Greening and Biodiversity

Tree planting was not a feature of late-17th century London and is inappropriate in the narrow streets of Seven Dials, where many vaults, service pipes and cables run beneath the footways. Large trees, when in leaf, can reduce light and obscure the area’s historic features. The existing six trees should be kept well-managed to avoid obscuring the Sundial Pillar and the three lights illuminating the dial faces.

However, trees are now a popular feature in our cities, creating greenery and mitigating carbon emissions. The Seven Dials Trust, with Camden and the Covent Garden Community Association, developed a policy for the area based on tree clusters where there is room, rather than boulevards of street trees. The exception was in Endell Street (planted in 1984) where the street is wide and for which Camden’s officers proposed a very successful mix of varieties.

Elsewhere in the area, tree clusters have proved popular and should continue as the norm, always preserving the unique vista to the Sundial Pillar from the each of the seven entry points.

Part of map of tree planting sites in Seven Dials.
Section of plan for tree planting.

An overall plan for tree clusters was drawn up following walkabouts throughout the whole Seven Dials Conservation Area. Electromagnetic surveys of services showed the few places where tree clusters are possible.

Photograph of plane trees on Shaftesbury Avenue at junction with Neal Street
The tree cluster at the junction of Neal Street, Monmouth Street and Shaftesbury Avenue joins the ‘boulevard’ planting of Shaftesbury Avenue.

In 1842 ‘Knight’s London’ described Seven Dials as ‘the hanging gardens of Babylon’ because of the great proliferation of planting on the wide shopfront flashings (the ledges above the shopfront fascia boards and cornices). Many of these historic shopfronts still exist and this tradition should be encouraged and built upon. The  Seven Dials Trust chose to celebrate the year 2000 with its Millennium Greening Project which demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach.

Tubs, pots and planters on the footway are not  recommended unless there is room, but can be effective within courts if not on a pedestrian desire line. Narrow, low planters that allow ‘elbow room’ are encouraged to add greening to the parts of the footway adjacent to facades where feet rarely tread.

Photograph of 10 Earlham Street showing wide entablature suitable for window boxes.
No 10 Earlham Street where, during improvement works, the entablature above the shopfront was cleverly extended to carry window boxes.
Photograph of planted window boxes on Short's Gardens
Photograph of planted window boxes on Short's Gardens
Photograph of window boxes on Monmouth Street
Photograph of planted window boxes on Earlham Street
Photograph of planting on former warehouse hoist platforms on Neal Street
Photograph of planting in Neal’s Yard in window boxes, on hoist platforms and in tubs.

Use of the wide shopfront entablatures has been the traditional form of planting in the area since the mid-19th century. On some of the 19th century warehouses, use is made of the delivery flaps to support container planting.

Photograph of boulevard style tree planting on Endell Street
Endell Street planting was begun in 1984 . This is the only street in the area suitable for ‘boulevard’ style planting.

Shaftesbury plc, the area’s largest freeholder, has commendably continued this tradition. They are partners in the Wild West End project which seeks to enhance biodiversity in the West End of London. Window boxes have been planted with insect-friendly plants and this approach should be extended to rooftop planting where feasible.