A modified design for the Armada Way regeneration project has now been published, as promised, on our website.
This follows a decision by the City Council on 21 November 2022 to pause the Armada Way project to allow concerns regarding the removal of the existing trees to be considered.
A multi-disciplinary design team – comprising planners, engineers, landscape architects, urban designers, an ecologist and a specialist tree consultant considered the proposals to see if more of the existing trees could be incorporated within the project, or relocated elsewhere, while keeping the overall integrity of the scheme and its wider benefits. The review has taken some time as the process took into account a number of different issues, both above and below ground, with the Christmas shutdown adding to this delay.
The modified scheme now proposes the retention of 24 existing trees and a total of 150 new semi-mature trees of various native and ornamental species more appropriate to a city centre setting. This brings the total of trees in the Armada Way scheme to 174.
The vast majority of new trees range from between six metres up to eight metres tall at the point they are planted, with some specimens being slightly shorter, however still semi-mature / mature at planting. Planting will take place in phases, and new planting will have an instant impact, including visually and environmentally.
After much discussion, an extra seven existing trees can be retained including four cockspur thorns, two wild cherry trees and a Swedish whitebeam. In addition a further three new trees will be added to the scheme.
The campaigners were asking for as many trees as possible to be kept. But the design team had to take into account a number of other factors. This included the creation of a tree-lined avenue through the centre of Armada Way with a stream in the middle – with links to drainage systems, a path and a new cycle route, which is critical to the scheme.
The proposed location of tree pits, existing and proposed drainage systems, which will form part of the urban sustainable drainage system as well as the considerable network of utilities beneath the ground and proposed levels were other factors at play.
The design team also considered options suggested by campaign groups for the translocation of existing trees. Some 25 existing trees were identified as potentially possible for translocation but this is now not being taken forward as it is not regarded as good arboriculture practice and the relocated trees are unlikely to survive the move.
Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Jonathan Drean said: “We have tried to take on board the wishes of the campaigners and have incorporated more existing trees as well as new trees.
“But this scheme has to be about so much more than trees. It is about changing a tired street into somewhere people want to go, where there are things for families to do and a much more attractive – and much needed – new look for the city centre.
“City centre businesses have been crying out for this investment. We have received strong representations from the City Centre Company and many local businesses asking us to support the delivery of the original scheme.
“Our previous consultations also had support from many organisations including Historic England, Homes England, the Twentieth Century Society, Devon Gardens Trust and others.
“Ultimately I have to balance a number of different views and opinions on the best way forward, including the sustainable transport outcomes I am responsible for delivering under the Transforming Cities Fund programme.
“How Armada Way looks at the moment is hardly inspiring to future investors in our city. It is not a safe and welcoming environment. We want and need this scheme to happen because we know that we have to re-imagine how our city centre works in the future as it will face many economic challenges in the coming years that we have to act upon.”
He added: “I genuinely understand the concerns expressed about the removal of the existing trees, which is why I paused the scheme and asked for these concerns to be considered again, even though we had already started work.
“I personally asked that we look carefully at the opportunity to translocate some of the trees. As I said before, I am not a tree expert, and all the advice I have received, including from the project tree experts, the Council’s own Natural Infrastructure Team and the Woodland Trust was that this was simply not advisable.
“I am disappointed by that, but ultimately I have to follow that specialist advice I am given. Translocating the trees would have cost over £50,000 and I was told a very large number would be likely to die. I have reluctantly, therefore, decided not to include this within the final design that we are publishing today.”