Greening Fann Street

Last year the City of London Corporation’s Environmental Resilience team presented ideas to increase greening on the edge of the estate by Fann Street. Designed to enhance biodiversity, four proposals were presented. Following a second consultation residents agreed that the best approach was to create a green screen which utilises smaller trees and mixed native hedging to create a screen, with flower rich perennial planting to create layers of wildlife friendly planting. A third presentation was made at the GLERA AGM on 30 June. Notes from the meeting are set out below together with a copy of the presentation. To comment on these proposals, send a message by 22 July to: Environmental.Resilience@CityofLondon.gov.uk

Proposal 3

Notes from the meeting:

We will now progress option two to begin looking at detailed design and construction programme for construction in Autumn 2025, following the revised Cool Streets and Greening programme timeline. 

• We have now had consultation from the City of London Police and will continue to consult with them on the design of the site from a security and antisocial behavior perspective. 
• We have shared important insights from the meeting back to our colleagues in Housing. 
• Site will be on public highway so we will review maintenance internally and should have no implications on the costs to residents.

Ecological implications

• The project is not likely to have any impact on bat roosting and should have positive benefits.
• Trees will be small and replicate a woodland edge extending the canopy into the public realm.
• The focus of the scheme is to enhance biodiversity through our learning from other landscape projects within the City focusing on resilience of plants and their benefits to local wildlife. 

Design options

• We will consider the option of raised edges for accessibility and safety, but options will be within the context of the site needs.
• We will provide materials choices through detailed design.
• Barriers and boundaries will be continually be reviewed to match with tracking on the estate and the planting itself. 

Fann Street Mini Forest – proposal 2

Following on from the Fann Street Mini Forest Consultation the Environmental Resilience team have provided four indicative options which they presented at the second consultation meeting. 

Option 1 ‘Mini Forest’ – Removal of the concrete planters, hard landscaping beneath the existing avenue of trees, and in the adjacent public footway,  would provide an opportunity to create a new soft landscape which will be filled with woodland and woodland edge planting. It would utilise native understory shrubs, by planting whips and feathers to create a more natural feeling landscape. The woodland edge area will feature flower rich perennial planting which will provide sources of nectar for pollinators. Overall achieving a wilder space for the City’s biodiversity. The new bed would be raised using granite curb stones to protect planting and demarcate its area. 

Option 2 ‘Green Screen’ – Removal of the concrete planters will and hard landscape in the public footway provide a new opportunity for a smaller raised bed area in which a dense mixed native hedge will be planted with smaller canopy trees. The native hedging will provide flowering and fruiting shrubs for wildlife as well as possible nesting opportunities for breeding birds. The bed will act as a softening screen to provide a boundary edge to the estate signalling a gateway into Golden Lane. The new bed would be raised using granite curb stones to protect planting and demarcate its area. 

Option 3 ‘Street Tree Cluster’ – Removal of the concrete planters and hard landscape in the public footway will provide space for some new smaller tree pits. The tree planting approach would be to extend out from the avenue of trees and consider the height of the avenue, grading down to the edge of the planting area to create a gradient. Trees will be selected for their value to biodiversity as well as their climate resilience, the project will aim for high flowering variertes. 

Option 4 ‘Green Screen Maximised’ – Removal of the concrete planters and hard landscape in the public footway will provide an opportunity to maximise option 2 and create a more extended green screen. This would be wider and slightly elongated providing more space for different planting styles. The raised bed area in which a dense mixed native hedge will be planted with smaller canopy trees, will also provide space for perennial flower rich planting. The native hedging will provide flowering and fruiting shrubs for wildlife as well as possible nesting opportunities for breeding birds, perennial planting will increase nectar and habitat for pollinators and other invertebrates. The new bed would be raised using granite curb stones to protect planting and demarcate its area. 

Outcome – Following the second consultation residents agreed that a mixed approach was best, adopting features from Option 1 and Option 4 to create a maximised green screen which utilises smaller trees and mixed native hedging to create a screen, with a dedicated area of species and flower rich perennial planting to create layers of wildlife friendly planting. 

Please let us know your thoughts! Any questions please contact Environmental.Resilience@CityofLondon.gov.uk

Fann Street Mini Forest – proposal 1

The aim of the project is to trial the City’s climate resilience measures and to address the City’s key climate resilience risks, by improving biodiversity and reducing flood risk. The Climate Action Team is working with residents to design a space that improves the area for climate, people, and nature.

If you would like to comment on the proposals or ask questions, please email the Climate Action Team: environmental.resilience@cityoflondon.gov.uk