Council’s tree panel cost more than £830,000
A PANEL set up by Sheffield Council to assess its most controversial tree-felling plans has cost taxpayers over £830,000 – despite the authority overruling its advice on hundreds of occasions.
It was revealed earlier this week that Sheffield Council had paid its highways maintenance contractor Amey £700,000 in compensation for delays to work caused by waiting for the findings of the ‘Independent Tree Panel’ it established in late 2015 and which ran until last summer.
A Freedom of Information response has now shown that more than £130,000 was spent on the panel’s running costs, including more than £23,000 on posting out surveys to residents living on affected streets.
It means that in total, the panel’s work cost more than £1,000 for each of the 788 trees it assessed, backing removal in 454 cases. Last summer, it was revealed that where the panel had recommended trees were saved, the council rejected the advice on 223 occasions and accepted in only 73 cases. Anti-tree felling campaigners said today the panel had been a “pointless exercise”.
The removal of thousands of street trees and their replacement with saplings is part of a 25year highways maintenance contract with Amey which started in 2012 and also involves road and pavement resurfacing and the replacement of street lights.
Tree-felling work has been on hold for almost three months after a national outcry against the policy following dozens of police officers and security guards being sent out to support operations in the wake of growing protests.
But the policy has been controversial for several years, with campaigners arguing healthy trees were being removed unnecessarily.
The ITP was set up by the council in November 2015 in an attempt to address concerns - but the knock-on effect of waiting for its advice was to delay highways work that needed to be completed on more than 300 streets; a situation that led to the compensation payment being made to Amey.
Kaarina Hollo, of Save Crookes, Western Road and Walkley Trees, said: “It’s shocking that our city council has wasted so much public money on this pointless exercise.
“If they had been willing to start constructive talks with the people who were objecting to fellings and with the many experts who have said that the felling programme was not needed and causing huge damage, they and Amey might have reached a solution to this mess quite quickly and cheaply. Instead we had nearly two years of unnecessary confrontation and entrenchment to no good.”
The ITP was chaired by Andy Buck, chief executive of Sheffield Citizens Advice, and consisted of an arboriculturalist, a health and safety adviser, a highways engineer and a lay member.
Surveys were sent out to people on streets where tree-felling was planned and in instances where more than half of the residents raised objections about the proposals, the plans were referred to the panel to make recommendations. FASHION WAS high on the agenda at Royal Ascot as stars mingled with ordinary racegoers.
While Ladies Day at the Berkshire course does not take place until today, early arrivals yesterday were keen to strike a stylish note.
Racegoers put on a colourful display in dresses emblazoned with flowers, leaves and even a pineapple as they arrived for day two of the prestigious racing festival, which is a favourite with the royal family.
Sir Mo Farah made his first appearance at Royal Ascot declaring he wanted to enjoy the racing as thousands of racegoers geared up for the start.
Other famous faces taking their places track-side included TV presenter Declan Donnelly and his pregnant wife Ali, football pundit Robbie Savage and sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher.
Sir Mo – who won four Olympic golds – looked smart in a top hat and tails as he arrived with wife Tania at the famous Berkshire race course.
Sir Mo, who presented the prizes for the first race of the day, the Queen Mary Stakes, said: “I’m just here to enjoy the racing, I haven’t been here before but I’m looking forward to it.”
His wife added: “It will be a fun day today, we will both try to enjoy it.”
Talk Show host and race horse owner Jeremy Kyle, said: “I love Ascot, it’s a good day out but it’s different. It’s all about the social aspect.”
The Queen arrived at the course in a carriage procession and among her guests in the Royal Box was the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. Charles and Camilla presented the prizes in the aptly named Prince of Wales’s Stakes while the Earl of Wessex performed the same role in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes.