Sheffield city council behaved dishonestly in street tree controversy | 5 News

Now, we're going to talk about trees on the program for you, because some of you might remember there were angry protests when thousands of them were cut down. This was across Sheffield about six or seven years ago. Well, now an inquiry has found that the council responsible didn't do the right thing, saying they behaved dishonestly and destroyed public trust. Well, one of those who gave evidence that that inquiry was at Chris Rust from the Sheffield Tree Action Group. He joins us now. Good evening to you, Chris. Thanks so much for being with us tonight.

And, you know, essentially, this inquiry concluded. Essentially, what you've been saying all along. Yes, it was a great endorsement. We, you know, we've been living in a world where people have told us we're idiots, people have told us we're troublemakers, and then suddenly somebody very distinguished, some art lococ, turns around and says, no, you were dead right. And I think it justified the struggle we put up and the fact that people were doing civil disobedience because they really believed in protecting the trees on their streets. Yeah, and Chris, I live in Sheffield. I remember this going on six, seven years ago.

And there were many people who were really angered by what was happening. Does it feel like vindication considering all those arguments that you had at the time? Yes, absolutely. A lot of the evidence that Samar used was stuff that we'd carefully gathered, then he had to go and cross-check it with the council records. And we. It's a great day. We've been feeling quite nervous and anxious for quite a while because it felt like we might be told once again, go away, you know. But no.

And it means we can move on. We have been working with the council for the last three years in a very good way, a very positive way, to work out how to conserve the trees. That's been terrific. And I think now we're in a position to move on. The council have said that they're willing to. First of all, they'll apologise, and secondly, they'll look at how to reform their own way of doing things, which is the most important thing for us. They made some extraordinary mistakes very early on, and then they refused to admit they made mistakes.

And that's where all the time came from. It still must be bittersweet. Like, looking at those pictures, those beautiful trees being cut down, you saw them being cut down, you didn't think it should happen. But as you say, on the positive, you're working more closely with the council. How are you doing that exactly? Well, there's a thing called the Sheffield Tree Partnership, which was set up after we had some negotiations to sort out a way forward. We've been working with the highway contractors, looking at how to conserve individual trees. And it's great, because we're finding that what was seen as big problems, they sort of go away and become quite straightforward when you get a couple of good highway workers on the job.

And that's the great thing, the people on the street doing their work know what to do about trees. It was the bureaucrats and the kind of bosses in the council officers that were completely confused about what was going on. Chris, can I just ask you, is your head all right? Oh, yeah, just had some stitches for a little thing. No worries. You've got a tree fallen, have you, Chris? No, no, not on this occasion. Oh, good. Well, thank you so much for talking to us.

I imagine you're still campaigning and still going strong. Well, the main thing we're doing now is helping other campaigns, because right now in Plymouth, there's very similar stuff going on. And the people there are fighting exactly the same battle we've had. And I think today's announcement and the report will be a huge aid to them because they'll be able to say to their own council, look, calm down, step back, check your decisions. Did you get it right? Don't assume you're right. And this could be a great aid. Thanks, Chris.

Great to talk to you and take care of your noggin. OK. Yes, cheerio.

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