New trees across the city to mark National Tree Week

The first 11 of 34 new trees have been planted in Valley Gardens to help mark National Tree Week.

The elm, pine and sycamore trees have been placed in tree pits in the new public space near the Royal Albion Hotel.

We’re also pleased to say we’ll soon be replacing more than a dozen street tree stumps across the city as part of our 25/26 Tree Planting Plan, including in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, Roundhill and Queen’s Park.

We’ll be planting more than 200 trees across Brighton & Hove in 2025/26, bringing our total to over 1600 since 2021/22 which includes 11 community orchards planted in conjunction with the Brighton Permaculture Trust.

Read more about National Tree Week

Valley Gardens planting

The 11 trees being planted in Valley Gardens are the first of 34 being planted in the area. The rest will go in during the 2026 planting season and as the third phase of the project enters the final months of construction.

The new tree pits help the trees to thrive and encourage roots to move downward to avoid damaging pavements as they get bigger and become more established.

Council Leader Bella Sankey, Cabinet member for Transport and City Infrastructure Trevor Muten, Cabinet member responsible for parks, Alan Robins and Councillor Maureen Winder, Policy Lead for Tree Planting and Councillor Mohammed Asaduzzaman visited the new trees this week.

Councillor Trevor Muten said: “Valley Gardens 3 is really beginning to take shape and these new trees are a great addition. I’m looking forward to many more being planted in the new year.

“Together with the new public spaces, nicer pavements and improved cycle lanes, this part of the city is going to feel so much more welcoming and pleasant to travel through.

“By next summer, the new look Valley Gardens will be in place and will give the area a huge lift.

Our plan for tree planting

As well as the trees being planted in Valley Gardens, a dozen trees will replace old tree stumps.

Paid for with developer funding and, in some cases, with match funding from residents, these will replace trees which have had to be cut down in recent years because of disease or safety reasons.

In recent years, we’ve worked closely with organisations such as CPRE, Trees For Cities and the Brighton Permaculture Trust to secure over £600,000 in funding to support tree planting and maintenance in the city since 2021.

Picture: Tree stump in Blatchington Road, Hove

Councillor Robins said: “Trees are so important for the look, feel and biodiversity of Brighton & Hove and the ones planted in Valley Gardens will look great.  We’ll soon be replacing some of the street trees we’ve had to remove in recent years, which is also good news.

“Partnership working and the skills of our arboriculture teams and experts have been instrumental in protecting, planting and maintaining the thousands of trees we have in the city.

“National Tree Week is a great reminder to us all of the important role trees play. Being able to see new trees being planted across the city is a great way to mark it.

Protecting the city’s elms

Our council looks after the National Collection of Elms and, this year, thanks to a fantastic bursary from Plant Heritage, we’ve been able to work in partnership with Plumpton College experts and students to propagate some of the most endangered trees.  

Find out more about this exciting conservation project on The Living Coast website.

Picture: Ulmus hollandica 'Smithii' elm tree in Eaton Road