Residents feel the trees are ‘sad-looking’ and have a lot of overgrowth around them
Residents feel nearly 200 trees planted as part of a major road project have been left “neglected”. The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) recently redeveloped Milton Road, aiming to improve public transport, cycle, and walking infrastructure.
As part of the project, the GCP planted 199 new trees. Since the project’s completion, some residents feel the trees have been “abandoned”, and say they have been left in an unappealing state.
Naina Cowell, who’s lived on Milton Road for 47 years, said the trees look “neglected”. She said: “I miss the cherry blossoms. I like the road improvements, but it would have been nice if they planted proper things. I think greater thought could have gone into making the road prettier. Trees are important, but they are neglected.”
Another lady, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed and said the trees were “sad looking”. She added: “They vary in size, like some look fairly bushy, but then some are so small. It makes the road look bad, considering it’s quite a big road into Cambridge. There’s a lot a lot of overgrowth around then that could be better cared for. It doesn’t make the road look very appealing.”
Ashwin Patel, who has lived along the road for over 50 years, said the state of the trees “doesn’t look good”. “It’s not a view I want from my office,” he said. He added: “We don’t have complaints about the trees, as long as someone tidies up. But it’s annoying as they need to be tidied up.”
Andrea, who asked to use only her first name, said the trees look “worse” further down the road. She said: “The project was to make the road better, but I don’t think they thought a lot about the trees and greenery.”
The GCP planted the trees as part of the Milton Road project, but Cambridge City Council now oversees the maintenance of them. A spokesperson for the GCP said it was “sad” to hear about some of the trees along Milton Road.
They added: “When we delivered the Milton Road project in 2024, we planted 199 trees. Last year, we replaced some trees and this year, Cambridge City Council took on the maintenance of the trees. We understand the trees have been added to the City Council’s tree regime and are being managed in accordance with their policies.”
A Cambridge City Council spokesperson said: “Cambridgeshire County Council owns the trees planted through the GCP’s Milton Road improvement scheme, while Cambridge City Council maintains them under existing highway tree arrangements. Scheme funding covered an initial two years of watering and replacement planting, during which survival rates were generally good. After this the trees entered the city council’s routine maintenance programme.”
The spokesperson went on to say that tree establishment and survival is based on a range of factors, including weather, species, planting stock, and site conditions. They added: “The city council monitors trees within its maintenance programme and considers appropriate management interventions according to their condition and individual circumstances.
“An unusually dry winter and spring, followed by prolonged hot weather, have caused stress to trees across Cambridge, including those on Milton Road. River birch trees appear particularly affected, as larger specimens can be harder to establish despite becoming more drought tolerant over time.”
The council said it will continue to work with the GCP to monitor the trees, including through live monitoring by contractors to when they are watered. They added: “[The council] will consider appropriate measures to support those that remain capable of successful establishment, and assess any failures for replacement, subject to available funding and wider planting priorities.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login