Policy information sourced from The London Plan 2021
G7 Trees and Woodlands
- London’s urban forest and woodlands should be protected and maintained, and new trees and woodlands should be planted in appropriate locations in order to increase the extent of London’s urban forest – the area of London under the canopy of trees.
- In their Development Plans, boroughs should:
- protect ‘veteran’ trees and ancient woodland where these are not already part of a protected site
- identify opportunities for tree planting in strategic locations.
- Development proposals should ensure that, wherever possible, existing trees of value are retained. If planning permission is granted that necessitates the removal of trees there should be adequate replacement based on the existing value of the benefits of the trees removed, determined by, for example, i-tree or CAVAT or another appropriate valuation system. The planting of additional trees should generally be included in new developments – particularly large-canopied species which provide a wider range of benefits because of the larger surface area of their canopy.
For more information please see The London Plan 2021