Finsbury Circus Gardens
ARBORICULTURE
Client
City of London Corporation
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Project Type
Historic Park Restoration / Public Open Space
Location
City of London
Status
Complete 2024
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Project Team
Landscape Architect: Realm
Architect: Studio Weave
Design Team: Architecture 00
Landscape Contractor: Maylim​
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TMA Environmental Consultants were appointed to provide specialist arboricultural consultancy for the restoration of Finsbury Circus Gardens in the City of London. The project sought to revitalise one of London’s oldest public parks while protecting and enhancing its historic tree population.
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Awards
The restoration of Finsbury Circus Gardens has received several industry awards recognising the quality of the landscape design, construction, and public realm improvements delivered as part of the project.
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BALI National Landscape Awards 2025 – Principal Award
Regeneration Scheme over £500,000 -
City AM Toast the City Awards 2025 – Best Green Space in the Square Mile
These awards highlight the successful transformation of the historic gardens into a revitalised urban green space while preserving the mature tree canopy and heritage landscape character of the site.
Overview
Finsbury Circus Gardens is defined by its distinctive circular layout and a prominent ring of mature London plane trees that form the park’s historic structure and landscape identity. Located in the dense urban environment of the City of London, the gardens provide an important green space offering shade, biodiversity value, and recreational amenity.
TMA supported the design and construction phases of the project by providing arboricultural advice to safeguard the existing trees while enabling landscape improvements within the park. The arboricultural input ensured that the mature tree population remained a central element of the revitalised public space.
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Challenge
The mature plane trees surrounding Finsbury Circus Gardens represent a key heritage and environmental asset, but they are located within a highly constrained urban setting. Decades of heavy public use and surrounding development had contributed to soil compaction and limited rooting environments.
The restoration project required construction activities and landscape upgrades within close proximity to these significant trees. Protecting the structural integrity and long-term health of the trees while enabling improvements to the park’s infrastructure required careful arboricultural planning.
Our Approach
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TMA undertook detailed arboricultural surveys and assessments to inform the design and construction process. Tree condition data and root protection areas were mapped and integrated into the design to guide the placement of paths, infrastructure, and landscape features.
Arboricultural advice informed construction methodologies, including ground protection measures and specialist working practices where activities occurred within sensitive root zones. TMA worked closely with the wider design and construction team to ensure that tree protection measures were implemented throughout the project.
This collaborative approach allowed the design to evolve while ensuring compliance with best practice guidance for trees in relation to construction.
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Outcomes
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Through early arboricultural involvement and ongoing technical guidance, the restoration project successfully protected the mature plane trees that define Finsbury Circus Gardens. The revitalised park now provides improved public amenity while maintaining the historic tree canopy and environmental value of this important urban landscape.
The project demonstrates how careful arboricultural planning can enable the renewal of historic public spaces while safeguarding long-term tree health within a challenging city environment.
