On October 10th there will be a 1 day permission hearing on our application for Contempt of Court proceedings against Plymouth City Council.

Any donations towards this new case would be very welcome, if you can afford to.

We are really disappointed that the Judicial Review was not heard and we have very little faith that the "Independent Learning Review" planned to be carried out by Plymouth City Council will achieve any actual learning. It will be on their own terms and will be narrower in scope than it should be.

We hope that this latest legal challenge is a chance for there to be accountability for some of the actions of Plymouth City Council last year over the tree felling on Armada Way.

Hi folk,

Quick update to tell you that we have heard back from the Court of appeal and unfortunately they agreed with the High Court that the case should not be heard. 

This is really disappointing because now we will never know whether the council acted unlawful or not when they cut down our trees. We really felt that it was important to know so lessons could be learned. We are not convinced that the 'Independent Learning Review' will be adequate and might do more harm than good.

While it's really frustrating we are looking at the silver linings...

Had we not pursued the legal action, we will have not uncovered, through disclosure, everything we did which exposed the duplicitous planning the council did, amongst other things.

Had we not campaigned, only 1 tree would be still standing between the sun dial and North Cross roundabout. 

And we hope that what happened in Plymouth has shone a light on the importance of retaining mature trees and saved them in Plymouth and further afield. Through our efforts and the efforts of tree campaigners up and down the country, trees are more and more in the national conversation.

It's not over just yet! We still need your support. 

We have an outstanding complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office regarding the way in which the council and the Police shared 'intel packages' on 21 people who they deemed to be a threat to their operation.

We also have an upcoming 1 day hearing in court for permission for a contempt of court charge over how PCC acted on the day of the felling.

At the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on 19th and 20th or March, David Elvin KC, sitting as a High Court Judge decided that our case was academic and should not be heard.

We are considering an appeal and are grateful for the continued support of all the folk who believe PCC should be held to account! 

This, as you can imagine is deeply disappointing, especially since he was very critical of the way in with Plymouth City Council (PCC) has handled this litigation. He took the unusual step of accepting undertakings from PCC over a review into the handling of the scheme and awarded us costs meaning the council pay our costs and we pay none of theirs. Quite telling.

Much of the information required for the case was only provided to us by PCC in the days and hours prior to the hearing, some never appeared. 

It is our opinion that the case should have been heard because it is not academic, but even if it were, there are exceptional circumstance surrounding the conduct of PCC officers before and after the felling.

Unfortunately, what this decision has done is to set a precedent for public bodies to make unlawful decisions, carry out irreversible acts, and then be immune from legal challenge through judicial review. It is extremely concerning and probably far-reaching, not just for environmental cases but could apply to a variety of decisions by public bodies. Not only that, but it has shown that councils can help their own case in avoiding repercussions by behaving badly in the aftermath, further restricting any chances of a case being brought against them.

Basically, what PCC has achieved is a blueprint for irreversible, unlawful damage with limited legal consequences.

The courts have now given us a date for the 2 day judicial review hearing! 

We will be at the Royal Courts of Justice on March 19th and 20th. Anyone who would like to attend the hearing is welcome along.

Please keep sharing details of our fundraiser with people who you think might like to contribute to support us!

Only a few days left of the consultation on the new Armada Way plans. Please, if you want to complete the survey, make sure you do soon! You have until this Tuesday (28^th) at 5pm.

As you may know, despite the upset and anger expressed by so many people in March, Plymouth City Council are proposing to remove yet more trees from Armada Way! 6 trees are due to be removed as part of the proposed plan.

For details on the 6 trees proposed to be removed please read our Every Tree Matters page. And for our guidance on completing the survey take a look at this page. You can find a link to the survey from either of these pages.

Plymouth City Council have unsuccessfully applied to the courts to have the judicial review withdrawn.

PCC are still publicly defending their actions over the felling of the trees and the run up to it. Despite this, they do not want to defend themselves in the courts. 

Following much talk by the leader in a recent council meeting, claiming the judicial review is now academic, PCC applied to have the judicial review thrown out. A high court judge took just one day to respond, informing them that their application was 'misconceived', that the judicial review was not academic and should go ahead. The judge also told PCC that even if they are successful in the judicial review, they must cover all cost of their application.

The court has granted us permission to go ahead with the judicial review on all our grounds!

In Plymouth, the council have agreed to redesign the plan and incorporate all the remaining trees. Although we will be keeping a close eye on this situation. 

As you may have heard, we have had our injunction, to keep the remaining trees on Armada Way, safe by a High Court Judge upheld! PCC wanted to over-turn the injunction and finish what they started.

We will be asking for permission to have the judicial review soon and believe this will then take place in 3-4 months. 

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and made this (really scary) legal challenge possible!