My mouth fell open in utter disbelief
My mouth fell open in utter disbelief when I read Councillor Bryan Lodge's letter, (Star, March 24), in which he says he is 'incredibly proud of our green credentials'.
Really? I was in Birmingham last weekend and when I mentioned to people where I was from the embarrassing reply was ‘Oh, the city that’s chopping down all its trees’ and they weren’t far wrong.
We have been told so many things by Coun Lodge and his colleagues and one of those is the number of trees to be felled.
There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the intended target is ALL of our city’s 36,000 highway trees to avoid future maintenance costs.
Councillor Lodge also said “we are not removing healthy trees because we take any satisfaction in doing so” but doesn’t explain why they are refusing to implement the many engineering solutions available within the £2.2 billion Amey contract which would have saved the majority of healthy trees from being needlessly felled.
What a great shame it is that Coun Lodge has such contempt for the tree campaigners and their peaceful protests which he calls ‘unlawful behaviour’.
If he and the council had listened to the views of the majority of residents in this city who wished to keep their street trees and taken on board their justified concerns regarding the mass fellings then all the unpleasant scenes and great expense involved could have been avoided.
How can the citizens of Sheffield ever respect or trust the council again following their deplorable action and total disregard for our heritage?
Susan Richardson
Westminster Crescent, Lodge Moor, Sheffield, S10