A council leader who has been embroiled in a row after ordering more than 100 trees to be felled is to quit. Richard Bingley, leader of Plymouth City Council, plans to step down next week as leader of the Conservative group and head of the authority.
He signed an executive decision that saw 110 trees cut down on Plymouth's Armada Way on Tuesday night last week to make way for a £12 million regeneration scheme in the city centre. Campaigners against the scheme won a court injunction to stop the work and a judicial review is due to be heard in the High Court later.
Mr Bingley told the Plymouth Herald newspaper: “I’ve always said I’m not a full-time politician, I don’t seek to be. I’m just an individual who is passionate and ambitious for Plymouth.
“If others feel they can run our glorious Ocean City better, then that’s great with me. Over to you, I say.”
In a statement, campaign group Save the Trees of Armada Way (STRAW), which applied for the injunction, called on the council to abandon the case in the wake of Mr Bingley’s resignation.
“We are not surprised to hear of Richard Bingley’s resignation given the outrage over the decision he made to cut down our trees last week,” they said. “We hope that, in light of this news, the council will see sense and save taxpayers’ money by abandoning their attempts to discharge our injunction.”
Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said Mr Bingley was left with little choice but to quit: “Richard Bingley was left with no option but to resign after his disastrous handling of the Armada Way trees scandal.
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“Felling over 100 trees without proper public consultation was an act of environmental vandalism. The sole responsibility lies with Bingley for ordering the chainsaws in and the Tory council for signing it off.”
The trees were felled as part of a regeneration scheme that would see the planting of 169 new semi-mature trees. Environmentalist Chris Packham branded it 'despicable vandalism', while the Woodland Trust said it was 'appalled' at the use of 'secretive night-time operations'.
The felling came days after Sheffield City Council was heavily criticised by an independent inquiry into the felling of thousands of street trees. Plymouth City Council said the project would 'transform this tired and dated city centre route'.
