Plaque unveiled on Sheffield Town Hall in recognition of “courageous” street tree campaigners

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

A crowd of people gathered to hear speeches from city council chief executive Kate Josephs, well-known tree campaigner Rob McBride and Yorkshire Post editor James Mitchinson, who supported the campaign.

The plaque on the town hall entrance was unveiled by Mr McBride and Lord Mayor Coun Safiya Saeed (March 6).

It says: “In recognition of the courageous campaigners who saved thouands 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.”

Campaigner Dave Dilner said: “I think the plaque is wonderful. It pays credit to every one of us that got involved. Yes, it’s absolutely marvellous.

He said it was a day of a day of “quite powerfully mixed emotions”.

“I got to the stage where I was trying to film it, my hand was shaking because there were tears streaming down my cheeks. I was trying to breathe to hold it together.”

Mr Dilner said: “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.

“They were destroying the canopy and the urban forest in Sheffield. 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.”

He got involved in the early Save Our Rustlings (Road) Trees campaign, whose name changed to Save Our Roadside Trees after STAG – Sheffield Trees Action Group – was formed.

Mr Dilner recalled: “I tried to be the guy in the white suit on the white charger. Yeah, being nice to everybody, and learned a remarkable lesson.

“When you are being so savagely opposed, people are trying to ruin your life and conduct is really disgraceful and being really campaigned against, when you stand in front of them and talk to them, they don’t know what to do.

“They’ve got nothing to feed them.”

Famed Sheffield book illustrator Lydia Monks designed the plaque, in collaboration with a committee of protesters. She said she already knew many of them because of her own part with the campaign.

“I wanted to have a street in there because they’re very much street trees, it wasn’t just countryside, so I had to have some houses in.

“They said a tree, at least one, some wildlife, because that’s the point of saving it.”

The wildlife illustrated includes a bunny and a gecko, because they refer to different types of direct action to protect the trees.

Bunnies hopped over barriers to stand inside safety zones, geckos wedged themselves between barriers and walls and squirrels climbed threatened trees.

Lydia said: “It was quite a brilliant thing to be involved with.”

She recalled her own involvement: “I did some artwork around parts of the campaign. I first got involved when the tree outside my daughter’s school was about to chopped down.

“I got involved and met Dave Dilner and some of the other campaigners.

“So it’s lovely to have been involved all the way through, it becomes a nice ending to the story.”

Council leader Coun Tom Hunt was among many councillors from all main parties who attended the event.

He said: “When I became the leader of the council three years ago in 2023, I committed that we would be more open, more honest, more accountable, and that we would learn from what happened during the street tree dispute and implement every single one of the recommendations in the Lowcock Report.

“At the time, we agreed to install a plaque on the Town Hall as a permanent reminder of what had gone wrong, but also in recognition of the work of residents, campaigners and partners to bring about the saving of street trees. We need to learn the lessons.

“But today is an important moment as we install the plaque, now a permanent reminder on the Town Hall. 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.”

The 2023 Lowcock Report into the street tree scandal gave a damning verdict of the council’s actions in trying to justify its actions in agreeing to the felling of thousands of healthy street trees as part of its £2.2bn PFI contract with Amey.

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

Lowcock said there had been a “failure of strategic leadership” and accused the council of being “economical with the truth”.

The council leadership had to give several public apologies and make other reparations, including agreeing to install the plaque.

A street tree partnership involving the council and campaigners was set up in order to decide which trees should be saved and which needed to be felled.

Yorkshire Post editor James Mitchinson said in his speech: “The plaque placed today will forever remind us of what happens when democratic power is abused; it should also be the starter of infinite conversations about the heroes who saved Sheffield’s trees.

“You have left an indelible mark of righteousness on Sheffield.

“Your honesty and your integrity are now hallmarks branded into the metal of the Steel City forever. You are the best of it.”