Graves Park campaigners say Sheffield Council treated them the same way as tree protesters

A damning report earlier this month concluded Sheffield Council misled the public and courts over efforts to chop down half of the city's street trees.

Now the Friends of Graves Park campaign group have said they are "very concerned" by the findings of the inquiry by Sir Mark Lowcock.

Chair Caroline Dewar said: “We have looked at his comments and conclusions, which identify activities and approaches by Sheffield City Council that are similar or identical in some cases to the problems that the Friends of Graves Park have had over the years."

Ms Dewar highlighted the two challenges involved some of the same decision makers, and accused the authority of treating campaigners in the same way.

She added. “The approaches and behaviour are frighteningly similar."

The Friends of Graves Park are part of a campaign to save the Rose Garden Cafe from demolition but have also been attempting to see the park's Norton Nursery returned to parkland for many years.

They argue the former nursery site is covered by the charity covenant that gifted the park to the city, which means the land should not have other uses, but have accused the council of acting contrary to the covenant by using the land as a depot.

The group had fought an unsuccessful court challenge to stop the sale of the site's Cobnar Cottage, and commissioned an independent survey into the cafe's future which suggested monitoring and reroofing rather than demolition which the council is considering.

Ms Dewar accused the council of promoting its demolition "from the outset", and said in efforts to see the Norton Nursery site restored to parkland campaigners had been met with silence or statements which she believed are "misleading".

She said that the group have made Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to try to find out what is happening at the nursery site.

One question asked whether the nurseries was still charitable parkland and if it had been turned over to use as a depot.

The council said it was not used as a depot and that it had not reneged on a decision to restore the site to parkland.

Responses to later questions said that rubbish collected from city parks is stored there before being transferred to a waste facility at Darnall and council vans and tractors are stored there.

Ms Dewar argued that it was "crystal clear" that the site was used as a depot, adding: "These FOI responses contradict the responses received by the Friends from senior council officers.”

She added: “Sadly, although representatives of Sheffield City Council have stated that since the street tree debacle they are making efforts to improve and that they operate very differently, the Friends of Graves Park have seen little evidence of this."

Sheffield Council was approached for comment but has not yet responded.