Latest news with #commissioners
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
Vancouver Park Board staff seeks approval to advance Stanley Park tree removal
Social Sharing Vancouver Park Board staff are seeking commissioners' approval to proceed with the next phase of a tree removal project in Stanley Park due to an extensive looper moth infestation. Work has been underway to cut down thousands of trees in Vancouver's biggest park since the summer of 2023, due to what the park board said were fire and public safety risks posed by dead and dying trees that were affected by a yearslong Western hemlock looper moth infestation. The infestation led to around a third of all the trees in Stanley Park being affected, staff said at the time, and its latest report shows just over 11,000 trees have been cut down to deal with the infestation, which was first reported in 2020. While the tree removal plan has faced sharp criticism — and some residents filed a lawsuit that ultimately failed to stop it — staff say they have a plan that will see the least number of trees removed in the final phase of the mitigation work. WATCH | Up to a third of park's trees were affected by moths, official says: Around a third of Stanley Park's trees killed by deadly moth outbreak: park board 1 year ago A western hemlock looper moth outbreak has killed as many as 30 per cent of Stanley Park's 600,000 to 700,000 trees, according to the Vancouver Park Board's manager of urban forestry. "This aims to balance key public safety risks resulting from the hemlock looper outbreak while leaving a moderate extent of internal forest areas to undergo natural forest stand regeneration," the staff motion says of its preferred approach. "These areas may require ongoing monitoring for changes over time, including but not limited to future treatment of hazardous trees and/or replanting." Staff said that the final phase of tree removal work would focus on around 42 per cent of the park's area, totalling around 111 hectares primarily within the park's interior. Those areas include trees around the Lees Trail, Lovers Walk, Tatlow Walk and trails surrounding Beaver Lake. "From a public safety perspective, these trails are considered the primary target to mitigate risk from declining trees for this final phase," the staff report reads. Park board commissioners will debate the report and the final phase of the tree mitigation work at a meeting Monday evening. Work along seawall complete The motion says that higher-traffic areas — like the seawall and Stanley Park Drive — have already seen mitigation work conducted since 2023 in a phased approach. For the last phase of work, staff said that it prefers an option that would see a 40-metre buffer zone around trails, where problem trees would be removed and mitigation work conducted. According to park board staff, that would have the lowest costs compared to two other options available, which would have increased the size of the buffer zone and could have increased the amount of trees being cut down. Just under $18 million has been spent on the tree removal and looper moth mitigation work since 2023. Staff did not provide an exact budget figure for the last phase of work, though they estimated the contract figure would exceed $3 million in value. If commissioners approve of the staff plan, planning for tree removal and mitigation work would begin later this year and conclude in the first quarter of 2027.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Slough Borough Council's report card: 'Still more work to do'
Slough Borough Council has been on the naughty step since 2021, when a group of outside commissioners were brought in to try and repair its shattered finances. Four years on the commissioners have published the latest in a series of reports looking at what progress has been made in getting the borough back on to a more stable footing. Picture the council -if you can- as a nervous school child sitting alongside their parents, waiting for their teacher to read out their end of year school teacher's verdict? I'm pleased to say that progress is being made but I'm sorry to say that the recovery is still fragile. Ouch! This is the sixth report from the commissioners and worryingly for both the council and the people who live in Slough the report says: "The council's finances continue to be of a significant concern."It's been selling off tens of millions of pounds worth of buildings and other assets ever since it was declared effectively bankruptcy in 2021, with £760m of borrowed most lucrative sale was back in 2022 when it managed to bring in more than £140 million from the former Akzo Nobel autumn though the council warned that its hopes of raising £600m in all through various property sales were unlikely to be realised due to tough market conditions. 'Years in the making' The commissioners have better things to say about the people running the show there, saying: "The leadership team has taken shared ownership of the council's improvement and recovery plan, and this is reflected in a more joined up approach to council recovery."Responding to the report, the borough's leader Dexter Smith said: "Ever since forming my administration in May 2023 I have told Slough's residents and council staff there is no quick or easy way to turn round our council's fortunes."The situation we are dealing with has been years in the making and so it will take years to resolve. I remain dedicated to our borough."Four years on from going public with its money problems it's clear there's still an awfully long way to go at Slough Borough. The commissioners brought in to improve standards will remain in place until at least November next year's report will have to say about any progress that's been made remains to be seen but one thing's for sure, the council needs to pick up the pace if it wants to get its teacher/commissioners off its back.
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Nedlands Mayor Fiona Argyle defiant as council dissolved
WA's local government minister says the entire Nedlands council will be sacked and be replaced by three commissioners after four councillors resigned within hours of each other. But the city's Mayor Fiona Argyle and another councillor are disputing the move, with Ms Argyle saying she was "not going anywhere".
ABC News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
City of Nedlands council to be sacked, replaced by three commissioners after four councillors resign in one day
The entire Nedlands council will be sacked and be replaced by three commissioners after four councillors resigned within hours of each other. The resignations on Monday left the council without its ability to form a quorum and make decisions, amid claims from one councillor of a "consistently toxic" working environment. The council was already under investigation by the Department of Local Government over claims of governance breaches. Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley described the situation as an "embarrassing" saga of "dysfunction and disunity" which was plaguing the city. Ms Beazley said she was looking to appoint three people to take over running of the council, with the intention of the trio remaining in place until planned local government elections in October. "Once the commissioners are appointed, every seat, including the mayor's is vacated, and it becomes a full spill election," she said. "Voters in Nedlands will be voting for an entire new council." Ms Beasley said there was nothing stopping the mayor and councillors from running again, something current Mayor Fiona Argyle suggested she may do in an explosive interview on ABC Radio Perth.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Thurrock Council debt expected to rise to £1.1bn
Thurrock Council's debt position is expected to rise to £1.1bn over the next year, according to a new report. Local government minister Jim McMahon wrote to the council leader saying "improvements to date remain fragile" and that there were still "substantial areas in which Thurrock Council still needs to improve".The government plans to extend its intervention, where appointed commissioners oversee the effectively bankrupt local authority, until 30 April Worrall, who became leader of Thurrock Council last month, said: "A lot has been done, but we have much, much more to do." The government said it was "not satisfied that the pace or scale of the council's response is proportionate to the issues it faces and has decided that Thurrock requires immediate urgent government action". 'Clear direction' The commissioners' latest report published on Thursday stated there were "too many areas of fragility in the council's recovery and still some major areas of work [are] yet to be done".The report said:A £41m budget gap which would require "ambitious savings" of 20% of the council's spendingDebt was around £800m but was estimated to rise to £1.1bn by the end of 2025/26A new council operating model "should be the catalyst for an ambitious transformation plan"Improving culture at the council was "an area of work that still seems underdeveloped".The commissioners said there had been areas of improvement since Thurrock was placed in special measures in said the administration "continues to own the recovery agenda and is taking steps to reengage with its communities" - and relationships between senior politicians and officers has said: "Thurrock Council is getting better. "Children's services have been rated as outstanding by Ofsted and our new Corporate Plan sets out a clear direction for the future, which we will be held accountable to."Whilst McMahon said Thurrock has "made significant progress", the minister told parliament the council has not "demonstrated that it has the capacity and capability to sustain its own journey of continuous improvement".The government has "indicated" it will provide financial support in 2026/27 for Thurrock to manage its debt. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
