QPARA has a very active Street Trees group. They have a register of all street trees in the area and liaise with Brent on planting new trees, stump removal and management of existing trees.
Funding for this comes from Brent, generous donations from residents and occasional grants from QPARA.
Link to General Information about Street Trees.
Update re Hosepipe Ban
The following information has been passed to us by Richard Gentry of the City of London Environment Department.
Following representation to Thames Water, by the GLA, based on collective feedback they are adding new exceptions and some revisions to their legal notice of water restrictions, issued on 17th August. New exception number 23 relates to watering trees as follows:
“23. Trees planted in the last three planting seasons: You may use a hosepipe to water trees planted in the last three planting seasons that cannot reasonably be hand-watered or watered with non-potable water. This exception only extends to planting by a council, charitable/voluntary organisation, commercial organisation, local authority-affiliated body such as a community tree nursery, or which require watering as part of a Forestry Commission grant agreement.“
This has now been posted to their website:- Legal notice of water restrictions.
2020 – 2022: New trees and tree sponsorship
Between 2020 and early 2022, Brent Council and QPARA worked together on an ambitious planting scheme. Brent was able to find funding for 10 new trees in the QPARA area, and local residents provided funding, co-ordinated by QPARA, for over 30 more new trees at a cost of £140 per tree. In addition, Brent removed all of the stumps in the area, freeing up spaces for replacement trees. (Sadly, a number of new stumps were created shortly afterwards by the spring storms, although we understand that these will also be removed in due course.) This programme made a major dent in the street tree deficit in the area. As of the middle of 2022 we estimate that we only require an additional 25 trees to fill all the gaps in Queen’s Park.
We hope that this successful partnership with Brent can be replicated in 2022-23. Discussions are currently ongoing about the cost per tree that Brent would charge and Brent’s capacity for maintaining more trees. If you are interested in sponsoring or part-sponsoring a new tree, please contact your street rep in the first instance with your thoughts on where you would like to see the tree planted.
Spring 2018: More trees for Queen’s Park’s streets
The street trees in the QPARA area are an important local amenity. They provide clean air, shade and a home for wildlife and they contribute to the character and sense of place. Well-maintained trees make our streets attractive, helping to enhance community pride and to reduce anti-social behaviour.
But these trees don’t last for ever and some streets in Queen’s Park currently have large gaps where trees have been removed. Accordingly, QPARA has voted to donate £4,000 to Brent Council to replace many
of them, close to their original locations. QPARA members have indicated where they want trees planted. Several of the suggested sites for the new trees listed below are close to school playgrounds and main roads, helping to counteract traffic pollution and protect school children. We hope to involve local schools with the project.