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Regeneration of Elephant and Castle, Elephant Park

Project:

Elephant Park, a major regeneration project for Elephant & Castle

Client:

Lendlease

Requirement:

1,100 semi-mature trees, at 20-25cm and 40-45cm girth

Hillier Project Manager:

Caroline Swann

Plant Production:

Andlers Ash Field Grown Nursery and Broadmead Container Trees

Elephant Park

New trees at the Salisbury Estate

A community planting day at the Newington and Draper Estates

The Brief

“The brief was extraordinary in its scale and ambition,” comments Caroline Swann, Account Manager at Hillier Trees. “At the heart of the project is the Elephant Park development by Lendlease. As part of the contract awarded to them by Southwark Council, they also committed to greening up the entire Borough. Urban development projects occasionally require a number of ‘off-site’ trees within the proximity of the main development, but this project goes further and will transform the whole area.”

Multi-Phase Project

Hillier Trees is proud to be part of the major, ongoing, multi-phase ‘Elephant Park’ project that aims to regenerate not only the Elephant and Castle area of London, but also green up the entire London Borough of Southwark. Over a period of around 10 years, Hillier will have supplied 1,100 semi-mature trees to support this remarkable initiative.

The Elephant Park development project is the brainchild of multinational construction, property and infrastructure company Lendlease. It is a £2.3 billion regeneration programme on 28 acres of land in the centre of Elephant and Castle.

Through it, Lendlease intends to make this vibrant area of London one of the most exciting places in the capital to live, work and visit. It has been designed by landscape architect and urban design firm Gillespies and, in late 2012, Hillier was invited to tender for the supply of all trees.

Hillier was awarded the contract for the supply of 1,100 semi-mature trees, to be delivered as required over a period of approximately 10 years. “Lendlease have very strong environmental credentials and biosecurity was an important consideration for them,” says Caroline.

Prunus serrulata Sunset Boulevard in blossom

Tagging and Delivery Schedule

Larger trees, at 20-25cm and 40-45cm girth, were specified for the project. This was, in part, because Lendlease had committed to attaining a certain Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) to Southward Borough Council – through which, amenity trees are given a value as public assets. This is the first time a CAVAT commitment has been made on this scale.

Other vital elements of the contract award and delivery of the project were traceability and year-round delivery and planting. “The trees for this project have been selected rootball from our field tree nursery and then sent to our Broadmead container tree nursery in Hampshire,” says Caroline. “Lendlease and Gillespies have individually tagged and numbered every single tree.

Liquidambar Sweetgum trees growing in field

These trees have been called off for delivery by landscape contractor Gavin Jones by number as required, requiring expertise and due diligence from our Broadmead team.”

As a result of this detailed tagging and delivery schedule, Lendlease has been able to create a dedicated trees map for this project. It shows the exact planting location and species of every single one of the 1,100 trees.

The Results

Hillier is pleased to report a high success rate with planting of the project to date. Planting is due to continue until approximately 2022, when all 1,100 trees will be able to be enjoyed by residents and visitors to Southwark.

Paula Gervey, Public Realm Development Project Manager at Lendlease, comments; “Hillier Nurseries has been working with the Lendlease team on the Elephant and Castle project for five years now. The trees supplied have all been top quality semi-mature trees that have been specifically containerised for the project. Hillier Nurseries has been very professional and offered great customer support throughout the project.”

Chosen Trees

Specified tree varieties for the Elephant Park project included a number of flowering trees that would bring real enjoyment to the local community. Several pocket orchards have also been created throughout the streets; urban parks, several of which have integrated play areas for children. In these areas, mature apple trees have been specified to allow the community to enjoy the trees throughout the seasons, from admiring the blossom to picking the apples.

Prunus avium Plena semi mature trees growing in rows in a field with blossom

Key Trees

Liquidambar styraciflua

Renowned for its unparalleled autumn hues, the American Sweetgum has become a popular choice for avenue …

Prunus avium ‘Plena’

The medium-sized Prunus avium ‘Plena’ stands out as one of the most charming flowering trees. This …

Prunus ‘Snow Goose’

The Prunus Umineko is a hybrid of the Prunus speciosa and Prunus incisa. This was originally …

Prunus ‘Sunset Boulevard’

Originally identified as a seedling of Prunus serrulata Benden at Belguim’s Kalmthout Arboretum in the 1980’s, …

Pinus sylvestris

The only native Pine species to Britain, and proudly recognised as Scotland’s national tree, the Scots …

View all Trees

Paula Gervey, Public Realm Development Project Manager at Lendlease, comments;

“Hillier Nurseries has been working with the Lendlease team on the Elephant and Castle project for five years now. The trees supplied have all been top quality semi-mature trees that have been specifically containerised for the project. Hillier Nurseries has been very professional and offered great customer support throughout the project.”