Julie Dore

Julie Dore is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Leader of Sheffield City Council since May 2011,[1] on which she represents Arbourthorne.[2] She has been a member of Sheffield City Council since she was elected to the predecessor Park Ward in a by-election in October 2000. In 2008 she became Chair of a Council Scrutiny Board, and in May 2010 she joined the Shadow Cabinet.[3]

Julie Dore
Leader of Sheffield City Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 May 2011
Member of Sheffield City Council for Park and Arbourthorne Ward
In office 5 May 2016 – May 2021
Preceded by	Ward created
Member of Sheffield City Council for Arbourthorne Ward
In office 10 June 2004 – 5 May 2016
Preceded by	Ward created
Succeeded by	Ward abolished
Member of Sheffield City Council for Park Ward
In office 19 October 2000 – 10 June 2004
Succeeded by	Ward abolished
Personal details
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Children	2
Residence	Gleadless
Alma mater	Hurlfield School

On 11 February 2020 Dore announced that she would not contest her seat at the upcoming local elections in May, and would stand down as leader of the council.[4] However, following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, and the subsequent postponing of the elections until 2021,[5] Dore stated that she would remain as Leader during this 'difficult period'[6]

Personal life

Dore grew up in Wybourn and Arbourthorne, attending Hurlfield School. She lives in Gleadless with two sons.[7]

Career

Dore is a Member of the HS2 Growth Task Force. For more than two decades, she worked for a social housing association. For 10 years, she worked in the construction industry.[8]

As leader of Sheffield City Council, Dore was one of the political leaders of the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority - the others Council Leaders from Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham - to agree to the South Yorkshire devolution deal in 2020,[9] alongside Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis. The devolution agreement should see the City Region Mayor able to invest £900 million over thirty years, as well as increased power over transport, strategic planning and skills in the region.

Tree felling

Dore has come into the public spotlight concerning the mass tree felling across Sheffield as part of the controversial Streets Ahead programme. As part of the £2.2 billion Private Finance Initiative (PFI) partnership with Amey Plc, a large proportion of street trees across Sheffield are to be felled and replaced. Sheffield City Council (SCC) indicate that up to 10,000 trees are to be replaced [10] although wording in the PFI contract indicates a target of 17,500.[11] SCC have denied that 17,500 is an actual target.[12] However, there is evidence from an SCC Cabinet Meeting that in 2010[13] that SCC planned to remove and replant 17,500 trees as part of the PFI contract and an interview with the SCC Head of Highways in December 2012 indicated the Contract would include replacement of "half of the city’s 36,000 highway trees".[14]

Campaigners have alleged that this makes road maintenance and resurfacing cheaper over the 25-year contract, and helps corporate profit at the expense of the environment.[15]

On 17 November 2016, under Dore's leadership, colleague Councillor Bryan Lodge sanctioned a 4am felling of eight trees from the Rustlings Road area of Sheffield, leading to the arrest of two peaceful protesters, under section 241 of Trade Union Relation Act, a law normally used in the event of industrial action.[16] The tree felling programme sparked the sign-up of over 9,900 members to Sheffield Tree Action Groups (STAG) Facebook group against the mass removal of Sheffield's street trees.[17]

Following the controversy there was a halt to the tree felling in March 2018.[18] The pause lasted throughout the year whilst representatives from Sheffield City Council, Amey and Sheffield Tree Action Group held extend talks, mediated independently by the Bishop of Sheffield.[19] Following this there was a u-turn from the council with nearly 200 trees due to be felled now retained.[20] Following the mediated talks an action plan, which supports a new approach to managing the city's street trees, was agreed between the council and Sheffield Trees Action Groups (STAG). The plan claims to identify practical solutions for retaining more street trees as part of a new approach adopted by the council and its wider partners.[21] There have been no widespread protests on this issue since. In December 2019 SCC apologised for the initial strategy admitting that they 'got things wrong', and argued they had a renewed commitment to the city's trees and highway network, whilst promising to continue the collaborative with STAG, which was warmly welcomed by the group's co-chair.[22]

Under Dore's leadership SCC committed to a 15-year Woodlands Strategy which will see the planting of least 100,000 additional trees, and replace trees on a 2-for-1 basis in the city's green spaces and woodlands.[23]

Political Views

In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election Dore stated, "I do not want a continuity Corbyn candidate. It was the most disastrous result ever and we can’t just change the face, change the name, change the gender maybe, and just continue and do what we’ve done before".[24]

References

1. "Julie Dore". Arts Council. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
2. "Arbourthorne Ward". Archived from the original on 17 October 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
3. "'Outsider' Julie Dore to lead Labour in Sheffield". The Star. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
4. "Sheffield Council Leader Julie Dore announces she is quitting". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
5. "Postponement of May 2020 elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
6. "Coronavirus: Julie Dore to stay on as leader of Sheffield Council so she can "be here during difficult period"". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
7. "A look back at Julie Dore's time as leader of Sheffield City Council". The Sheffield Telgraph. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
8. "Councillor Julie Dore". Arts Council. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
9. "South Yorkshire leaders agree on devolution deal". BBC News. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
10. "Sheffield council's tree-felling project pledges to 'regain trust'". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
11. "Sheffield Council forced to reveal target to remove 17,500 street trees under PFI deal". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
12. "Sheffield Council 'has no obligation to axe 17,500 trees despite contract payment'". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
13. "Cabinet Agenda Wednesday 10 February 2010, Appendix 3: Sheffield Green and Open Space Strategy - Stage 1 programme (2010-12)" (PDF). Sheffield City Council. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
14. Whitelaw, Jackie (1 December 2012). "Sheffield streets team starts city's core refurbishment" (PDF). Transportation professional. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
15. "Sheffield trees dispute prompts 'scenes you'd expect in Putin's Russia'". Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
16. "Dawn tree felling in Sheffield sparks outrage". BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
17. "Sheffield Tree Action Group". Facebook. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
18. correspondent, Josh Halliday North of England (26 March 2018). "Sheffield council pauses tree-felling scheme after criticism". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
19. "Pause on tree felling continues as talks extended". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
20. "Trees lining city's streets saved from felling". BBC News. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
21. Council, Sheffield City. "Action plan agreed following street tree inspections | Sheffield Newsroom | Sheffield City Council". Retrieved 20 April 2020.
22. "Sheffield Council admits 'we got things wrong' over tree-felling saga". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
23. Council, Sheffield City. "100,000 trees to be planted as part of trees and woodlands strategy | Sheffield Newsroom | Sheffield City Council". Retrieved 20 April 2020.
24. "'It has to be someone not in denial': can Labour rebuild its red wall?". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

Political offices
Preceded by Paul Scriven	Leader of Sheffield City Council 2011–present	Incumbent