Sheffield Council leader to face renewed calls for resignation over tree-felling scandal

Both men have faced calls to quit for their parts in overseeing the tree-felling programme, which saw Sheffield Council sign up to a contract to chop down half of the city's street trees and replace them with saplings.

An inquiry found last week that the council had misled both the courts and the public about the strategy.

Coun Fox has refused to quit over the issue and revealed last week he had rejected Coun Lodge's offer to resign from a finance sub-committee he co-chairs.

The pair both previously held responsibility for overseeing the Streets Ahead highways improvement programme which included the tree-felling work.

The council signed a contract with Amey in 2012 which stated 17,500 street trees were to be replaced - a decision based on a misreading of a consultant’s report.

For years, the council denied there was a target but by the time work was halted in March 2018 in the face of increasing protests, 5,500 trees had been removed - many of them healthy.

A protest by anti tree-felling campaigners is planned outside the Town Hall before the meeting, with public questions during it expected to include calls for both councillors to quit their posts.

Campaigner Annette Taberner said there is “deep dissatisfaction” about the response to the inquiry’s findings, with no disciplinary action or resignations planned for any council employee or councillor.

She said: “It feels like we have had a brief PR exercise and then the report will be left on a dusty shelf in the hope we will just all forget about it.

“Not a chance – we are frustrated and angry but also very determined. Those responsible for the damage to trees, people and the City’s reputation need to take responsibility for it.”

Former Green Party councillor Alison Teal, who faced legal action from the council during the dispute, said: “Given the scale of the damage to public trust and the urban environment along with the significant trauma, stress and financial harm to campaigners, the council leadership cannot be surprised to learn that we are deeply distressed to know that despite the truth coming out, it seems no one is willing to take responsibility for the serious harms inflicted on so many people, and the thousands of healthy trees felled for no good reason.”

Speaking last week, Coun Fox said: “I genuinely believe eight years ago I made a real effort to get a consensus to this dispute. I believe I am the one to take us forward in a consensual way.”