Pause on tree felling continues as talks extended

The council and STAG have, for the first time, been trying to reach a compromise over tree felling after years of disputes.

Mediated talks between the two groups took place on Thursday 27 September and Friday 28 September.

They were chaired by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution and overseen by the Bishop of Sheffield, the Very Reverend Dr Pete Wilcox.

In a joint statement from Councillor Lewis Dagnall, cabinet member for environment and streetscene, and Chris Rust and Paul Brooke, co-chairs of STAG, they said: 'We have completed two days of constructive, mediated talks, and have made substantive progress over that time.

'We have agreed to meet again in three weeks to continue our talks.

'Both parties are hopeful that we will be able to make a full announcement at that point, covering a proposed approach to completing the remaining period of the Streets Ahead programme, alongside developing our street tree strategy for the future.

'In the meantime the current pause on tree replacement will continue.'

The council's delegation included councillors, council officers and representatives from Amey.

The delegation from STAG included members of the steering committee and a representative of Trees for Cities.