Sheffield wins Tree City of the World accolade

Many Sheffield residents were angered at the felling of the city's mature street trees from 2012 onwards

Sheffield has been named a "Tree City Of The World" just years after a long-running row sparked by the felling of thousands of its trees was resolved.

Tree Cities of the World is an international programme recognising work to sustainably manage and maintain urban forests and trees.

A total of 19 UK cities have earned the title, with 137 "tree cities" globally.

Sheffield Street Tree Partnership said it was "thrilled" the city had been awarded the international accolade.

The partnership was formed in 2021 after the resolution of a dispute between local residents and the city council which had engaged contractors to fell many street trees.

The row was over a £2.2bn, 25-year street improvement project starting in 2012 which saw trees felled by council contractors Amey.

The authority, which was planting new trees after removing existing ones, insisted the trees earmarked for felling were diseased, dying, dangerous or damaging.

Some of the felled trees were healthy but still classed as dangerous or damaging, and opponents of the scheme said alternative options should have been pursued to save those trees.

Trees like these on Rustlings Road were cut down by council contractors from 2012 onwards as part of a tree-felling scheme

A compromise was reached between campaigners and the council in December 2018.

Sheffield Tree Partnership was subsequently set up to create a new strategy to retain street trees where possible using highway engineering, monitoring and maintenance, and decisions on a case-by-case basis.

It is made up of representatives from Sheffield City Council, Amey, Sheffield Tree Action Group (STAG), Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust.

Nathan Edwards, chair of the partnership, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Becoming a Tree City of the World means we can build on the progress already made in protecting and nurturing our street trees."

The city's residents could now be reassured "we have the right governance and resources in place to protect our urban forest now and for future generations", the partnership said.

Meanwhile, Councillor Paul Wood said the award showed the authority was carrying out a "thorough and established management approach" to enrich the canopy of street trees in the city.

"Being recognised as a Tree City of the World is testament to the partnership's commitment and is a well-deserved accolade which symbolises the positive progress made," he said.