Mutual Aid network in Kilburn comes to the aid of a tree scheduled for removal - and saves it!

Guest post by Dan Judelson

Local councils removing trees agains the wishes of residents is a hot button issue. Sheffield has doubtlessly been the worst example of this  LINK  but here in Brent plans to remove trees saw produced a well organised and eloquent defence of mature trees and opposition to their removal in Furness Road. The result was a commitment from the council to fashion a new approach with removal being a last resort LINK .

So when notices appeared last Friday (24th) on trees at either end of Algernon Road, Kilburn, warning that one was scheduled for removal the following Monday, it became a small scale test of this new policy. The good news is that thanks to local residents quickly raising the alarm, along with fast responses from local Brent councillors and officers alike, the decision has been reversed and the tree saved. How it happened is at least as important as the fact that it did happen.

(Photo courtesy Sophie Capel)

Like many other areas, Kilburn has set up a number of mutual aid groups, at both ward and hyper local street level. While the intention was to support neighbours in need during the lockdown to counter the Covid pandemic, it has of necessity meant that people not necessarily in direct contact with one another before now have the ability to communicate quickly when issues come up.

This is exactly what happened in this case. WhatsApp messages and tweets went out on Friday evening. Emails were sent to local councillors and officers that evening and over the weekend, protesting that the tree was not "dead” as the signs claimed. One councillor, Faduma Hassan, asked for her email address to be circulated so that residents could contact her and she could show the strength of opposition to the plans and contacted the lead member for environment. Others contacted residents in nearby streets - put in touch via the street level groups - who had some experience of dealing with the council over tree preservation. 

Monday morning rolled around and when one of the residents went to talk to the contractors who had arrived, they discovered that the council had indeed changed the work order. The trees at one end were to be pruned and a stay of execution of two weeks place on the tree scheduled for removal. Further good news came the following day, with an email from the council tree officer. Gary Rimmer said they now thought that the tree could be saved and would be pollarded, not removed. He included a welcome apology for the lack of notice too.

So this was a great result, with Brent being pushed to re-examine their plans and change them, in less than 48 hours. 

It would not have happened but for the ability to circulate information so fast, without excellent and timely responses from Councillor Hassan and Gary Rimmer, taking residents concerns seriously - and perhaps being aware of the pressure from previous incidents, thank you Furness Road campaigners and Harlesden Area Action for acting so fast back in November 2019. It’s also worth noting that in that instance too, the local councillor, Jumbo Chan was quick to back residents concerns LINK .

There are two concerns remaining, however. A new housing development, at the other end of Algernon Road is nearing completion. These photos show how many trees were removed to make way for it:

 

(Photos courtesy Stuart Fry)

When the building is completed, Brent needs to be held to its commitment to replace the lost trees with ones on the same spot or, in this case, nearby. Brent needs to acknowledge that replacing a mature tree, wide canopy and all, with a young sapling, is not really replacing anything at all. See LINK . 

Brent declared, rightly, a climate emergency. We need to make sure their actions on this are as serious as their warm words. It may well be that local mutual aid groups, set up to support isolated neighbours needing shopping and having prescriptions filled have a longer term role in the maintenance of local democracy, too.

UPDATED WITH BRENT COUNCIL STATEMENT: Dismay over 'ugly' lockdown 5G mast installations

Church Lane, Kingsbury

Multiple cabinet on Fryent Way

Mast on Fryent Way

Residents have been in contact over installations of 5G masts and associated cabinets over the lockdown period.

The government is determined to be in the forefront of  5G installation ('world beating'?) and relaxed planning constraints.  At locations where masts already exist the default position is to allow the new installation.

The phone companies can give notice of proposed installation under Permitted Development Rights to the planning authority and if the authority does not respond within 56 days they can go ahead as 'Deemed Consent' is assumed.

Given the fact that councils are busy with coping with Covid19 the 56 days can elapse before a  response is made.  Sheffield City Council had to issue an apology LINK.

Councillor Bob Johnson, Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability at Sheffield City Council, said: “The Council apologises for this mistake but hope people will understand we are operating in extraordinary circumstances which have led to these oversights occurring. We understand residents’ depth of feeling about the location of these masts and we are sorry that they were not properly determined within the time limit.'

Were the phone companies taking advantage of local councils' correctly prioritising the protection of residents as a result of the Covid19 crisis?

The cabinets that are installed at the base of the masts reflect the different competing companies and makes one wonder about one positive by-product of nationalisation in that the number would be reduced!

Apart from it being an 'eye sore' local residents in Church Lane have pointed out the collision danger posed to local residents by the extensive installation.   The Fryent Way installation is only 200 yards from the already extensive set of masts and cabinets at the Salmon Street/Fryent Way roundabout and is on the border of the Country Park.

Did Brent Council give planning permission for these installations and were alternative sites considered?

Other Brent residents as they get out and about after lockdown may see other recent installations - do let us know what you think.

UPDATE June 30th

A Brent Council spokesperson said:

“Planning permission was sought for both installations last year. Consultation was undertaken, with letters sent out and site notices put up.  The potential impacts of the installations were considered and planning permission granted. Government policy supports the expansion of electronic communications networks, including next generation mobile technology (such as 5G) and full fibre broadband connections. Legislation also allows for small scale apparatus to be installed as part of a deemed approval process. Under these rules the Council has limited control and must decide the case within a fixed time period. If the latter is not met this defaults to an automatic consent.”

Sheffield Tree Defenders' Stump Up Appeal has just reached its target

Guest post by Alan Story


The Stump Up Sheffield (SUS) crowdfunder, “Defend the Tree Defenders: Stump Up Sheffield” ended a few minutes ago. 

You did it. We all did it. 

We’ve been successful in meeting our target of raising £27,000 to pay the legal costs of two tree defenders that were levied against them by Sheffield City Council (SCC). 

Although the Crowdfunder states that we have raised £20,470, other funds are being pooled together and there is now sufficient money available for Calvin Payne and Alastair Wright to pay these legal costs. So it is a time for celebration.

“But of course it sticks in our craw that all of this funding will be going into the coffers of SCC and that these bills were so steep because Sheffield City Council chose some of the most expensive lawyers in the country to enforce a civil injunction,” said Alan Story, a spokesperson for SUS. 

In Calvin’s case, SCC brought in a £15,000-a-day Queen’s Counsel from London as its hired gun for a November 2017 hearing against Calvin and Green Party councillor Alison Teal. (In Alison’s case, the Labour-controlled council used dodgy evidence against a fellow councillor; this evidence and her case were thrown out of court.) But Calvin, who was defended by barrister Paul Powlesand working on a pro bono basis, was convicted of breaching the Council’s injunction and given a suspended prison sentence. 

Alan Story said:

SCC made a political decision to try and crush Calvin and Alastair financially as part of a wider strategy of trying to crush the entire Sheffield trees movement but we were not cowed. Tree campaigners in Sheffield and our many allies across the country --- and the world --- said with one voice: ‘an injury to one tree campaigner is an injury to all tree campaigners’ and have stumped up marvellously.

We think it showed true Yorkshire grit and financial sacrifice and sends the message that this chainsaw massacre of OUR street trees should be ended immediately. And that mediation with tree campaigners needs to be at the top of Julie Dore’s agenda.

Since the crowdfunding campaign began 28 days ago, a total of 796 supporters have contributed £20,470, plus more than £800 in donations via PayPal. If you scroll through the 343 comments listed on the SUScrowdfunding page , you will see both the passions (and intellect) this issue has aroused, as well as the geographic breadth of the support. Money was donated by people from places such as British Columbia, Missouri, Brussels and Australia as well as across the UK in locations such as the Shetland Islands, London, Dorset and beyond. 

A significant pot of additional money has come in to SUS from the recent benefit concert of well-known Sheffield musicians; it was quickly sold out and was attended by 800 people. As Pitsmoor-born Richard Hawley said in a SUS video shot at the concert, the Council needs to admit that it has “ f***ed up” over trees. A lifetime Labour voter, Hawley says he has backed away from supporting Labour only twice: once over the Iraq War and now over the local street trees crisis. 

The official accounting of all the funds raised by this campaign will be released next week.
But the fund-raising efforts of the SUS team have not ceased. On Sunday 22 April at the Crookes Social Club, we are hosting the “Let’s Hear it for the Trees!” benefit concert. 

More details Here’s a YouTube video of one of the talented musicians, Nancy Kerr, who will be performing that night. LINK  

Money raised from the benefit gig will go towards future legal costs associated with Sheffield tree defenders.And it may well be needed. In what is obvious harassment, South Yorkshire Police keep arresting tree campaigners on baseless charges. In the most recent shameful case, charges were dropped this week against a 73-year-old retired firefighter LINK. 

We think the campaign was successful because, first and foremost, we were working on a clear case of injustice that touched a lot of people. But, as well: 

•          We had excellent high-profile endorsers including Caroline Lucas, George Monbiot, Maxine Peake, and Ken Loach. (Many more endorsers joined later.)
•          We had a team of 17 people of many talents who worked together on a co-operative and democratic basis. (The copy for the crowdfunder went through five drafts!)
•          We produced two videos (still available for viewing) and reached out widely across various social media. For example, we posted our crowdfunding message on +50 Facebook groups, which also spread the Sheffield trees saga to tens of thousands of people. Twitter tweeted merrily. 

At a February 7th  Sheffield City Council meeting, SCC tree felling czar Bryan Lodge claimed: “I travel around to different places… and it (the Sheffield chainsaw massacre) is not a topic of conversation in Southampton.” Take another trip Bryan. 

The SUS team was pulled together by NO STUMP CITY. Sheffield Tree Action Groups (STAG) was also a listed sponsor.

On behalf of Stump Up Sheffield
Alan Story
no.stump.city@gmail.com

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