TREES and shrubs have been planted in a busy Oxford alleyway to make it more pleasant for residents.

The footpath between Havelock Road and Maidcroft Road that leads to Cowley Centre was known for graffiti and antisocial behaviour, but has been improved thanks to more than £5,000 from Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council.

The plants are the latest addition to the alleyway, following the installation of a new lamp and a clean-up of the walls.

Maidcroft Road resident Anne Mackintosh, a member of Clive Road Area Residents’ Association, said: “The new planting has really transformed the pathway.

“It now looks really attractive and – as well as being safer – is so much more pleasant to walk along than before, when it was all overgrown and strewn with rubbish.

“It makes us feel much happier about our neighbourhood in general.

“A mixture of trees have been planted, including a flowering cherry and pyrocanthus shrubs, which are prickly and have berries.

“They have been planted against the railings to provide a barrier as well as food and nesting for birds.”