New garden in Brighton’s Circus Street area will include over 100 trees

Over 100 trees will be planted along with 10,000 shrubs, grasses and plants, contributing to the city’s green corridor next to Valley Gardens.

Project Director Rob Sloper, from developers U+I, said: “We are really glad to create a new garden space for our neighbours to enjoy, including flower beds, climbing trellises, a meandering pathway and benches; we are committed to its on-going maintenance. It will help link the local community to Circus Street, which will bring so many new services and public spaces right to their doorstep,” continued Rob Sloper.

“We have always promised that Circus Street will contribute to the greening of the city and the ratio of trees we are planting in this 1-hectare space in the city centre site is as great as a park, which will improve local air quality, help wildlife diversity and create lovely public spaces for people to enjoy.

“For us, the landscaping and planting element of the Circus Street development has always been a central part of our design, which is why we selected our landscape architects @jlg_london who are passionate about the role and importance of bringing nature into urban places.”

An orchard, including 20-year-old, semi-mature crab apple trees, has already been planted in the centre of the residential part of the site, with wildflower turf laid around it. At the centre of the scheme in the public square will be a ‘champion’ 14-metre elm tree, in recognition of the city’s important role in hosting the National Elm Collection, the largest collection of elms in any city in the world.

Said Jo Gibbons, who designed the landscaping scheme: “The planting at Circus Street has been designed to create a beautiful and biodiverse development; an exemplar of the biosphere philosophy and best practice in design with nature in a tight urban location.