Agenda item

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee received a report of the Director of the Built Environment presenting information on green initiatives in the City of London and outlining the results of a study into the use of a technique called Urban Greening Factor (UGF) as a means of delivering additional greening.

The report indicated that the City was surprisingly ‘green’. A Member stated that there had been a number of new trees planted in the City since 2010 and that it was disappointing to not see this referred to within the report. It was suggested that the City Commons at Ashtead and West Wickham should also be referred to in order to demonstrate the breadth of the City’s green interests.

A Member commented that the map at Appendix 1 depicting the distribution of trees across the City seemed to show a lack of planting in the Fleet Street area and the South Western block of the City. He therefore questioned how many trees had been planted here in the past 12 months or how many were planned in future for this area specifically.

Officers undertook to report back to Members on the number of trees planted and in which areas in recent years.  

A Member stated that the initial cost of any future planting needed to be taken in to account as well as the ongoing maintenance of any trees planted.  

A Member referred to the statement which highlighted that ground level space was at a premium in the City within the report and questioned whether this Committee and its Officers should be bold in future and focus on the provision of open/pedestrian space with developers. He suggested that perhaps a factor could be adopted going forward whereby developments likely to attract in excess of, say, 1,000 additional people to a certain area would be required to have a ratio applied in terms of how much space they should then look to provide for general public use at ground level.

The Chairman stated that the Local Plan would be the correct vehicle for considering the provision of public space at ground level and reminded Members that the draft document would be brought to the next meeting of this Committee for consideration.

RESOLVED – That Members note the green initiatives being undertaken in the City outlined in this report and the potential further progress under the Urban Greening Factor (UGF).