A green and leafy Burntwood

Published on Monday, 1st February 2010

burntwood tree planting gareth hare and cllr roberts 5 Tree planting to create a green gateway into Burntwood

The second phase of Lichfield District Council's project, to create a large avenue of trees in Burntwood, has been completed this winter. John Brown Nurseries, based in Muckley Corner, planted the batch of semi-mature trees on a busy stretch of road leading into the town centre.

The council commissioned the work after London & Cambridge Properties Ltd (LCP), who own Burntwood Business Park Zones 2 - 4 in the area, kindly gave them permission to plant a number of trees on their land.

The 20 trees, which can now be seen lining Miners Way, are London Planes. Attractive trees, chosen for their hardy nature, they could grow to nearly 100 feet.

These new trees join 20 other London Planes, which the council planted in the first stage of the Burntwood Avenues project, at the start of 2009. These are all complemented by a further 25 trees of the same species, which the council negotiated with Morrisons to plant, when they extended their Burntwood store last year.

The council is now looking forward to the spring when the nearly completed avenue of trees will come into leaf, making the journey in and out of Burntwood more enjoyable for all.

Councillor Neil Roberts, Cabinet Member for Development Services, said: "When we asked local residents what we could do to improve Burntwood, many said they would like to see a leafier Burntwood. This is why we decided to use some of the Section 106 funding - which are funds we negotiate with developers to spend on improving the local area - to create a stunning avenue of trees. We are eagerly anticipating the spring when the main road into Burntwood will be transformed into a green and leafy avenue.

"A big thank you must go to LCP for allowing us to plant this last batch of trees on their land, and to Morrisons for getting behind the project, and using their new planting to make the avenue bigger and better so it has more of an impact."