Council “sorry” for controversial Armada Way tree felling episode - it commits to an action plan to improve how it delivers major projects.

A major report into the night-time felling of 110 trees in Armada Way in March 2023 says the episode left “wounds still to be healed,” and has set out a raft of recommendations and improvements.

And it has revealed that the total cost of the Armada Way re-landcsaping project has rocketed from the original £12.7m to about £30 million as a result of the delays to the project from legal action , which led to the resignation of the then council leader, Conservative councillor Richard Bingley.

The report was commissioned by the current administration and led by a panel of independent experts through SOLACE, (the professional body representing over 1,600 council chief executives and senior managers). It explored how decisions were made, how the project was managed, and how the Council communicated with the public.

TIMELINE:

The “emergency” decision to begin work was taken by the then Leader of the Council at 17:05 hours on 14 March 2023 and published on the council website at 17:55. Site preparation works started at approximately 18:00 and tree felling commenced at approximately 20:00. By 01:00 the following morning, 110 trees had been felled by the council’s contractors. Felling stopped at 01:03 because an Injunction had been secured by the objectors and served on the council.

The panel reviewed extensive documentation, court evidence, and conducted interviews with staff, partners, and residents, to understand why the emergency decision was taken without scrutiny and without communication or discussion. 

The report reveals Plymouth Council had six reasons why the rapid start to the work was justified: 

i.  Reduced disruption of city centre events;

ii. Reduced delays due to nesting birds;

iii. Reduced the impact of construction (upon) city centre business;

iv. Reduced city centre anti-social behaviour;

v. Reduced impact of cost increases over time;

vi. And it reduces the impact of inflation’

The 76-page report looks at the entire timeframe of the Armada Way plan and makes strong  recommendations for the council executive team to absorb. It offers insights into areas where the Council’s approach did not meet the standards expected, particularly in governance, project management, engagement, and staff wellbeing and it highlights opportunities that were missed and processes that did not function as effectively as they should have.

It says: “There has been a palpable corporate shock to the organisation, which still reverberates today. There remain significant tensions within the council and between the groups and individuals involved. It is apparent that there are wounds still to be healed for those individuals most directly impacted. There are pockets of regret, remorse, guilt, blame and defiance. It is important that the council finds a means to rebuild trust, internally and externally.”

Tracey Lee, the council’s chief executive, said: “It’s clear that in some key areas, we came up short of where we needed to be. And for that, we are sorry.

“But, let me be clear - Plymouth City Council is not anti-tree. In fact, since November, thanks in part to a huge new partnership effort, there are over 35,000 new trees growing and establishing across the city," she said.

“This has resulted in us being recognised by the Tree Cities of the World programme. But we are also ambitious for Plymouth. We want this city to grow — and that means making difficult decisions.

“This review was about how we made those decisions, and it’s evident that we didn’t always get it right. We are committed to learning from this experience and doing better,” she added.

The Council’s action plan includes: 

• A revised policy and training programme for public engagement and consultation 
• A new project management framework, to be rolled out across the organisation
• Enhanced support and training to ensure stronger governance and decision-making processes
• Improved support for staff wellbeing   
• A review of the Council’s Constitution, Scrutiny arrangements, and governance training 

The report and plan will be discussed at a Council meeting on 2 June, where the Chair of the Independent Review Panel will present the findings to members.