Complaint to Bradford Councillors

Letter to Bradford Councillors from a local resident.

Complaint: Inadequate consultation regarding public realm improvements in Saltaire and removal of trees on Victoria Road

I am a happy and proud resident of Saltaire. I love living in a beautiful village with a real community spirit and a strong sense of local identity. I believe that people enjoy living in and visiting Saltaire for these very reasons. I am originally from Burley-in-Wharfedale and fondly remember excursions to Saltaire; the attractive environment was one of the reasons I ended up settling here. I loved turning down Victoria Road after a long day at work and seeing the leafy avenue of trees, the beautiful, rugged moors peeping over the top and the lions guarding proudly - Saltaire was beautiful. Of course it still is beautiful but what concerns me is that things have happened and are happening that is changing this and I don’t believe it is for the good of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saltaire.

The removal of all of the street trees on Victoria Road has had a profoundly negative impact on the special and unique character of Saltaire. I do not believe that these changes have been made for the good of the residents or visitors to the village, especially considering its UNESCO World Heritage Site and Conservation Area status. 

The so-called "public consultation" regarding the "public realm improvements" was wholly inadequate. As a Saltaire resident, I neither saw nor received any notices or notifications regarding a consultation on the 4th and 5th of April 2014. Having since looked back at Telegraph and Argus archives advertising the consultation, I see that it was advertised as a "drop-in information event". This is a very misleading title for a public consultation and gives no impression of local residents having a voice. Even if I had seen the leaflet or newspaper article, I do not believe that I would have understood that I was required to attend in order to vote on whether or not we kept Victoria Road’s trees.

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Conservation Area, under the terms of Article 13 and 36 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010 and the Local Authority Publicity Code of Practice, the local authority is legally required to publicise planning applications, allowing the public the statutory 21 days to comment. 

I feel that the Council were negligent in their duties to properly advertise the felling of the trees and consult with residents adequately prior to a decision being taken. I never saw any planning notice during the consultation process until articles were published about the impending felling work in late 2014. During this time, no site notices were displayed on Victoria Road regarding the felling or public realm improvements and I did not receive any neighbour notification letter. 

I believe that the Council were well aware of how unpopular and emotive removing all of the trees - and replacing only eight - would be, so they did everything within their power to keep the issue as quiet as possible until it was too late for anyone to oppose the proposal. A proper consultation process would have ensured that this information was widely available to both Saltaire and Shipley residents as part of a proper public consultation process. I strongly believe that a different outcome would have occurred if this had taken place.

Furthermore, I do not believe that all removed trees were dying or dangerous. The Tree Report undertaken by Barnes & Associates in 2013 that states: "Providing that the trees identified for retention are correctly protected from site changes and any construction works, they should continue to offer positive benefits to the area. Overall, the risk offered by the majority of the trees is low and well within the boundaries of tolerability that might ordinarily be applied by a reasonable and informed landowner."

Paragraph 2.2 of the report states: "The trees on site are a significant asset and help to both provide screening and help provide a connection with the broader landscape but also set the tone for the area giving it its own unique character. As with any asset such as a building or facility, the trees require a level of investment to enable suitable levels of monitoring and management works to be undertaken, to ensure continuity." This leads me to believe that removing the trees has been a cost-cutting exercise thinly disguised by the misleading title "public realm improvements", when in fact it has been anything but.

Lastly, no rationale has been provided for the replacement of only eight trees on Victoria Road. Why are all of the trees not being replaced? The artist's impressions of the Victoria Road improvements shown to those few residents who were made aware of the consultations suggest that many more trees would be replaced.

I understand that part of the justification given for this decision is to protect underground amenities. However there are thousands of different varieties of smaller, easier to maintain species of trees, many of which have shallow roots. Many towns in the Bradford District have beautiful street trees which are well-maintained - imagine Ilkley or Skipton without them! They contribute so much to the street scene and peoples' quality of life, adding seasonal interest, reducing the effects of pollution, providing habitats for local wildlife and improving biodiversity.

In conclusion, I urge the Council to reconsider its decision to only replace eight street trees and undertake a thorough, well-publicised consultation involving the local community to find the best solution for Saltaire.

I look forward to hearing your response.

Yours sincerely

Samantha Burnell

To write your own letter / email - here are some useful addresses for local councillors

David Green david.green@bradford.gov.uk

Hawarun hussain  hawarun.hussain@bradford.gov.uk

Kevin Warnes kevin.warnes@bradford.gov.uk

Val Slater val.slater@bradford.gov.uk

Susan Hinchcliffe susan.hinchcliffe@bradford.gov.uk

Ralph Berry  ralph.berry@bradford.gov.uk