In the White Rose Forest we are reviewing how we make a bigger impact with our Green Streets® programme. The timing for this is ideal; we have a new Strategic Plan and recently approved Action Plan, both of which re-state our ambitions for Green Streets® as our urban tree planting programme.
By working up a Green Streets® Development Plan we hope to highlight the opportunities that exist and the mechanisms that are needed to bring about a true embedding of Green Streets® thinking into the actions of all those that have a role to play in shaping the places where we live and visit in North and West Yorkshire.
This is a big challenge, and includes opportunities such as:
- embedding defendable targets for urban tree planting in land use policies
- working directly with the housing sector to encourage an aspirational approach in their developments
- showcasing best practice and learning from the progressive work of others
- offering a Green Streets® delivery programme that meets the needs of communities and partners.
But I want to focus on one priority from our initial consultation on the new Development Plan; that is Green Streets® and active travel.
This brings together two really important documents for the White Rose Forest. The Mayor’s West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan (adopted March 2026) and the latest iteration of the National Planning Policy Framework (consultative draft December 2025). The latter document has yet to be approved but the key issues carry over from the current (2024) edition.
These documents mesh really well together. The Local Transport Plan encourages active travel and recognises how the experience of this is enhanced by green infrastructure, whilst the National Planning Policy Framework wants all new streets to be tree-lined. The Local Transport Plan (LTP) includes statements such as:
We will make walking, wheeling and cycling the natural choice for shorter journeys… seeking to improve travel experience by integrating green and blue infrastructure into active journeys where possible. A set of Green Streets Principles will be developed to support the aims of the Green Streets® approach and be integrated in our Streets for Everyone Strategy.
then, within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) it says:
Make new streets tree-lined (unless there are strong reasons why this would be inappropriate in specific streets), and incorporate trees in other suitable locations…
Development plans should safeguard and enhance the natural environment, and reflect the wider benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services, by using… Community Forest Plans…to…set out standards for green infrastructure provision.
As the LTP states, Green Streets® is going to be vital in setting the standards for new streets. And as the NPPF recommends, Community Forest Plans, such as White Rose Forest Strategic Plan, can be used to help determine standards for green infrastructure.
This is not the full story of course. It will always be easier to create streets that meet these standards when there is new investment in a housing development or a major transport project. Similarly, upgrading the quality of routes through open space will offer ideal opportunities to introduce more trees and green infrastructure. Importantly, there also needs to be a willingness to make changes to our existing streetscapes to re-allocate space to trees and reduce or remove vehicles altogether to encourage people to walk, wheel and cycle.
In all cases this is not a case of penalising those who need to drive, it is about re-setting the clock to make the places we live more equitable, sociable, healthy and resilient to the impacts of climate change, and more nature rich. Bratislava, for example, has transformed itself overl ten years with an ever-expanding active travel network, much of it through green spaces and linked to other sustainable transport options. As described by international cycling authority, Chris Bruntlett, there is also a growing realisation in Bratislava of the benefits both socially and economically.
A recent review of the subject published in Frontiers in Public Health concluded, ‘Street greenery positively influences active travel, contributing to public health and environmental sustainability.’ Yes, there are many challenges to achieving this situation in our cluttered urban environments, but if ever two subjects should be talked of in the same breadth, it is greener streets and active travel.
As active travel is an increasingly prominent part of local authority transport strategies and is a key priority for the combined authorities in the White Rose Forest area, Green Streets® will look to add value to their projects. This will be by collaborative working, ensuring Green Streets® principles are applied, and by adding value to projects by using our own delivery capacity to plant trees for shade, improving nature networks and placemaking. This approach will be endorsed by the Green Streets® Development Plan.
Mike Batley, Green Streets® Development Manager, White Rose Forest