Download a poster
The council must act openly and honestly if its “Independent Tree Panel” is to help break the deadlock on the city’s street trees, says Sheffield Green Party.
The Tree Panel also needs the Tree Strategy that Green Councillors have been calling for. Until these are in place, we cannot support the felling of street trees in Sheffield.
The Greens say that Sheffield’s roadside trees are important both for residents’ wellbeing and for the environment. The council must act openly, honestly and in consultation with residents of Sheffield over the implementation of the Tree Strategy. Felling should also depend on the setting up of an Independent Tree Panel to resolve disputes. We argue that this could be done while maintaining overall progress on road improvements across the city. If the Council is prevented from doing so by the terms of the PFI contract, we again question the wisdom of signing this PFI contract.
Alison Teal, Green Party spokesperson, said;
“This may well be the Council’s last chance to regain the confidence of many Sheffield people in its management of the Streets Ahead programme . But much worse than that, unless the Council is seen to be dealing in an open and honest way with the legitimate concerns of the public, the idea that we have a democratic council could be eroded even further.”
“For this reason I will be marching with my colleagues in the Green Party this Saturday to stop the tree felling on the demonstration organised by Sheffield Tree Action Group. The demo starts at City Hall at 11am.”