Agenda item

Tree Felling on Rustlings Road (2)

14.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Robert Murphy, and formally seconded by Councillor Alison Teal, that this Council:-

(a)       notes that the Sheffield City Highways tree survey in 2006-07 identified 25,877 mature and over-mature trees, of which only 1000 needed felling;

(b)       notes that 59 out of 65 residents of Rustlings Road disagreed with proposals to fell trees on their own street;

(c)        notes that the Council’s Independent Tree Panel advised options other than felling for 6 out of 8 trees;

(d)       notes that this report, dated 22 July 2016, was only published at 4.25am on the morning the trees were felled;

(e)       notes that the Cabinet Member for Environment nevertheless allowed the felling of these trees in a major police-backed operation in the early hours of the morning, causing alarm and distress to residents of Rustlings Road;

(f)        apologises for the alarm and distress to local residents on Rustlings Road for the action of the Council and its partners on Thursday 17 November 2016, and believes these actions did not have the support of the Members of the Council; and

(g)       therefore resolves that this Council has no confidence in the leadership of the current Administration.

14.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Bryan Lodge, and formally seconded by Councillor Tony Downing, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       reiterates the apology that has been made for the way in which the work to replace trees on Rustlings Road was carried out, and recognises that the Council has apologised for the mistakes that were made;

(b)       believes it was right for the Council to apologise for  the disruption and distress caused by knocking on people’s doors at 5am and the decision not to publish the Independent Tree Panel (ITP) report in advance;

(c)        welcomes that the apology included specific commitments that the Council will publish the Independent Tree Panel reports in a timely manner, with full and transparent information about how decisions have been reached, and the assurances that no work will begin before 7am;

(d)       fully supports the right of campaigners to continue to peacefully protest and, at the same time, believes that peaceful protests should not put the safety of the workforce who are doing their job, or the public, at risk;

(e)       continues to support the Streets Ahead Project, which is the biggest investment in Sheffield’s highway network that the city has ever seen, which was originally funded by the previous Labour Government;

(f)        recalls that plans to replace highway trees as part of the project were drawn up by Liberal Democrat Councillors when they were in control of the Council in a 2008 Cabinet Report detailing the scope of services to be included in the project and in a 2009 specification document drawn up for potential bidders for the contract, which included a forward from the then Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Scriven;

(g)       continues to agree with the proposals put forward in the October 2008 and April 2009 documents relating to highway trees, the April 2009 document stating that “A significant improvement in the standard of tree maintenance will be required, with large numbers of over-mature trees being replaced by more appropriate species, and others pruned, crowned or otherwise maintained in a safe condition. The Authority will require the overall number of highway trees across the City to be sustained at current levels and the highway tree stock returned to a more balanced age-profile during the course of the Project”;

(h)       confirms that since the Streets Ahead Project started, more highway trees have been replanted in the city than removed, and the purpose of this work is as stated in the Tree Management Strategy to “ensure the street tree population is maintained and improved throughout the contract term to create a legacy of a healthy, diverse tree stock in terms of age, profile and species, reducing the risk of monocultures, whilst ensuring the safety of the highway user and adjacent properties”;

(i)         further confirms the following from the 2012-2017 Tree Management Strategy “The removal of street trees will only be considered as a last resort where there are no other reasonably practicable management options available to ensure safety or prevent damage to surrounding structures. Removals will only be specified by suitably qualified and experienced surveyors and, where necessary, additional decay detection equipment will be used to confirm any recommendations. All trees removed will be replaced on a one for one basis the following planting season (November to March)”;

(j)         recognises that proposals around the replacement of trees on a number of streets have raised further issues because of their status as World War I memorial trees;

(k)        notes that one of these streets is Western Road, where the consultation closes on 9th December, and that Councillors Craig Gamble Pugh and Anne Murphy have been consulting with their constituents on this road to raise awareness about the surveys; and

(l)         commits to engaging with stakeholders such as the Sheffield Community Covenant and War Memorials Trust when considering the Council’s response to advice from the Independent Tree Panel, if and when the residents of Western Road decide to ask the ITP to re-examine the proposals, and commits to respond in an open and transparent way, carefully taking the ITP’s advice into account.

14.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

14.4

It was then formally moved by Councillor Colin Ross, and formally seconded by Councillor Martin Smith, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of original paragraph (g) and the addition of new paragraphs (g) to (j) as follows:-

(g)       calls on the Administration to review its policy on highway trees so that it takes into account the full value of their contribution to air quality, quality of life and the quality of the natural environment, and the democratic will that they be retained in much larger numbers;

(h)       calls for the immediate publication of all parts of the Streets Ahead contract that relate to tree felling, to allow full public scrutiny of the contract;

(i)         calls for an enquiry by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, which will be open and held in public, to look specifically at:-

(i)         all operational matters with regards to felling of trees; and

(ii)        the events, decisions and operational matters specifically related to the felling of the trees on Rustlings Road -

            with a view to producing a series of recommendations and steps to ensure nothing of the nature of the Rustlings Road incident ever happens in Sheffield again; and

(j)         calls on Councillors Julie Dore and Bryan Lodge to take responsibility for the events of 17th November and to step down as Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, respectively.

14.5

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

14.6

It was then formally moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson, and formally seconded by Councillor Magid Magid, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the relettering of original paragraph (g) as a new paragraph (i) and the addition of new paragraphs (g) and (h) as follows:-

(g)       notes the formal apology from Councillor Lodge that “we commit to publishing the Independent Tree Panel reports in a timely manner, with full and transparent information about how we have come to decisions”;

(h)       but notes that the Council and its partner Amey has already blatantly disregarded this apology by felling a mature tree on Ventnor Place on 6 December 2016 after issuing consultation letters to all residents on the street inviting responses by 9th December; and

14.7

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

14.8

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       reiterates the apology that has been made for the way in which the work to replace trees on Rustlings Road was carried out, and recognises that the Council has apologised for the mistakes that were made;

(b)       believes it was right for the Council to apologise for the disruption and distress caused by knocking on people’s doors at 5am and the decision not to publish the Independent Tree Panel (ITP) report in advance;

(c)        welcomes that the apology included specific commitments that the Council will publish the Independent Tree Panel reports in a timely manner, with full and transparent information about how decisions have been reached, and the assurances that no work will begin before 7am;

(d)       fully supports the right of campaigners to continue to peacefully protest and, at the same time, believes that peaceful protests should not put the safety of the workforce who are doing their job, or the public, at risk;

(e)       continues to support the Streets Ahead Project, which is the biggest investment in Sheffield’s highway network that the city has ever seen, which was originally funded by the previous Labour Government;

(f)        recalls that plans to replace highway trees as part of the project were drawn up by Liberal Democrat Councillors when they were in control of the Council in a 2008 Cabinet Report detailing the scope of services to be included in the project and in a 2009 specification document drawn up for potential bidders for the contract, which included a forward from the then Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Scriven;

(g)       continues to agree with the proposals put forward in the October 2008 and April 2009 documents relating to highway trees, the April 2009 document stating that “A significant improvement in the standard of tree maintenance will be required, with large numbers of over-mature trees being replaced by more appropriate species, and others pruned, crowned or otherwise maintained in a safe condition. The Authority will require the overall number of highway trees across the City to be sustained at current levels and the highway tree stock returned to a more balanced age-profile during the course of the Project”;

(h)       confirms that since the Streets Ahead Project started, more highway trees have been replanted in the city than removed, and the purpose of this work is as stated in the Tree Management Strategy to “ensure the street tree population is maintained and improved throughout the contract term to create a legacy of a healthy, diverse tree stock in terms of age, profile and species, reducing the risk of monocultures, whilst ensuring the safety of the highway user and adjacent properties”;

(i)         further confirms the following from the 2012-2017 Tree Management Strategy “The removal of street trees will only be considered as a last resort where there are no other reasonably practicable management options available to ensure safety or prevent damage to surrounding structures. Removals will only be specified by suitably qualified and experienced surveyors and, where necessary, additional decay detection equipment will be used to confirm any recommendations. All trees removed will be replaced on a one for one basis the following planting season (November to March)”;

(j)         recognises that proposals around the replacement of trees on a number of streets have raised further issues because of their status as World War I memorial trees;

(k)        notes that one of these streets is Western Road, where the consultation closes on 9th December, and that Councillors Craig Gamble Pugh and Anne Murphy have been consulting with their constituents on this road to raise awareness about the surveys; and

(l)         commits to engaging with stakeholders such as the Sheffield Community Covenant and War Memorials Trust when considering the Council’s response to advice from the Independent Tree Panel, if and when the residents of Western Road decide to ask the ITP to re-examine the proposals, and commits to respond in an open and transparent way, carefully taking the ITP’s advice into account.

14.8.1

(NOTE: Councillors Magid Magid, Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy and Alison Teal voted for paragraphs (a) to (d), (f) and (j) to (l), voted against paragraphs (e), (g) and (i) and abstained from voting on paragraph (h) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)