Project Overview

Connecting Derby was a £36 million integrated transport project intended to improve movement in and around Derby city centre. But the initiative was concerned not only with moving vehicles more efficiently. It also aimed to improve the surrounding public realm and create a more pleasant experience for people travelling through the city on foot.

At Abbey Street Car Park, that wider ambition came down to a familiar urban challenge: how could Derby introduce lasting tree canopy into a heavily paved site without compromising its essential parking function? Following the removal of the car park’s original London plane trees, Derby City Council wanted to give the replacements substantially better conditions for long-term growth. The Silva Cell system offered a way to provide quality soil beneath the paved surface — making room for both a working car park and the mature trees needed to transform it.

Why Shade Matters

Shade can make the difference between a space people simply pass through and one that feels comfortable and welcoming. This is particularly important in hardscape-heavy environments, where exposed pavement absorbs heat, parked vehicles become uncomfortably hot, and pedestrians have little relief from direct sun.

That matters in a car park because every driver eventually becomes a pedestrian. Abbey Street is not simply a place to leave a vehicle; it is part of the arrival experience and a route into the surrounding city. Connecting Derby recognised that successful transportation infrastructure should also support the people moving around it, including those completing their journey on foot.

Trees were the natural solution — but planting trees alone would not guarantee meaningful shade. To develop broad, lasting canopies, the replacement urban forest needed access to far more quality soil than a conventional tree opening could provide. Silva Cells allowed that soil to extend beneath the paved surface, helping the trees and the car park function together.

How Shade Was Achieved

In October 2010, 20 trees (a mix of Oriental plane and silver lime) were planted at Abbey Street with support from 838 Silva Cells. Together, the system provided 257 cubic metres of lightly compacted, nutrient-rich soil — an average of approximately 13 cubic metres per tree. Some of the trees were planted in shared soil areas, giving their roots access to connected growing space beyond the visible planting openings.

This was a major improvement over the restricted and highly compacted conditions that commonly limit urban trees. Instead of expecting the replacement trees to survive within isolated pockets of soil, Derby created usable rooting space beneath the car park while preserving the paved surface above.

Years later, the design vision is becoming reality. The trees now rise prominently above the car park, with healthy canopies that shade parked vehicles, soften the surrounding hardscape, and create a greener pedestrian experience. What began as an investment in underground growing conditions is now producing a very visible public benefit above ground.

Repeat Success: Wilmot Street

The approach was not limited to Abbey Street. Following the successful installation there, Silva Cells were also incorporated into nearby Wilmot Street Car Park as part of Connecting Derby. Later in 2010, over 300 Silva Cells were installed beneath the site to support another group of car park trees.

Today, the trees at Wilmot Street are also developing strong, attractive canopies. Just down the road from Abbey Street, the project provides a second example of the same idea succeeding: provide trees with quality soil beneath the pavement, and even heavily paved urban spaces can become greener, shadier, and more pleasant over time.