Tree Cover in Wales' Towns and Cities (Full Report)

Tree Cover in Wales’ Towns and Cities Understanding canopy cover to better plan and manage our urban trees Tree Cover in Wales’ Towns and Cities // 2014 2 Natural Resources Wales brings together the work of the Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales and Forestry Commission Wales, as well as some functions of Welsh Government. Our purpose is to ensure that the natural resources of Wales are sustainably maintained, enhanced and used, now and in the future. Wales’ landscape, environment and wildlife are some of its greatest resources, worth more than £8bn to the Welsh economy. We will work for Wales’ economy and enable the sustainable use of natural resources to support jobs and enterprise. We will help businesses and developers to understand and consider environmental impacts when they make important decisions. We will work for the communities of Wales to protect people and their homes as much as possible from environmental incidents like flooding and pollution. We will provide opportunities for them to learn, use and benefit from Wales’ natural resources. We will work to maintain and improve the quality of the environment for everyone. We will work towards making the environment and natural resources more resilient to climate change and other pressures. Published by: Natural Resources Wales Welsh Government Offices Rhodfa Padarn Llanbadarn Fawr Aberystwyth Ceredigion SY23 3UR Summary copies of this report are available from: Email - [email protected] Telephone - 0300 065 3000 Tree Cover in Wales’ Towns and Cities // 2014 3 Foreword Introducing a world-first for Wales is a great pleasure, particularly as it relates to greater knowledge about the hugely valuable woodland and tree resource in our towns and cities. We are the first country in the world to have undertaken a country-wide urban canopy cover survey. The resulting evidence base set out in this study will help all of us - from community tree interest groups to urban planners and decision- Emyr Roberts Peter Matthews makers in local authorities and our national government - to understand what we need to do to safeguard this powerful and versatile natural asset. Trees are an essential component of our urban ecosystems, delivering a range of services to help sustain life, promote well-being, and support economic benefits. They make our towns and cities more attractive to live in - encouraging inward investment, improving the energy efficiency of buildings – as well as removing air borne pollutants and connecting people with nature. They can also mitigate the extremes of climate change, helping to reduce storm water run-off and the urban heat island. Natural Resources Wales is committed to working with colleagues in the Welsh Government and in public, third and private sector organisations throughout Wales, to build on this work and promote a strategic approach to managing our existing urban trees, and to planting more where they will deliver the greatest benefits. Dr Emyr Roberts Professor Peter Matthews Chief Executive Chairman Tree Cover in Wales’ Towns and Cities // 2014 4 Table of Contents Foreword 3 Table of Contents, List of Figures and Tables 4 Acknowledgements, Acronyms and Abbreviations 8 Executive Summary 11 1. Introduction 16 1.1 Why a ‘Tree Cover in Wales’ Towns and Cities’ study? 17 1.2 Who is this study for? 19 1.3 How was the study developed? An overview 22 1.4 A world first, revealing opportunities for sustainable growth 26 2. National, county and town canopy cover findings 28 2.1 National urban canopy cover 30 2.2 County canopy cover comparisons 30 2.3 Town canopy cover comparisons 34 2.4 International comparisons 57 2.5 Summary: actionable findings 61 3. Distribution and composition of canopy cover within towns 63 3.1 Urban canopy cover distribution across land-uses 65 3.2 Balance between urban woodland and amenity trees 70 3.3 Distribution and quantifying of amenity trees by size 74 3.4 Tree types (broadleaf, mixed and conifer) 81 3.5 Summary: actionable findings 81 4. Neighbourhood canopy cover - a focus on deprived wards 83 4.1 Best and worst canopied urban wards 85 4.2 Multiple deprivation and canopy cover 87 4.3 Air quality and canopy cover 98 4.4 Summary: actionable findings 102 5. Estimating the potential for tree planting - a pilot exercise 103 5.1 Estimating the realm of the possible: the TCWTC method – potential canopy cover (PCC) 105 5.2 Potential green areas for targeting tree planting in 27 pilot towns 106 5.3 Cardiff Bay case study – Where are the ward-level ’easy to plant’ areas to target for action? 109 5.4 Summary: actionable findings 115 6. Conclusion: disseminating, refining and updating the data 116 6.1 Disseminating the data 117 6.2 Improving and updating the dataset 118 6.3 Using the findings – Sustaining and growing canopy cover 120 References 122 APPENDICES 125 Appendix 1: The economic, social and environmental value of trees for towns and cities 126 Appendix 2: Obtaining canopy cover data - the approach and methodology 130 Tree Cover in Wales’ Towns and Cities // 2014 5 List of Figures and Tables List of Figures Figure 1: Blaenavon 9 Figure 2: Planned housing estates - Hubberston, Milford Haven and Prestatyn 10 Figure 3: Ferndale, Rhondda Fach 15 Figure 4: The urban tree cover is a collective responsibility 18 Figure 5: Two milestone documents; Trees in Towns II and Trees in the Townscape 19 Figure 6: Aberystwyth University 21 Figure 7: Top end of Rhondda Fawr with urban extent highlighted 23 Figure 8: Urban areas by size category 24 Figure 9: San Francisco Urban Forest Map 27 Figure 10: Wrexham tree strategy 2008-2013 27 Figure 11: County canopy cover - below the national average 31 Figure 12: County canopy cover - above the national average 31 Figure 13: High canopy cover example – Treharris (32%) 32 Figure 14: Low canopy cover example - Rhyl (6%) 32 Figure 15: 2009 urban area canopy cover in relation to the four regional character zones 33 Figure 16: The size and canopy cover of Wales’ 220 urban areas 34 Figure 17: Western Valleys towns 36 Figure 18: Heads of the Valleys towns 38 Figure 19: Southern Valleys towns 40 Figure 20: South Coast towns 43 Figure 21: West and South-West Coastal towns 45 Figure 22: North Coast towns 47 Figure 23: North-East towns 49 Figure 24: North Wales Hinterland towns 51 Figure 25: Mid-Wales Hinterland towns 53 Figure 26: South Wales Hinterland towns 55 Figure 27: Cardiff - the distinctive green corridor of the river Taff 62 Figure 28: Distribution of 11 land-use categories (2009) across the 220 urban areas of Wales 65 Figure 29: 2009 urban canopy cover percentage breakdown per land-use 66 Figure 30: Hectarage of canopy cover within each land-use 66 Figure 31: Contrasting formal open space 67 Figure 32: Contrasting cemetery landscapes 68 Figure 33: Contrasting commercial areas 69 Figure 34: High-density housing in Canton, Cardiff 69 Figure 35: The 2009 national urban canopy cover percentage 70 Figure 36: Extent of woodland canopy as a component of total cover within Wales’ towns 71 Figure 37: Land-use distribution of woodland (NFI) and amenity canopy cover 71 Tree Cover in Wales’ Towns and Cities // 2014 6 List of Figures (continued) Figure 38: Cardiff East Communities First cluster area. Distribution and extent of woodland 73 Figure 39: Tondu, Bridgend - tree loss between 2006 and 2009 75 Figure 40: Wales’ main towns where >40% of wards have <10% cover 85 Figure 41: Swansea - ward by ward distribution of canopy cover 86 Figure 42: Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2011 88 Figure 43: Canopy cover distribution across the 575 ‘1-570’ WIMD wards 89 Figure 44: Canopy cover distribution across the 1,166 ‘571-1896’ WIMD wards. 89 Figure 45: Rhyl West ward with only 2% canopy cover 96 Figure 46: WIMD wards, and associated canopy cover, in the Caia Park area of Wrexham 97 Figure 47: Levels of PM10 pollution in relation to urban areas and transport corridors 100 Figure 48: An aerial view of Port Talbot with the Tata steel works 101 Figure 49: Contrasting canopy cover - the wards of Margam and Tai Bach in relation to 102 Port Talbot and Neath Figure 50: Flint - large tracts of grass around the flats offering opportunities for tree cover 105 Figure 51: Cardiff canopy cover and green areas with potential to explore new planting 109 Figure 52: Cardiff’s existing tree cover per land-use 110 Figure 53: Cardiff’s potential canopy cover per land-use 110 Figure 54: Oblique aerial of Cardiff Bay study area 111 Figure 55: Cardiff Bay 1-190 WIMD wards showing existing and potential cover 112 Figure 56: Pontcanna, Cardiff - town house gardens with space for trees, tree-lined streets 119 Figure 57: Contrasting urban fringes to towns 120 Figure 58: Abertillery - a South Wales Valleys community with a higher than average canopy cover of 27% 121 Figure 59: Oxford Street, Swansea - generous canopy cover providing an attractive place to shop 128 Figure 60: The long-lived, large-canopied London Plane, a lasting legacy from the Victorian era 128 Figure 61: Canon Street, Aberdare - trees offering a beneficial ingredient to the urban landscape 128 Figure 62: Urban town and fringe LSOAs 131 Figure 63: 3m street tree (centre) at 1:1,750 and 1:875 scales 134 Figure 64: Thematic map of small, medium and large canopy sizes 135 Figure 65: Quality resolution helps to distinguish >3.0m crowns 136 Figure 66: Visibility of trees not in leaf (points are captured trees) 136 Figure 67: Aerial photography flight path maps for 2006 and 2009 137 Figure 68: Shadow and cloud compromising reliable canopy

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