Verdict on Sheffield 'street tree massacre' due next week

Sir Mark Lowcock, chair of the inquiry, said the report will be published on the council’s website shortly after 10am on Monday, March 6.

He will then make a live streamed public statement at that time, the details of which are to be announced soon.

Everyone – including the council – will get the full report at the same time, as stated in the inquiry’s terms of reference.

The inquiry was ordered in May, 2021, as part of a power-sharing deal struck between Labour and the Green Party after Labour, which was in charge during the felling, lost overall control of the council in the local elections.

Prior to that election, Labour resisted an inquiry into the saga, which saw thousands of street trees felled and replaced with saplings as part of a £2 billion highways management contract with Amey. Campaigners argued many of the trees felled were healthy and therefore chopping them down was unnecessary. It was dubbed the ‘street tree massacre’.

The dispute reached its height in early 2018 before the council paused felling and eventually agreed a way forwards with campaigners, forming the Street Tree Partnership.

Sir Lowcock said his goals for the inquiry were to support the ongoing recovery from the dispute and make recommendations designed to help minimise the risk of the dispute re-emerging in the future.

He said: “In establishing the inquiry the council’s referred to a need for truth and reconciliation. The inquiry will be guided by that.”