Twenty trees will be installed in Chipping Barnet town centre at a cost of £30,000 to the taxpayer.

Barnet Council approved the “exorbitant” project as part of a wider £400,000 regeneration of the High Barnet area.

The authority was given the cash after it bid for a portion of Boris Johnson’s Outer London Fund, money from the public purse set aside for regeneration projects on the outskirts of the capital.

After putting the tree installation contract out to tender, council officers last week chose Street Tree Care Ltd to carry out the work at a cost of £30,669.

The city landscapers beat a second unnamed bidder that had quoted a price of £45,000 to install the foliage.

Resources spokesperson for the opposition Labour group, Councillor Alan Schneiderman, believes the trees are too expensive.

He said: “It is good to see more trees but it is a ridiculous cost. To pay more than £1,000 per tree is excessive and in this difficult economic climate it is important to get value for money.

“We support the principle of improving the street scene but this exorbitant cost is not good value.”

Council contractors will be sent to dig up the proposed tree locations, which include outside Barnet Police Station, to check their viability before bedding-in takes place.