Sheffield apologises after tree felling controversy

Sheffield City Council has apologised after a damning report found it did not act with ‘openness or transparency’ over a controversial scheme to remove trees from local streets.

The report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the council was at fault over the way it dealt with complaints from a local resident about the scheme.

He complained to the ombudsman after the council removed eight trees in his street during November 2016, despite specialists and the council’s own independent tree panel recommending only one of the trees needed removing.

The ombudsman said there were issues about the way it corresponded with the man about his complaints, the delay and the sometimes ‘misleading responses’ he received.

The mass felling of trees in Sheffield began back in 2012 as part of a PFI contract between the council and contractor Amey.

The ombudman’s investigation also found fault with the way the council placed information in the public domain surrounding the tree removal, and the selective detail of that information.

It found the council misrepresented advice received from specialists about the viability of one tree they assessed.

‘This case highlights the imperative for councils to act with honesty, openness and transparency – without this people can lose faith in their integrity and not trust they are doing the right thing,’ said ombudsman, Michael King.

‘I welcome the hard work the council has since done to restore people’s faith and publish more information to increase transparency. Apologising to the people of Sheffield for its past actions and acknowledging what went wrong will help build that trust further.’

Following the publication of the report, the council has now apologised for its handling of the complaint.

‘We fully accept the findings of this report and recognise that our approach to managing the city’s street trees needed to change,’ said cabinet member for street scene and climate change, Cllr Mark Jones.

‘We got some things wrong and whilst this report is reflective of a very different and difficult time, we are continuing to make real and significant progress towards a more transparent and collaborative future when it comes to managing our valuable street tree stock.’

Photo Credit – Tama66 (Pixabay)