A report into the Sheffield street trees scandal has laid the blame firmly at the door of the former leadership of the council for misleading its own independent panel and adopting 'unacceptable' tactics against opponents.
The report suggests the council persisted with a flawed strategy in the face of significant public opposition.
In a statement, Sir Mark Lowcock KCB, independent chair of the Street Trees Inquiry, noted that the streets of Sheffield were previously ‘in a sorry state’, from which they have improved, and that the only practical option available to the council from about 2005 when it was developing ideas on how to tackle problems with the highways, was a Private Finance Initiative scheme.
‘It was, essentially, a choice between PFI or potholes,’ he observed.
However, he said the plan for the cull of thousands of trees under the ‘Streets Ahead’ programme to be carried out by Amey was ‘flawed from the moment the contract was signed’.
He added: ‘The serious dispute that then emerged, however, was not inevitable.’
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