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.
