“It’s had a few hiccups, to put it mildly,” says Peter Gilbert, Green councillor for Ecclesall ward, when I ask him about Streets Ahead, the 25-year-long private finance initiative (PFI) contract Sheffield council signed in 2012 to manage the city’s highways network. I burst out laughing at his understatement. Saying the PFI contract has had “a few hiccups” is like saying that the Hindenburg's first flight didn’t go quite according to plan or the Titanic’s maiden voyage was somewhat suboptimal.
As a direct result of the Streets Ahead PFI, between 2016 and 2018, Sheffield descended into an arboreal war which it has still not fully recovered from. Perhaps it never will. This war pitted campaigners who wanted to save trees earmarked for felling against the council and its private sector partner, Amey. The battle saw pre-dawn raids, non-violent direct action, multiple arrests, court injunctions, political resignations, the ruling Labour party ousted and an entire new governance system created in Sheffield. “A few hiccups,” it was not.
The Tribune has covered the “tree scandal” multiple times, so we’re not going to traumatise everyone by doing so again (if you really want to put yourself through it again, try here, here and here). But Sheffield is now exactly halfway through the controversial 25 year contract, which began in 2012 and will run until 2037.
The halfway mark feels like a good place to take stock. What has the PFI achieved in the last 12 and a half years and what is there still to do? Are our roads any better than they were back in 2012? And what might the future hold for PFI deals, both in Sheffield and the UK?
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