The tree-felling scandal has left an indelible mark on Sheffield Council’s reputation with the inquiry into it concluding that there was a “serious and sustained failure of strategic leadership”.

Sir Mark Lowcock’s inquiry focused on a “truth and reconciliation” process. It is a process that has vindicated campaigners, who argued that many healthy trees had been unnecessarily felled despite the council repeatedly claiming at the time removals were only done as a “last resort”.

The inquiry is a damning indictment of the previous regime at the council. Sheffield Council acted in a way that suggested that they knew best and showed an unwillingness to listen to the very legitimate concerns of residents.

While the council wasn’t seen to be intending to mislead, it did produce an outline business case which wrongly misinterpreted findings about older trees, believing those trees were “ready for replacement”.

A protestor is forcefully removed from under a contractor's truck after stopping felling from taking place. PIC: Scott Merrylees

As Sir Mark highlighted, it was a failure to adequately consult others with wider expertise.

“The assertion was more likely a result of misinterpretation arising from the fact that the people making the key judgments on design issues were highway engineers, not tree specialists,” he said.

Sir Mark also said the council was “slow to understand” the opposition to its plans and dismissed concerns as “unrepresentative”.

Sheffield Council had lost sight of the fact that it had to also listen to and take on board the concerns of taxpayers. Going forward, lessons must be learned from this episode.

Councils up and down the country can learn a lot from Sheffield’s hapless handling of the tree felling scandal. But for all of the council’s failings, the inquiry is a testament to the determination of the people of Sheffield, who refused to back down.

Tree felling inquiry highlights failure of leadership at Sheffield Council - The Yorkshire Post says