps and the planting of 180 new trees across the town. Around 400 mature elms have had to be felled in Seaford since 2017 due to old age and Dutch Elm Disease and this will go some way to replace them.
A special maintenance programme of regular watering and other maintenance will be put in place for the first three years to give them the best chance of survival.
The streets to be targeted are:
| Street | Stump Removal | Trees To Be Planted |
|---|---|---|
| Belgrave Road | YES | 20 |
| Carlton Road | YES | 18 |
| Downsview Road | YES | 2 |
| Grosvenor Road | YES | 12 |
| Grove Road | YES | 1 |
| Bracken Road | YES | 10 |
| Rother Road | YES | 11 |
| Chyngton Way | YES | 17 |
| Hartfield Road | YES | 28 |
| Other locations to be agreed | YES | 16 |
| Walmer Road including planting on the recreation ground | NO | 39 |
| South Way | NO | 6 |
The grant also included some funding for the local community group Trees for Seaford to help them purchase 90 trees which were planted over the winter of 2021 to 2022. Trees for Seaford is part of the Tree Wardens Network and has been working in Seaford for over 10 years. It has planted hundreds of trees in the town’s streets, schools and parks.
Bexhill
Environmental charity Trees for Cities has also been awarded a grant from the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund. They are working with Rother District Council and East Sussex County Council to plant around 600 street trees on land managed by the County Council in Bexhill over the winter of 2022 to 23. A follow up programme of watering and tree care will be in put in place to give them the best chance of survival.
Trees will be carefully chosen to suit each location. As well as physical considerations, we will take into account other factors including the character of each area, accessibility for pedestrians and sight lines for drivers. We will also consult with local residents.
A list of streets will be published on this webpage when the final decisions have been made.
Rother District Council and Trees for Cities are also working together on a separate project to plant trees in other green spaces that are managed by Rother District Council, around the town with funding from Defra’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund.
These projects are both part of the Trees for Cities’ Forgotten Places project – greening coastal towns and cities. It specifically focuses on increasing tree cover in coastal towns and cities with lower-than-average tree canopy cover and high levels of deprivation.
You can find out more on their website:
Forgotten Places: Greening Coastal Towns and Cities | Trees for Cities