Council project to cool the city centre puts down roots in the CBD

Work is currently underway on White Street - between Marius Street and Kable Avenue - to install 12 new tree vaults to house Desert Ash trees.

Tamworth Regional Council is planting more trees in the CBD to provide shade to pedestrians and parked cars and transform Tamworth into a greener and more sustainable region.

Six more vaults are set to be installed on Brisbane Street in May to house Ornamental Pears. Traffic on the busy road will likely be reduced to one lane during this time.

All vaults on both roads will have young trees - about one to one and a half metres tall - planted in them by the end of June.

While shade from the trees is expected to bring down average temperatures by around two degrees, a council spokesperson confirmed it comes at the cost of 18 parking spaces: 12 on White Street and six on Brisbane Street.

A lack of parking in the CBD has been a major irritation to local business owners for some time, but Tamworth mayor Russell Webb says the impact will be mitigated by the Tamworth Square and Centrepoint car parks.

"Those streets aren't chock-a-block full of cars. I don't think it'll have a massive impact, but we're always endeavouring to put money aside for more car parking," Cr Webb said.

Some residents have also expressed concerns about roots or branches causing damage, as has been an issue for businesses on Peel Street nearby.

But councillor and chair of the Urban Street Tree Management Plan Advisory Group, Helen Tickle, told the Leader the council has been able to splurge on high-quality tree vaults to protect nearby infrastructure, thanks to grant funding from the Australian Government.

"That's where the expense is, in these vaults which contain the roots so they don't grow too much and damage buildings," Cr Tickle said.

"This way we avoid damage to buildings, pavement, and underground essential infrastructure like cables or pipes."

She said consideration is why CBD trees tend to cost more and take more effort to plant than the native tube stock used in council's overall Greening and Cooling Strategy.

Since adopting the Urban Street Tree Management Plan, council has planted more than 4000 native trees in and around Tamworth over the last two years and thousands more across the broader region.