"We were wrong" over trees admits leading Sheffield councillor - as call made for leader to quit

Mark Jones, cabinet member for streetscene, said he fully accepted the findings of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman that the council had misled the public, misrepresented expert advice and acted with a "lack of honesty".

He told The Yorkshire Post today: "It is a terrible situation and I can only apologise. We should never have allowed ourselves to get into this position - we were wrong."

The Ombudsman investigation was launched following a complaint by a man called Alan Robshaw about the circumstances surrounding the felling of eight trees on the street where he lived in November 2016. Contractors accompanied by police officers attended Rustlings Road at 5am on the day in question to remove eight trees - despite the council's own Independent Tree Panel recommending that only one needed to be removed.

That work was carried out as part of a contentious tree-felling programme under a £2bn highways project with Amey called Streets Ahead that started in 2012. Around 5,500 trees were felled - 2,000 of which were healthy but deemed to be damaging pavements or road surfaces - before work was paused in spring 2018 in the face of increasing protests.

The Ombudsman not only condemned the council's behaviour in relation to its actions on Rustlings Road but also highlighted a wider pattern of misleading behaviour by the council over the issue. It also called for the council to issue an apology to the people of Sheffield for its conduct but noted the council's more conciliatory approach in recent times which has involved a focus on retaining trees where possible.

Coun Jones said: "We should have engaged in a franker, fuller and more open way a lot earlier and we would never have got around to making these mistakes. We were under great pressure but to an extent that pressure was of our own making.

"Excuses aren't good enough and we accept that we got this wrong."

Coun Jones said things have improved markedly in recent times. "From the terrible place we found ourselves in cutting down trees at 5am, we have learnt a lot."

His comments came as calls were made today for the resignation of council leader Julie Dore.

Green Party councillor Alison Teal faced legal proceedings in 2017 in which Sheffield Council applied for her to be committed to prison for allegedly breaching a civil injunction against protesting directly under threatened trees but the case against her was dismissed in court.

Coun Teal said today she believed Julie Dore must "bear responsibility" for the council's failings - particularly in regard to the authority's repeated legal actions against different campaigners

She said Coun Dore’s approach to the issue “has undermined any confidence in her ability to provide the city with the leadership needed to rebuild trust and faith in the council”.

Lib Dem Leader Coun Shaffaq Mohammed said: “The Ombudsman’s report is damning. I want to pay tribute to Alan Robshaw who doggedly campaigned to hold this council to account.

“It’s time to show some empathy that Alan is no longer with us. It should never have taken this long and for him to have to go to the Ombudsman.

“It’s very clear that Council Leader Julie Dore is not saying anything about this. It is time for the leadership to take responsibility. This underlines how the council has dealt with the issue from day one.

“The tree fiasco put Sheffield on the map for all the wrong reasons and I don’t believe any lessons have been learned about openness and transparency.”

When asked about Coun Teal's comments, Coun Jones said the Labour council leader - who intends to stand down as a councillor following the next council elections - retains the support of her council colleagues.

Coun Jones said: “I don’t think the resignation of any one person for whatever reason would make this go away. The reality is we have to learn and be better.

“Julie was elected at our AGM to lead the party - of course she is supported.”

Coun Jones said Coun Dore was not available to take questions herself as she is dealing with matters relating to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Julie is working very hard and dealing with many, many other issues that we are painfully aware of. She has instructed me with dealing with this portfolio."

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James Mitchinson