Tree Planting Schemes & Planting Design Plans
Urban Tree Management prepares tree planting schemes, planting design plans, and native woodland planting strategies for development sites, planning conditions, compensatory planting, and long-term estate management across the North West.
The right tree in the right place — selected for the soil, the site, and the surrounding landscape — is the difference between a planting scheme that thrives and one that fails.
Independent, Level 6 qualified, and entirely free of any tree surgery or nursery contracting interest — so our species and stock recommendations are driven by what suits the site, not by what is easy to supply.
Tree Planting Design
We apply expert knowledge of tree species, form, growth patterns, and soil and environmental requirements to create planting design plans that are sustainable and in harmony with their surroundings. Specifying the right tree in the right location avoids the wasted time and cost that results from getting species selection wrong.
Our planting design plans show clearly where trees will be located and how they will fit with the buildings and landscape — not just at the time of planting, but as the trees grow to maturity. Technical tree pit and planting details give designers, decision-makers, and contractors confidence that the scheme is practical, achievable, and that the planted trees can thrive.
Tree Planting for Development & Planning Conditions
Where trees are removed to facilitate development, most local planning authorities require replacement planting — and a properly specified planting scheme is frequently a condition of consent.
Urban Tree Management prepares planting schemes that:
- Discharge landscape and planting planning conditions
- Provide compensatory planting calculated against the trees removed
- Support the canopy cover position proposed under the revised BS5837
- Integrate with the architect's and landscape designer's drawings
- Satisfy local authority policy and national planning guidance
Where planting follows tree loss identified in an
arboricultural impact assessment, we prepare both, so the mitigation proposed in the assessment and the scheme delivering it are consistent.
What You Receive
Every planting scheme is delivered as a complete, submission-ready package:
- A scaled planting plan drawing showing tree locations against buildings, levels, and site features
- A full plant schedule — species, stock size, quantity, form, and root condition
- Technical tree pit and planting details
- A written planting specification covering ground preparation, staking, protection, and mulching
- An establishment and aftercare maintenance schedule
- Issued as PDF, with CAD drawings available on request at no extra cost
- One revision included as standard
Why Planting Schemes Fail
Most failed planting is not bad luck.
It is stock too large for the site conditions, ground preparation that ignored the actual soil, no watering provision through the first two summers, protection that was specified but never installed, or a maintenance obligation that nobody was accountable for once the contractor left.
On a scheme discharging a planning condition, failure is expensive. The replacement is at your cost, the condition stays open, and it surfaces years later when someone tries to sell or complete.
Our specifications address the causes rather than simply listing species — stock sized for the site rather than for appearance, ground preparation matched to the soil, realistic watering provision, and an aftercare schedule with clear responsibility attached. Where a scheme carries a long aftercare obligation such as a planning condition or a biodiversity net gain commitment, that specification is the difference between discharging it once and revisiting it in five years.
Native & Woodland Planting
Native species planting and new woodland creation deliver the greatest long-term ecological and landscape value. Where a scheme calls for native hedgerow, native woodland, or feature trees within a development, we select species appropriate to the local landscape character and the region as a whole — supporting biodiversity, canopy cover, and long-term sustainability.
Stock is specified with biosecurity in mind. Imported planting stock has introduced several of the pests and diseases now affecting the UK tree population, and on native woodland schemes in particular we specify UK-sourced and UK-grown material where it is available.
Where native and woodland planting forms part of a biodiversity net gain requirement, see our Biodiversity Net Gain — Tree & Woodland Planting Support page.
Compensatory Planting & Tree Replacement
Where existing trees are removed the local authority will usually require replacement on a calculated basis linked to the size or value of the trees lost.
Urban Tree Management calculates replacement requirements using recognised tree replacement systems, and where financial value needs quantifying, CAVAT — Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees. This produces a fair, defensible planting requirement that satisfies the planning authority while remaining practical to deliver.
A calculated replacement figure also protects against the two failure modes: a scheme so light the authority refuses it, and one so heavy the site cannot physically accommodate the trees at maturity.
Planting Management & Aftercare
The practical side of tree planting and aftercare is highly skilled, and in most cases it is the difference between newly planted trees thriving or dying. Poor planting and inadequate aftercare produces an unattractive landscape of dead or failing trees, and a condition that remains undischarged.
We provide the site-specific specification, advice, and aftercare schedules needed to ensure establishment success — including stock procurement guidance, planting specification, protection, and structured establishment maintenance across the first five years.
Tree Planting Strategy for Estates
Owners and managers of large estates need a tree population that is sustainable over the long term — with a diverse age range and a broad spectrum of species appropriate to both the immediate landscape and the wider region.
Age structure is the point most often missed. An estate planted heavily in one period arrives at senescence all at once, producing a wave of removals and a landscape stripped of mature trees for a generation. Planting in phases avoids it.
Species diversity matters for the same reason. Ash dieback and Dutch elm disease both demonstrated what happens to a landscape that leaned heavily on one species. We advise on planting locations, species selection, soil, succession, and biosecurity to build a population that can absorb the loss of any single species.
This work sits naturally alongside a retained tree management arrangement, where planting and establishment are monitored on the same cycle as the existing tree stock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a planting scheme for my planning condition?
If your consent includes a condition requiring a landscape or planting scheme, it must be discharged before development can lawfully proceed or complete. We prepare planting schemes specifically to discharge these conditions.
How is the number of replacement trees decided?
Replacement numbers are usually calculated using a recognised tree replacement system based on the size and value of the trees removed. We calculate this and produce a scheme that satisfies your local authority while remaining deliverable on the site.
What size trees should be planted?
Larger stock looks established sooner but carries a higher failure rate and needs considerably more aftercare. Smaller stock establishes faster and frequently overtakes larger stock within a few years. The right answer depends on the site, exposure, and whether watering can realistically be maintained — which is why it is specified rather than assumed.
Do you supply or plant the trees?
No. We are a consultancy only and carry out no physical works and no stock supply. That means the species and stock specified are those the site needs, with no interest in what is convenient to source. The specification goes to your contractor.
Tree Planting Schemes & Planting Design — North West & Nationwide
Urban Tree Management prepares tree planting schemes, planting design plans, and native woodland planting for development, planning conditions, compensatory planting, and estate management across the North West and nationally.
Get in contact with our highly experienced and personable team of arboricultural consultants today, to discuss your requirements and to obtain your zero obligation quotation.
