A regional daily has vowed to take its Freedom of Information fight over a council’s “notorious” tree-felling programme to the Information Commissioner.
Sheffield City Council has rejected a request from the Yorkshire Post to make public its official contractual policy for tree replacement work on the grounds that keeping the information secret is for the “greater good”.
Thousands of trees have been cut down by the council as part of a highway improvements plan, but campaigners have claimed healthy trees have been felled as part of the scheme.
Environment secretary Michael Gove told the authority to halt the felling last year after the Leeds-based Post campaigned on the issue, but work has continued.
The Post splashed on the row on Friday
The Post had asked to see the council’s currently redacted ‘Highway Tree Replacement Policy’.
The authority responded: “We believe the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure in this instance.
“Please note, public interest is what is of greater good to the community and not what interests the public.”
But the Post has vowed to continue its fight, describing the programme as a “major failure of public policy”.
An editorial on the subject, published on Friday, reads: “Much of the recent outcry has focused not just on the use of huge police numbers, but also the revelation that the ‘Streets Ahead’ contract signed in 2012 contains a target to fell 17,500 of the city’s 36,000 street trees and replace them with saplings.
“This was only brought to light last month following the intervention of the Information Commissioner after a year-long Freedom of Information battle by campaigners.
“However, lessons do not appear to have been learned, with the council now refusing to publish its official contractual policy for tree replacement work on the grounds that keeping the information secret is for the ‘greater good.'”
“The Yorkshire Post has now requested a review of this decision and intends to take the matter to the Information Commissioner should the council maintain its current stance.”
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Disgraceful attitude by the council from day one.
This is why newspapers are so vital to communities, to get answers, to hold bodies, government or otherwise, to account and lawmakers, whether local councillors, MPs or MEPs to account.
This council has no right to decide what is in the public interest, greater good or not. The policy has been divisive and unpopular and the newspaper should be able to demand answers,
Shameful and I hope people remember this come election day and new councillors will start putting the people that elect them first.
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This reminds me of my days at the East Riding Council reporter on the Hull Daily Mail when the said council would often hold ‘behind closed doors’ meetings which on at least one occasion resulted in their own resident newspaper publishing the outcome of a decision before it had actually been made. Other ‘scandals’ of the time included a £36,000 pay rise given to its Chief Executive while residents had to find money for a 5% rise in council tax.
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By the way, I am no fan of Royalty but can’t they find a more cheerful picture Liz and Phil for that front. They look they are going to the scaffold.
On the important matter, well done for pressing the council. So few local papers hold councils to account nowadays, just churn out press releases.
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Well done the YP. But whatever happened to Sheffield’s own daily paper The Star….surely this should have been their story?
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Paperboy: It’s Liz and Chaz… but valid point.
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Particularly galling is the fact that someone in a council back office should feel the need to explain to YP journalists what “public interest” means.
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regional. thanks silly mistake but I am not big on Royals.
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