40% of the Riverside Park line of trees planted to commemorate the Queen’s platinum jubilee died and have been replaced.

It’s been revealed that 28 of the 70 fastigiate oaks planted in 2022 as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative have had to be replaced.

As reported, some claimed there had been a lack of watering during a dry period in 2023, although vehicles apparently watering the line of trees were spotted.

Last July the city council told bitternepark.info that trees can in many cases recover from dry spells, but that they would be “better placed to understand any losses at the end of the growing season”.

Last year a freedom of information (FOI)request to Southampton City Council revealed that the original cost for the Riverside Park trees was fractionally shy of £10k, with planting costs coming in at £5,250. This was funded from an internal ‘parks improvement’ budget, according to the FOI response.

The trees photographed in July 2023