Plaque to honour tree felling protesters unveiled

A plaque to commemorate the campaigners who fought to save thousands of Sheffield street trees has been unveiled at the town hall.

Sheffield Council axed more than 5,000 trees between 2013 and 2018 as part of a street improvement programme and had planned to cut down around 12,000 more.

But an independent inquiry later found the council had misled the public and courts and had plotted to kill healthy trees as well as diseased ones, while protesters were threatened with legal action.

The plaque was unveiled by tree campaigner Rob McBride and Lord Mayor Councillor Safiya Saeed on Friday.

It reads: "In recognition of the courageous campaigners who saved thousands of street trees from wrongful felling by Sheffield City Council, and as a reminder to all that such failures in leadership must never happen again. 2012-2018."

Dave Dilner, who was one of those who protested against the tree felling, said he felt "quite powerful mixed emotions".

"I think the plaque is wonderful," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). "It pays credit to every one of us that got involved.

"I always believed from the very outset that the campaign would be successful, that we would stop so much indiscriminate felling of mature, healthy trees.

"I just knew that what they were doing was wrong, and I knew twice as strongly that I was going to do everything within my power to say 'no'."

The 2023 Lowcock Report into the street tree scandal said the council had been "economical with the truth" as it tried to justify its actions over the felling programme.

Protesters faced private security teams and police as they tried to stop the trees being axed. Several prominent campaigners were threatened with a high court injunction unless they desisted their activities, which were later found to be lawful.

The council subsequently made several public apologies and agreed to make other reparations, including agreeing to install the plaque.

Councillor Tom Hunt, who became the leader of the local authority, said the plaque would be a "permanent reminder" of what had happened.

He said: "I will never take the trust of the people of this city for granted.

"We have worked hard to change how we communicate, to be more open, more honest, and today is an important step forward in continuing to learn the lessons of the Lowcock Report."

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