Trees For Charleston Residents

The first 100 local people who attended a Charleston display highlighting local issues earlier this month each received a native tree.

Organised by the City Council, the display in Charleston Reserve on 12 May followed a special publication of Our Environment which outlined proposed developments in the area.

A follow-up public meeting was attended by about 50 local residents and other interested people who asked the Council to organise a display. This set out options for road patterns in the area and presented possible solutions to some other local problems, said urban design planner Josie Schröder.

Calls by residents for more trees to be planted in the area had prompted the Council to supply 100 native trees at the display, as a start. These were donated by Trees for Canterbury.

Traffic issues, graffiti and the need for more places for children to play were among other issues raised by residents. Josie Schröder said special issues of Our Environment, first for St Albans then for Charleston, had been well received by residents. “They really liked being kept informed and having the opportunity to be involved in what’s happening in their own area.”

The Council is planning other publications to inform residents what is happening in their neighbourhoods.