Council apology after residents misled about tree-felling report

SHEFFIELD COUNCIL is to apologise for misleading residents over the city’s street tree-felling saga in a case a local government investigator said had “undermined trust in the effectiveness of its complaint procedures”.

A soon-to-be officially published ruling by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has made a finding of fault against the council after receiving complaints relating to an alder tree on Aldam Way, Totley, that the council wished to fell as part of its Streets Ahead highways project with contractor Amey.

The report said the council had accepted the findings while noting it was under “exceptional pressure” due to public protests about its wider tree-felling policy at the time.

The Ombudsman ruled that the contractor had “deliberately set out not to reveal the true advice it had received” in regard to a report by a council-commissioned independent tree surveyor who said the tree should be retained.

The tree in question had been recommended for removal in 2015 after an inspection noted some decay before an independent panel, which had been established by the council in the wake of growing concerns about felling work, advised in June 2017 that it could be saved as the damage had nearly healed.

The council rejected the advice, saying the tree was damaging the pavement.

One of the complainants, Sally Goldsmith, questioned the removal decision and was told by the contractor in August 2017 that removal was recommended because of “decay within the stem”. It added that an independent surveyor had “confirmed a decay pocket… as well as damage to the highway network”. A similar email was sent to another complainant.

However, Ms Goldsmith subsequently received a copy of the surveyor’s report, which had actually recommended the tree was retained, saying the tree decay was healing well and that pavement damage was “minor”. The council responded by accepting the damage to the tree might not justify felling but described the pavement damage as “more problematic”.

The official strategy for Streets Ahead – which has seen around 5,500 trees removed and replaced with saplings since 2012 – said that the felling of trees is only considered as a ‘last resort’. But the Ombudsman said the evidence in this case that felling was a last resort was “far from convincing”.

The council has now agreed to provide written apologies while saying it will retain the tree “if possible” under a new approach to felling. A council spokesperson said: “We will undertake the agreed actions within the timescales outlined in the ombudsman report and consider whether any lessons can be learnt as a result.”

The contractor deliberately set out not to reveal the true advice. Investigator’s report, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.