COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM/TEMPLEOGUE-TERENURE AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
MOTION NO. 13
MOTION: Councillor D. O'Donovan
"That this Area Committee calls on the Chief Executive to report on the plans for planting trees on open green spaces within the RTT area, outlining the location of same and reasoning behind locations chosen."
REPORT:
In the 2018/19 Tree Planting Programme a total of 355 trees were planted in the RTT area. A total of 27% of the total number of trees planted in the area - 96 trees - were planted in open spaces.
Potential sites for tree planting are inspected to assess their suitability for new trees, considering factors such as services, sight lines, warning signs and traffic signals, space for future growth, etc. When positioning new street trees the Council aims to:
- avoid future obstruction of public lighting columns by ensuring that the fully mature new tree canopy will be ideally greater than 5m but certainly no less than 3m from the lighting column,
- seek to ensure that future tree growth does not compromise a minimum footpath width of 1.2m, and
- make adequate soil volume a priority to sustain tree health and longevity when selecting planting sites and preparing pits for tree planting.
In many areas it is not possible to replant in residential street margins due to the listed considerations. It is possible to plant in open space area without affecting services and the area also provides an opportunity to plant a greater variety of species such as more ornamental trees e.g. Flowering Cherry species and others. The diversity of species adds to the aesthetic appearance of the area and provides greater opportunity for biodiversity of insects and bird species.