Sheffield has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. People are no longer talking about the great things and the great people that make up Sheffield, they're talking about the street tree fiasco. It needs to be fixed and we have a plan to do that.
1. No one should be taken to court
We can't go on threatening our own citizens with prison. We must seek compromise and reconciliation. The injunction is a civil one so it is entirely within the Leader of Sheffield City Council, Cllr Julie Dore's power to stop taking people to court. How will campaigners ever TRUST the city council if they're worried about imprisonment?
2. Go to every community and listen
People need to be involved in what happens with their street trees. We would work with and listen to communities. We would come up with local solutions rather than a 'Town Hall knows best' approach. TRANSPARENCY is the way out of this mess.
3. Get the contract to work for Sheffield, not Amey
If this contract is to stay then we will be tough on renegotiating what is done and how it is done to improve our great communities and green wonderful City. We will seek the TRUTH by having an independent, open, judge-led inquiry to learn lessons for the future of how the Council got the City into this mess.
We have a way forward. It requires calm heads and compromise, but our city needs it.