Avian overcrowding?

At Patcham Place

It was the Rockery at Preston that was originally known as the Rookery but presumably as mature trees were lost the rooks moved out to Patcham Place and colonies were to be seen in several of the tall trees that lined the A23.  Now many of these trees have been lost but the few remaining still host  nesting rooks. The nest density seems somewhat higher than before but they are a gregarious species.

Stanmer woodland management.

Areas of work

Starting tomorrow, thinning out of trees and coppicing is beginning  in three areas – the Water Catcher, Flint Heap and Upper Lodges Wood. 

No memorial trees will be affected by this work.

Access to these areas will be restricted between 8am and 4pm for periods of between one to three days, while work is carried out.

The work is part of the council’s Stanmer Woodland Management Plan, which was approved by the Forestry Commission following citywide consultation earlier this year.

The plan aims to:

• maintain and preserve open access
• build resilience against Ash Dieback and other diseases and ensure existing woodland cover is maintained
• increase biodiversity and protect nationally and locally rare flora and fauna
• produce semi commercial timber extraction of coppice products, wood fuel and timber.

The work is being managed by Pryor and Rikett, a Lewes based forest management company.

The Message of the Trees

North Street is known to have high levels of pollution.  

The two trees above have been struggling for years. The furthest one has been replaced at least once. Perhaps, once they have managed to lift their crowns above the worst pollution, which we have to breathe, they will do better.

The Clock Tower. 

Trees of shorter habit do not have the option of growing out of the worst pollution and eventually succumb. The nearest one, arguably in the worst pollution died last year. It looks as if the furthest one is suffering the same fate.

Western Road

Wider, traffic-restricted Western Road has smoother traffic flow and all the trees are doing better. The specimen illustrated has been heavily pruned at least once.

Tree canopy

Although some parts of the city are leafy Brighton's overall tree canopy cover is only 14.4%. This is below the national average for England at 16% and  compares very unfavourably with the best, Farnham, at 45%. London has 21.9% tree cover.

Brighton & Hove has lost many mature trees to disease and development over the last few years. It would be interesting to know if young trees are being planted at a sufficient rate to improve on the 14.4% figure.

See also: Trees in Brighton - and earlier opinion.

The Patcham Elms

1933

July 2010. Showing first signs of disease.

The felling

May 2012. 5 new disease resistant elms.

May 2017. Getting there . . .

Patcham problems

In the northern wilds of the city battle lines are being drawn. In Old London Road, Patcham, immediately south of the conservation area, London developers McCarthy & Stone are proposing the demolition of 4 detached houses and their replacement by a large "assisted living" block of apartments. The planning application has not yet been submitted but, if the early proposals come to fruition it would mean that where at present about a dozen people live there would eventually be over 80.

2016

The proposals

The environmental costs would be high. About fifty mature  trees , and most garden shrubbery would be lost. Proposed on-site parking is limited and the development would increase traffic in an already busy area with staff daily competing for the limited parking spaces in nearby, already congested, streets. The area has a flooding problem and to counter this the 3 storey building would be erected on a metre-high concrete platform which would result in it towering above neighbouring property and dominating the streetscape.

Some might argue that in the light of the country's housing needs these are costs that have to be paid and difficulties that have to be overcome or endured wherever the development. Yet a two-storey building of half the size could still make a useful contribution to housing without significantly damaging the  "peaceful suburb, full of leafy streets and large green spaces" that McCartney & Stone boasts of in its brochure.

Obviously maximising profit from the site is the prime concern of the developer. This makes it vital that plans such as these that substantially and suddenly change the essential character of a neighbourhood be subject to rigorous criticism. Without effective opposition the trend would inevitably be for greater densities, greater environmental degradation, wherever development is proposed.

Patcham roundabout ructions

It does look bad and I'm not convinced that there was any real safety issue here. In fact the foliage helped to obscure headlight glare in some directions thus improving visibilty.

However the shrubs and trees have not been removed but cut back to the base. I suspect that, by the end of this growing season, when the stumps have produced new foliage, people will be wondering what all the fuss was about.

North Street trees

As part of the North Street improvement scheme it was the original intention to plant trees directly into the ground. This would have saved pavement space and given the trees themselves a better chance in a difficult environment. Unfortunately, after several trial holes were dug along North Street, it became clear that the prevalence of existing underground utilities precluded this option. So, rather than have no trees at all, planting tubs were chosen. These come with 5 years worth of pre-paid maintenance, which should give the trees a reasonable chance of becoming established.

See also: North Street progress

The Hove Park Depot development

                

Planning application BH2014/00922 proposes the demolition of some existing single-storey buildings and the construction of a two storey building on the site of the Council's Hove Park Gardeners' Depot. The Council thinks it can move the existing facilities to Stanmer Park nurseries. Presumably the consequential extra traffic at Stanmer and on the Lewes Road, and the extra mileage to City Centre gardens are judged not to be important considerations.

The site at present.

Looking NW across Hove Park the new building will be behind the belt of trees to the left of the Engineerium chimney.

The building will be large enough to serve 650 pupils

It seems that the building will not obtrude seriously on the landscape, especially in comparison with the lowering buildings of the City Business Park. What is of serious concern is the effect on traffic in the area. Such a specialised school must draw its pupils from over a wide area and the number of young children who will be living within walking distance will be negligible. How will pupils arrive and be collected from the school?  Will working parents voluntarily take and collect their children by bus, or will several hundred cars be descending on the quiet, narrow Droveway, or busy Nevill Road area twice a day? Even in Goldstone Crescent across the Park, parking spaces are not plentiful.

Looking east in the Droveway towards the site entrance.

The proposed building

 "SaveHOVE" has been campaigning against this proposal for some time. For their latest comment see "The Whistleblower, the EFA and the Spanish Bilingual Primary School".

Royal Pavilion Elms

This is looking ominous. I hope the localised dying leaves don't signify disease. It is one of the pair of giant elm trees just inside the North Gate. The sister tree just a few yards away was recognised in 2002 as one of 50 'Great British Trees' in the national heritage.

Flourishing Fig

It is said that figs like to have their roots restricted but this is ridiculous. This tree is on the top of the cliff-retaining wall opposite Asda. It has presumably grown from a seed deposited in the droppings of a seagull or pigeon that had been scavenging waste bins nearby. It is clearly thriving, perhaps another sign of climate change. Figs in Sussex have put on about 18" of growth this year, about double the usual amount, and they aren't finished yet.

The Seven Dials

The Seven Dials roundabout, one of the earliest in the country, dates from the 1920's. It once had a large circular island such that traffic proceeded in an orderly single file around its perimeter. Later on in the 20th.C, with increasing traffic, this led to long queues at peak times. Several decades ago in an effort to increase the capacity of the junction the size of the central island was severely reduced in size.

Drivers arriving at the junction nowadays eye up the vehicles on their right, try and make a guess at where they are going, and then make a dash for any perceived lacuna.

Now the wheel has turned full circle. The latest scheme from the Council, on which work has started, will provide a large elongated central island in order to keep general traffic in a single circulatory lane:-

Cyclists will benefit from the slower vehicle speeds and lanes designed so they can occupy the centre of the lane without the fear of being cut up by overtaking vehicles.

The progress of pedestrians around the Dials will be greatly speeded up by wider pavements and replacing the lights-controlled crossings with zebras.

The visual appearance of the area will be generally uplifted by introducing high quality new paving and street furniture such as planters and benches and removing unnecessary railings and street clutter.

Eight to ten new trees will be planted around the Dials. The planting areas will be constructed during the main construction works and the new trees will be planted in late summer or autumn time.   

"Madness at the Seven Dials"

"The Elms", Patcham Village

"The Elms", a terrace of shops with flats above, took their name from the twin trees shown centre-right in the above photo. In 1933, the date of the photo, the right-hand end of the terrace had yet to be completed and this allows a glimpse of the undeveloped field beyond. The Patcham by-pass had been opened 7 years earlier, which accounts for the traffic free Old London Road. The trees on the left are in the garden of grade II listed Wootton  House. Its flint wall is still there but hidden by cars in the photo below. 

The elm trees in July 2010 showing the first signs of disease.

August 2010, "The Elms" revealed once more.

The trees replanted.

Victoria Gardens: then & now

The apparent tranquillity of the top scene provides a poignant hint of how much the urban environment has deteriorated over the last 100 years. Even had the benches survived to the present day they would not be popular, situated just a few yards from heavy traffic in Gloucester Place. The situation is not helped by the removal of the perimeter shrubbery. I am not sure of the 'when' and 'why'. Perhaps it suffered from modern traffic pollution. Perhaps it was removed as a cost-cutting exercise; or the authorities' aversion to enclosed public spaces on the grounds that they encourage anti-social behaviour.

The Council has recently embarked on public consultation on a Valley Gardens improvement scheme. The object of this is to draw up a comprehensive programme of modifications to paths, traffic flows,  planting etc. to enhance the user's experience of the area. Surely one "no-brainer" requirement is to reinstate the shrub border using a tough, pollution resistant plant variety, and narrow or even eliminate these side paths. As has been often suggested, a path down the centre of the garden would give the pedestrian a much greater sense of isolation from the traffic.

Other related posts (oldest first):-
North Victoria Garden scheme
Victoria Gardens update
Victoria gardens revisited
Valley Gardens consultation
Valley Gardens consultation - update

Preston Drove plaint . .

Until a few months ago this was an attractively bosky section of Preston Drove, with much of the cricket pavilion screened with foliage, while the entrance to the Tennis Club on the right was overhung with leafy branches. Now it looks rather like a builder's yard.

This fine beech tree was condemned due to the presence of two types of decay fungus. The standing trunk has been left as a "habitat pole" (for the time being). Unfortunately it looks rather sad and does nothing to enhance the scene.

Patcham Village new elms

Patcham's five new elms are seeing their second spring in the village and look to be doing well.

Previous post:- Patcham gets new elms

May May

Otherwise; Quickthorn, Hawthorn, Whitethorn or Crataegus monogyna

Green Ridge & Coney Woods

This would be a pleasant, even idyllic, prospect on Green Ridge if it were not completely spoilt by the obtrusive noticeboard. Someone on the Council's staff seems to have a particular penchant for these objects, (see also "Down with seafront & other signs"). It seems the public cannot be allowed to enjoy the outdoors at face value but have to be 'educated' at the same time. Why not just leave us to enjoy the view and, if we feel so moved seek out supplementary information for ourselves? 

Now it is announced that the local wildlife group Keep the Ridge Green (KTRG) has secured a grant of £27,269 from the Big Lottery Fund, the money to be spent in providing a package of improvements for Green Ridge and Coney Woods.  The work suggested is:-

• Creating new habitats for dormice, owls, butterflies & bats.
• Nature trail for families.
• Adding rustic seating near the pond.
• Improving footpaths.
• Creating glades in Coney Woods.
• Improving steps and providing handrails.

One hopes that none of this work will result in a further proliferation of noticeboards. 

Coney Woods

Green Ridge Grant - Press release
Keep the Ridge Green

Valley Gardens consultation.

Over the years Councils of various shades have promised to "do something" about the Valley Gardens. A commitment to action also featured in the Green Party's manifesto before the last elections. Now a relevant consultation document has been posted on the Council's website. This invites you to record your opinions on the present state of the Gardens and your ideas for their improvement.
To take part go to:- Consultation Portal - Valley Gardens.

Here are a few ideas for improvement you might think worth mentioning:-

Old Steine:-

•  Dig up the roadway on the south east corner and return it to garden. This was nibbled from the gardens over 100 years ago for the trams, it is now very underused. 
• Close the St. James St./Castle Sq. traffic crossover (see below) and join the two sections of the Steine up. This will mean that all traffic has to go round the south, or north end of the Steine. So what?
• Dig up the unused roadway along the west side of the north section and return it to plantings. This area was pinched from the Steine comparatively recently for the bus lanes but has now become redundant.
• Provide a pedestrian crossing point from the north end of the Steine gardens to the pavement in front of the Royal Pavilion.

Note. All the locations mentioned are pin-pointed in the above aerial view of the Steine. Click on the picture to see full-size image. 

St. James's St./Castle Sq. crossover

Western side of Old Steine north

Victoria Gardens:-

Victoria Gardesn southern section

• In the large southern section put in diagonal paths, where people walk, (see above) and compensate for the loss of grass by reducing the width of the pavements around the edges. These pavements seem to be very rarely used.
• In the northern narrow section (see below) increase its width by removing much of the perimeter paving, particularly on the west side. It is shabby, unnecessarily wide and seldom used. Provide a path down the centre of the garden so that pedestrians can enjoy their walk at maximum remove from the traffic.

West side of Victoria gardens north.

Victoria Gardens north

New trees for Patcham village?

The City's Arboricultural Manager, Rob Greenland is investigating the suitability of this large area of asphalt between the Black Lion, Patcham & the Jubilee Fountain for the planting of two trees.

The area was created last year during the A23 traffic improvement work by the removal of the short slip road between the A23 and Church Hill, Patcham. It seems an ideal location for the establishment of a large tree or two which would greatly enhance the appearance of this important City gateway location. Such a planting would also restore something of the streetscape of times past as illustrated in this c.100 year-old postcard below.

The critical factors that have to be determined are the location of any underground services and whether or not the original road still remains beneath the paving.