Report highlights council failures over street trees

The independent review into the felling of Sheffield street trees, published on Monday, has described a “failure of strategic leadership” at senior levels in the city council. The report, conducted by Sir Martin Lowcock, calls on the local authority to apologise for”developing and adopting a flawed plan” to remove and replace street trees in the city. Thousands of trees were felled as part of a £2.2 billion street maintenance contract, sparking public anger and residents’ protests. Lowcock accused Sheffield council of undermining public trust and of being “economical with the truth”. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!