Controversial 'CityTrees': Mixed views on what should be done next

THE jury is out among councillors on what should be done with the controversial ‘CityTrees’ on Grand Parade and Patrick Street after a lengthy report furnished to the city council’s environment, water and amenity strategic policy committee stated that the data on their effectiveness of improving air quality is inconclusive.

While some councillors have called to “pull the plug” on the initiative — which has an annual maintenance cost of almost €18,000 —others have voiced support for leaving the units in situ pending more detailed research into their effectiveness.

The report, which runs to 185 pages, sets out Cork City Council’s rationale in installing the CityTrees, or moss walls as they are also referred to as.

The local authority said the idea of installing the units, which have locally been dubbed as “robotrees”, came during the backdrop of covid-19 when air quality and airborne particles from covid were a concern.

“The Government’s July Stimulus Funding Package, which promoted technical innovation and new ways to tackle existing problems, was identified as an appropriate funding mechanism for this project,” the report stated.

“This targeted once-off funding could only be spent on specific types of projects such as the moss walls.

“This funding stream would not have been available to fund other city council services or activities, eg housing maintenance or road repairs.” The units were installed over the course of one week and were operational by the end of August 2021.

The report details the findings of two studies into the effectiveness of the units — one which was commissioned by the company behind the moss walls, Green City Solutions, and a separate one from UCC commissioned by the city council.

The Green City Solutions-commissioned study was carried out by the Institute for Air and Refrigeration Technology at three locations in Germany.

The city council said the best approximation to the Cork city setting is a city centre plaza in Berlin where testing was carried out. It said that results from the field measurements showed a cooling effect as well as reductions in mould and bacteria counts, but “due to relatively high wind speeds and low ambient particulate concentrations at the time of the study; the particle separation effects could not be efficiently calculated”.

Meanwhile, the UCC report concluded that the measurements conducted in its study “provided no consistent evidence for improved air quality either on the bench or in the immediate environs of the CityTrees located at St Patrick’s Street and Grand Parade in Cork city”.

“It should be noted that the measurements were made during a two-month period where air pollution levels were low and small improvements to air quality are difficult to observe,” it added.

UCC air quality experts recommend that further tests could be carried out “over longer periods and under polluted conditions to more fully assess the effectiveness of the CityTrees”.

The report stated that the council now has a number of options available including leaving the units in situ and in operation, setting the units up elsewhere in different indoor or outdoor locations, or engaging further research “to undertake further long-term evaluation of them in more detail than has been conducted to date as part of an extended scientific evaluation project”.

The executive has recommended moving the units and engaging further research.

The report is due to come before a meeting of full council on Monday for debate.

“As chair of the environment strategic policy committee of the city council, I welcome the making of this report and its detail,” Green Party councillor Dan Boyle told The Echo.

“However, members of the council have not yet had time to absorb it technical elements. I look forward to an informed debate at next Monday’s city council meeting.” Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent said he is of the opinion that further research should be carried out, given a significant amount has already been spent on purchasing the CityTrees.

“In the July Job Stimulus in 2020, city council management decided to spend 10% of a €4m allocation on these. Rightly or wrongly, they went away and bought them. I would veer towards thinking that it probably wasn’t the right move. Certainly, if the option had been there to lease them or take them on a trial, that’s what should have been done.

“Even from their inception, various experts were doubtful of how effective they would be.

“I think the public were incredulous of the cost then as well. But they were bought, they’re there now, I would be inclined to say do get a further report on them in the short term before they’re scrapped, or decommissioned, or put into an educational institution, or repurposed for a parklet, or something,” he said.

“I did say before that they are the most expensive seats in Cork city centre — but saying that now they are actually very well used for that purpose. If they were to be taken away, I think the council would have to look at putting in seating areas.

“We don’t have a lot of seating in the city centre,” he added.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil councillor Colm Kelleher said he believes it is time to “pull the plug” on the initiative.

“In my opinion, [the council executive] tried it. In fairness, it was a novel idea and the council’s heart was in the right place. We’re in a climate crisis and if we don’t try new ideas, Thomas Edison would never have invented the light bulb. Unfortunately, this new idea hasn’t worked.

“Rather than it costing more money and the debacle going on indefinitely, I think we should pull the plug now and stop wasting public money on things that effectively don’t work,” he said.

He concurred with the remark that the units represent the most expensive seats in Cork city centre adding: “You’d get a cheaper seat in Old Trafford.”