The Norfolk pines, which line The Grand Parade between Ramsgate and Brighton-Le-Sands, have grown even more majestic in recent years and give new meaning to the name of the main road.

Thomas Saywell, the primary developer of Brighton-Le-Sands in the early 1880s, gave the road that name, but for a different reason.

It reflected his vision for the area, which would include a hotel, swimming baths, race course, and several streets of semi-detached cottages linked to Rockdale railway station by a tramway.

While Saywell planted the first pines at Brighton-Le-Sands, the vista enjoyed by residents today is due to the foresight of civic leaders in the 1930s.

During the Depression, pines were planted all the way from Brighton-Le-Sands to Ramsgate.

A Rockdale Council spokesman said there were now more than 700 pines, with a lifespan of about 100 years, growing along the foreshore from Kyeemagh to Sans Souci.

The planting of new trees, two to three metres in height, was ongoing, and they were expected to grow to 15 metres.

‘‘Fourteen trees on the beachfront were recently replaced with new plantings of a safer species to ensure public safety,’’ he said. ‘‘A number of diseased trees in Pine Park have been replaced with new pines.

‘‘New plantings also occur to complement infrastructure for example a recent installation of a cycleway.’’