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Preston’s university plants new trees to ‘green up’ the city skyline

Posted on - 16th January, 2020 - 7:00am | Author - | Posted in - Preston News, UCLan, University campus
CGI aerial view of Adelphi roundabout and the new UCLan Student Centre when works are completed
CGI aerial view of Adelphi roundabout and the new UCLan Student Centre when works are completed

UCLan’s plan to ‘green up’ Preston’s skyline is underway, after the first cluster of hundreds of new trees were planted.

The six new trees have been planted on Corporation Street, next to the recently opened £35 million Engineering Innovation Centre.

The London Plane trees, which will each grow up to 35 metres in height, have an unusually tall trunk, meaning branches will grow well above the height of passing traffic. They are popular in urban environments around the world due to their durability and habit of rarely shedding branches.

The five-year-old trees were grown in Germany and have been planted now to give them the best opportunity of developing strong roots ahead of their growth phase in spring and early summer.

Read more: Watch as UCLan’s new Engineering Innovation Centre comes to life

Over the next two years, 300 new trees will be planted, bringing the total number across the UCLan campus to more than 700.

Michael Ahern, UCLan’s Chief Information and Infrastructure Officer, said: “Our new £60 million Student Centre and Civic Square development will include approximately 40 new trees as well as a significant number of other flowering plants and shrubs.

“On a wider scale we’ll be planting hundreds of additional trees across the campus all of which will provide habitat and support to the local wildlife as well as making it a great place to live, work and study.”

Michael Ahern and Suntosh Kaur at the site of the new trees on Corporation Street
Michael and Suntosh Kaur (President of UCLan Students’ Union) at the site of the new trees on Corporation Street

Local resident David Toase, who in 2018 started a campaign to Save the Adelphi Roundabout Trees, said: “I have previously had a commitment from the Masterplan team to include several specimens of weeping ash (Fraxinus excelsior ‘Pendula’) to replace the one destroyed on the roundabout and I will be reminding them of that.

“Apart from that, things are looking good!”

Meanwhile work on UCLan’s Masterplan continues to progress, with changes to the highways around the Adelphi Quarter being carried out by Balfour Beatty, and ground preparation for the Student Centre and Civic Square taking place through Bowmer + Kirkland.

Read more: Road changes as UCLan Masterplan moves into next major phase

To keep informed of travel updates and diversions, visit www.uclanmasterplan.co.uk or follow @uclanmasterplan on Twitter. You can also email the Masterplan team with any queries at uclanmasterplan@uclan.ac.uk.

What do you think of the new trees and the plans to plant hundreds more? Let us know in the comments.

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