Five trees replaced on a university building site

Tree planting: one of the five new ginkgos, with its irrigation ring.

Darlington · 2025–2026 · Builders & developers

The challenge

A builder redeveloping a university building had to replace five ageing trees in built-in tree pits. The pits held steel framework, underground services and old irrigation, and the new trees had to go into a soil profile set by the university's arborist. The street trees outside also had to make room for new site hoardings.

What we did

• Reviewed the hoarding plans and wrote a pruning report for council. Once the permit was approved, we structurally pruned the street trees so the hoardings could go up.

• Removed the five old trees.

Tree removal: lifting an old tree out of its pit, with the site working all around us.

• Cleared the stumps and roots out of each pit with a vacuum truck and stump grinder, working by hand around the steel framework and services.

Stump removed: clearing the pit by vacuum in a tight space, around the steel frame and services.

• William chose five Ginkgo 'Lemonlime Spire' trees at the nursery, and they were held there until the site was ready.

• Repaired the drainage, laid a two-layer soil mix, planted the five ginkgos and repaired the irrigation.

• Gave the university's grounds team a care guide for the trees and the irrigation.

The result

The five ginkgos are growing happily. They're expected to put on 30–50 cm in their first year and reach 8–12 metres in time.