FEATURE
KEEPING IT LOCAL We’re used to being encouraged to ‘shop local’, but these days there is just as much of a focus on ‘growing local’. In recent years the importance of retaining the island’s biodiversity has been in the spotlight, with planners now encouraging native planting and restricting the use of non-native plants in developments.
English Oak
When the Development & Planning Authority is considering planning applications, their effect on the island’s biodiversity is now a key aspect. It means that those planning the landscaping for development schemes have to carefully consider what they are planning to use to ensure that they respect and protect the island’s environment. Elliot Green is an experienced landscape designer with his firm, Sexton Green Landscapes and has completed projects all over the island. He’s clearly aware of the importance of using native plants within the schemes he develops. But while it’s something he supports, he says there are challenges around it.
says it’s well-used in the Sexton Green office when they are looking to specify trees and hedging. “It has a key that shows species that are Guernsey native, are probably Guernsey native, and are plausibly Guernsey native, so that gives us a really good starting point. But we do have to look at projects in their entirety to work out what would be the best thing to use. Guernsey is a small island and it is hugely important to protect its environment but from a landscape architecture point of view we are also looking for the best solutions for a site.”
“Part of the problem is defining what is native. Sometimes plants we think are native to the UK aren’t native to the whole of the UK and aren’t native to Guernsey. When you look at what is considered native to Guernsey, the list of possible selections for schemes can become very small.”
When considering development schemes, local planners like to see as many native trees and native hedging as possible. But, as Elliot points out, it is a fairly short list. There are less than half a dozen native trees, with one of them, ash, unable to be imported or used due to the risk of disease. That leaves oak, elder, hawthorn and grey willow as the options, and Elliot says they’re not always ideal for every area of a site.
Elliot, like others in the industry, finds Andrew Lee’s book ‘Native plants for Guernsey wildlife’ a good resource, and
“It is a balance between specifying native trees and making sure that the ones you choose are both aesthetically pleasing
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Guernsey Property and Construction
and able to do the job required. Some trees are not suitable for streets or urban environments. In a car park, for example, you have to think about leaf letting and debris landing on cars. When we can, we will always specify native trees but sometimes the best tree for a job isn’t.” As well as trees, hedging is often an important part of the landscape design. Elliot says while again they try to plant native, that can conflict with what their clients are looking for. “A native mix might have five different varieties of hedging within it. We tend to use 75% hawthorn and 25% of another variety of native hedging. But sometimes that doesn’t suit the client, who may, for example, want an evergreen hedge. Holly is plausibly native to Guernsey, but it’s very spiky so no good if you’re picking footballs out of it. Again, holly or hawthorn aren’t really suitable for car parks with lots of people walking past them. And you also have to balance out the fact that something like an evergreen holly hedge is both very expensive to buy and slow to grow.”
