Notification of Extraordinary Meeting

Sheffield Town Hall

Today the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Sioned-Mair Richards, has confirmed that an Extraordinary Meeting will be held to discuss the implications of the street tree inquiry.

The Lord Mayor has made the following statement:

“After considering a request from members of the Green group, I can confirm that an Extraordinary Meeting will be held to discuss the implications of the street tree inquiry.

“Sir Mark Lowcock has written a thorough and evidence-based report. In it he has stated ‘If the lessons [of the report] are to be learned, they will need to be fully discussed by the Council and others and then acted upon’. This is what I hope the Extraordinary Meeting will begin to do.

“It is vitally important that the Council takes the time to ensure all interested parties can contribute fully, that those voices who have a stake in this can be engaged and heard, and that this meeting properly meets the needs of the city. I will formally announce the date and agenda in the near future, once we have had the opportunity to consider the format this meeting will take.

“Having taken advice from the Chief Executive and the Monitoring Officer I cannot call this meeting during the pre-election period, and we expect the meeting to be held on 10 May 2023, which will allow for a full debate.

“It is positive that there has already been an initial public discussion about the street tree inquiry report. I hope that the Extraordinary Meeting will provide an opportunity for all views to be heard and a way forward for everyone to be developed.

“I will provide further information as soon as possible.”

For information:

•  The Leader of the Green Party, Cllr Douglas Johnson, made the request as follows: I am writing on behalf of the whole Green group of councillors to request, under Council Procedure Rule 5.9, a call for an Extraordinary Meeting of the council to discuss the implications of the Street Tree Inquiry on the city, Sheffield City Council and councillors involved in the decision making at that time.
• Due to national legislation around the pre-election period, the meeting will need to be held after the local elections
• A further statement will be made, formally confirming the date and agenda in the near future once a format has been discussed that will allow input from interested parties

 Additional information:

• The publication of the street tree inquiry report was also discussed at Strategy and Resources Committee on 15 March 2023. This was to enable the committee to have an initial discussion on the contents of the report in public and agree a timetable for a full response to the report as the council seeks to foster reconciliation following this difficult chapter for the council and the city.
• You can watch the committee proceedings back at Sheffield City Council - Agenda for Strategy and Resources Policy Committee on Wednesday 15 March 2023, 2.00 pm
• You can find previous statements on the Street Tree Inquiry here: Follow up response the Independent Inquiry into the Street Tree Dispute report (sheffnews.com); Initial response to the report following the Independent Inquiry into the Street Tree Dispute (sheffnews.com); Notice ahead of Strategy and Resources Committee | SheffNews.