In 2007 Bradford Metropolitan District Council began work on the modernisation of the pedestrian areas in the city’s central shopping area, including Darley Street. Last renovated in the 1980s, the concrete paving and other features were looking drab and unattractive. In an effort to encourage people into the heart of the city – employers as well as the general public – a new design incorporating quality infrastructure and trees was created by Bradford Council landscape architects. Public consultations were undertaken and an exhibition day held at the local shopping centre.

The aim was to create high quality streetscapes that would complement the surrounding architecture and prove attractive to pedestrians. The features specified as part of the new design included lighting, seating, bins, bollards, cycle racks, and of course trees. These were all set within a paving scheme based on the use of local Yorkshire stone juxtaposed against Chinese Granite kerbing.

Because the architect’s choice of paving was central the success of the Darley Street design, the GreenBlue Urban Castle tree grille was the ideal tree pit surface for the nine European Hornbeams that were planted as part of the project. The landscape architects wanted to move beyond the concrete rings they had used in the past and find a grille that could be integrated into the aesthetic of the scheme whilst still providing excellent strength and longevity. The Castle grille has a recessed design that allows the surrounding paving to be continued within the structure of the grille and over the top of the tree pit area. This is achieved without compromising the load bearing capacity of the grille, which is evident only by a slot running around the perimeter of the tree pit.