AMEY Laughing all the way to the bank in Sheffield……
Unbelievably for a local authority now desperately short of cash because of increasingly punitive cuts by central government, they are paying out an additional £700,000 of local community money to AMEY.
This £700,000 is in addition to the £2.4 billion contract already in place and is ‘… in compensation for delays in the tree felling programme because of the Independent Tree Panel‘. The latter deliberated on many trees threatened by the chop but even when it recommended saving a tree, most were felled anyway……….Unbelievable!
The payment of additional ‘blood money’ comes at a time when the local authority (Sheffield City Council) is putting a unique piece of local heritage – Birley Spa in Frecheville – up for sale.
The remarkable Victorian Spa and its grounds are a hugely important resource for local people in one of Sheffield’s less affluent areas. They also had a £500,000 renovation programme around fifteen years ago – but since have been allowed to descend into a state of dire neglect. This really is unforgiveable. The £700,000 would go a long way to saving the site for future generations ……….
