Residents have been calling for more green biodersity and across Bixley Ward and Ipswich in general, and Councillor Richard Pope has taken up this campaign as one of the Council's "Tree Champions".
Richard says "I would like to see more trees planted across the town and especially in Bixley. I believe that bringing nature closer to people is good for their wellbeing. Unfortunately, there are some spaces where it is not practical or possible to plant trees, for example, some grass verges where the roots would impact utilities.
"But why can't we plant hedges?"
Some benefits of verge hedges are:
• It creates a natural barrier between road traffic and pedestrians making walkers feel safer.
• It will help to reduce air pollution.
• It will help to reduce traffic noise.
• It will increase biodiversity, therefore, bringing wildlife closer to more people.
Richard will work with the County Council to trial this idea. If you feel that your street would benefit from a new native hedge row, please complete the survey below.
Once we know where residents feel it would work, we can look at drawing up a proposal before a formal consultation goes ahead.