Tree felling: petition calls for Sheffield Council leader and chair of finance to resign
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It follows the findings of a long-awaited inquiry seeking “truth and reconciliation” following the infamous Streets Ahead programme that aimed to fell 17,500 street trees as part of a £2.2 billion contract between the council and Amey.
The report showed the council overstretched its authority in taking drastic action against campaigners, had serious and sustained failures in leadership and misled the public, courts and an independent panel it set up to deal with the dispute.
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Hide AdBoth senior councillors were head of the tree felling programme.
Coun Fox led the scheme for a year between 2015 and 2016 before Coun Lodge, who is now chair of the finance committee, took over during the most controversial years between 2016 and 2018.
Brett Davison started a petition on the council’s website calling for them both to “take responsibility” and resign.
He said: “After the report into tree felling in Sheffield, and it becoming clear councillors lied and misled the public, they should take responsibility for their actions, show some decency for once and resign because they can no longer be trusted.”
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Hide AdCalls for the councillors to resign came immediately after the findings of the inquiry were published and protests took place outside the Town Hall.
Speaking to the councillors in a meeting, Annette Taberner, tree campaigner, said: “You keep talking about ‘we’ are going forward, we don’t want to go forward with you because we have no trust in you, we have no faith in you – you are a symbol of what has happened to people in this city…
“It’s too late to apologise to four of my friends who were members of the campaign, they are dead. They gave the last years of their lives to try and stop the destruction of our trees. You can’t apologise to them. We have been to their funerals. We know they are not here any more. It’s too late.
“This is only reflective of a tiny bit of the anger that is out there.”
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Hide AdCoun Fox said he would not resign and declined Coun Lodge’s offer to resign.
The petition can be found on the council’s website here: https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=10284&RPID=10928499&HPID=10928499