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Council tree felling...

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She fell because she was holding on to idiot number 1 who was being removed by security. You can clearly see they were not holding her at this point as they had ready let go of her.

 

So you were not being peaceful then.

 

She fell because the bouncers were using illegal excessive force, and in direct violation of their procedural agreement with the police.

 

It is perfectly possible to be both peaceful and perform an illegal act - c.f. Ghandi, MLK.

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He said, he did, she says, she did and after all the name calling, legal actions and protests most of the condemned trees have gone and their replacements are becoming established.

 

When I drive down Abbeydale Park Rise from the top I see newly planted trees and older trees all of which are appropriate now and likely to be for many years. Further down I pass the battle zone, there's no other way it can be described. There are some large trees that are swollen and twisted into strange shapes, most of which have now lost many of their upper branches prior to felling.

 

In spring they used to put on a brilliant show of pink blossom. They won't this year after lopping. Their trunks are swelling out a little further each year and and the pavement around them has been repaired more than once. There's no doubt that the Christmas lights display on Abbeydale Park Rise is brilliant and removal of the trees will reduce the impact for several years.

 

I have no knowledge of diseases in trees, but their trunks don't look well, however left on their own they'd probably live many years. Unfortunately, whether we call it criminal damage, vandalism or legitimate tree surgery the trees are now in a state that is best resolved by completing the felling and getting the new trees in and established as soon as possible.

 

The road and pavements can then be relaid, they need it, and in 10-20 years there'll be some good sized trees once again. There won't be a shortage of trees in that area as almost every household garden in all the local roads has trees, and they're growing fast. 100 years ago it was green fields with a few boundary trees only.

 

Leaving the trees in their present state is unsatisfactory, both for those who want them preserved as well as those who'd like to see them gone.

Edited by 1978
Finished final sentence

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6000 trees have gone, 17500 is the target in the contract. And the replacements won't be established for years, mostly they haven't even been planted. They won't be mature until after the contract with Amey has finished (and isn't that a coincidence).

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Isn't it remarkable, Social Care is suffering chronic underfunding, Childrens Services is in crisis, but Sheffield City Council can make substantial funds available for security operations around the city's trees?

Edited by Staunton

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Because it's legal to do so?

 

Legal or otherwise, if you had the best interests of Sheffield/the UK, why would you advocate using a non-accountable multi-national that has breached health and Safety (prosecuted for a death) to (I allege) fraudulently obtain a contract to undertake maintenance of the highways?

 

They were supposed to resurface my street last June, but they have yet to do it, probably because it doesn't have any street trees - where's the fun in resurfacing a street without being able to fell trees and waste the taxes of Sheffield residents. Do Amey/SIA/police care, they don't live here, they don't pay tax here, their streets are not being butchered, communities ripped apart?

 

Responsibility lies squarely with the SCC inner cabinet who have persistently failed to properly fund the proper management of the street trees and highways over the past 20-30 years.

 

They don't represent me, they don't fool me, they are weak minded individuals who have no moral fibre and can't simply admit that they got it wrong and make it right.

 

---------- Post added 20-03-2018 at 00:08 ----------

 

Having spoken to the police officer in charge, they are claiming that they are policing the tree felling because there has been a significant change in the tactics used by the tree protectors.

 

This is rubbish.

 

The only change that has occurred is that AMEY/SIA decided that they would start to use 'reasonable' force, prior to that they had just behaved like goons.

 

So, what an excuse? SYP are policing the fellings because AMEY decided to up the anti. Let's be clear and ensure that we all are informed about this.

 

Everyone in Sheffield is being played by Amey and because SCC have signed a self-monitoring contract and the Councillors have no backbone or are simply too stupid to realise, Amey are going home every night just a little bit more wealthy as a result.

Edited by yourhouse

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Many of the police working for SYP do of course live in Sheffield.

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Responsibility lies squarely with the SCC inner cabinet who have persistently failed to properly fund the proper management of the street trees and highways over the past 20-30 years.

 

Now this is the cause of the present problems, but in their efforts to put things right they're trapped by that past neglect. On the tree issue there is natural concentration on trees being felled.

 

What is almost totally ignored is the number of trees that were felled without replacement over at least the last 30 years. About 15 years ago if the tree was diseased or dangerous down it came, without notice, that was it. After a tree was felled opposite my house we made strong protests and were assured that in future local residents would be given notice. We were given the option to pay for a replacement tree costing about £150 and did. It's now the best tree on our road, one of only two left. Nobody else seems to have been made the purchase offer, or took it up when the other trees came down. There used to be one between each pair of houses.

 

The one remaining original tree looks in poor condition. The only other to have survived until 2017 was grossly out of proportion to its restricted location and a replacement is awaited. The original trees were the wrong type for their situation, lovely though the blossom was each spring, and it was inevitable that they would go, but the previous non replacement policy has been responsible for the loss of unknown thousands of street trees in earlier decades.

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This whole disgusting circumstance exposes the lie of austerity.

 

Austerity is a politically motivated war on the public sector by the conservative government (and their New Labour friends) in the interest of big business.

 

The objectives of that war are simple - the transfer of wealth from ordinary people into the pockets of the rich, the executives and shareholders of the multinational corporations such as Grupo Ferrovial (Amey's parent company).

 

And, the fundamental principles of neoliberalism apply - one of which is the use of physical force to ensure that ordinary people can be pushed aside, their interests ignored.

 

The public sector is being dismantled before our eyes, the services that the public sector supplies privatised for profit, the needs of the ordinary person increasinglygo unmet, their complaints ignored by weaponised bureaucracy, their protests met with force.

 

Are you an ordinary person like me? Well, you no longer count.

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Could I just ask the protesters to think about visually impaired people as well as the trees. I am visually impaired and my sight is going to get much worse. Since some trees have been felled, and replaced on my estate, I can now walk a lot more safely than before and not be afraid of tripping and falling over the emormous tree roots that caused the path to be very uneven and broken. It’s a trial walking outdoors anyway with the many obstructions around so I for one am very pleased with all the new pavements and roads. I must also say that I am a tree lover and have always praised Sheffield for being the greenest city.

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Could I just ask the protesters to think about visually impaired people as well as the trees. I am visually impaired and my sight is going to get much worse. Since some trees have been felled, and replaced on my estate, I can now walk a lot more safely than before and not be afraid of tripping and falling over the emormous tree roots that caused the path to be very uneven and broken. It’s a trial walking outdoors anyway with the many obstructions around so I for one am very pleased with all the new pavements and roads. I must also say that I am a tree lover and have always praised Sheffield for being the greenest city.

 

This is one of the most pernicious myths put about by Amey/SCC. The choice isn't between keeping the trees or having flat pavement; it's perfectly possible to have both in most cases. There are many engineering solutions including flexi-pave which have already been paid for in the contract, which haven't been used at all (although SCC lied through their teeth about this for two years, until the ICO forced their hand).

 

See this page on the STAG website for details of why humped pavement is rarely unfixable.

 

In fact on Abbeydale Park Rise last week, a section of pavement that was allegedly unrepairably damaged by a tree root, was left perfectly flat after being retarmaced by some BT contractors as part of putting in a trench for some cabling.

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This is one of the most pernicious myths put about by Amey/SCC. The choice isn't between keeping the trees or having flat pavement; it's perfectly possible to have both in most cases. There are many engineering solutions including flexi-pave which have already been paid for in the contract, which haven't been used at all (although SCC lied through their teeth about this for two years, until the ICO forced their hand).

 

See this page on the STAG website for details of why humped pavement is rarely unfixable.

 

In fact on Abbeydale Park Rise last week, a section of pavement that was allegedly unrepairably damaged by a tree root, was left perfectly flat after being retarmaced by some BT contractors as part of putting in a trench for some cabling.

 

Did BT's Contractor remove the offending root?

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Drove down Rivelin Valley Rd today and saw The Plod all stood there trying to look menacing and make sure a load of protesting pensioners didnt " bully " Amey`s tree destroyers. Two riot vans and at least a dozen wooden tops .

 

These Amey workmen cant be right brave needing plod protection from pensioners. Id say the protesters were in more danger of being assaulted than the workman .

 

---------- Post added 20-03-2018 at 19:37 ----------

 

Isn't it remarkable, Social Care is suffering chronic underfunding, Childrens Services is in crisis, but Sheffield City Council can make substantial funds available for security operations around the city's trees?

 

SCC have always found money for their pet projects .

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