June and July

In the Ward

Alison had an operation in May so has been off work, but is recovering and starting to take on some key things again.

We enjoyed the Woodhouse Carnival on Water Slacks Field – first one for a few years but it was worth the wait. We had a beautiful sunny afternoon. Lots of families turned out to have fun – with dance shows, sports, food, and a police car that hadn’t come to arrest anyone, but to see if the kids fancy honking the horn or even joining them in the future.

All of this was arranged by staff and volunteers at Woodhouse Forum and our Local Area Committee Officers, whose commitment to the local area is above and beyond.

Putting the Heart Back in Woodhouse (previously Clear, Hold, Build): Re-starting the carnival came out of the “Putting the Heart Back in Woodhouse” project, as one thing many people wanted was more community events.

For updates about what’s happened in the project so far, click here:
https://drive.google.com/…/1RRtcsxWxIQG9…/view…

Several people signed up for working groups to help put more of the ideas into action. Groups are:

• Children and Families

• The Environment

• Regenerating the Market Square

• Community Safety

To share your ideas, click here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M7MKF29

In the Town Hall

Changes to the Local Plan: The local plan defines where different types of development can go across the city and is important for us to get good quality workplaces and homes with proper infrastructure.

Without a local plan, developers have much more power to do what they want, which is always more about short-term profit than the future needs of our city.

However, we do not support the distribution of the additional housing required by the Planning Inspector, which is concentrated far too much in our ward.

Most of our work since the end of May has been to oppose the release of two large green belt sites, and we have written a separate bulletin about this. You can also read our full objection by clicking here.

May

In the Ward

Badger Fun Day: In response to residents wanting more local events, we funded a day on the Badger estate. Football, archery, and a computer games van entertained a stream of kids. Meanwhile, parents and young people could talk to housing, the local Police, and youth workers for information and to get help with any problems they needed solving.

Young people have been wanting more activities, and we pushed this with Youth Services. There are now excellent youth workers in the ward and two popular clubs:

• Handsworth – Monday 6–8pm
  Handsworth Methodist Church, 289A Handsworth Rd.

• Woodhouse – Thursday 5–7pm
  Now Church, Tannery Close

After traders complained about the market square getting overgrown and untidy again, we contacted Amey and got it cleaned up.

Tythe Barn Gym are looking for new premises. We met them to hear their concerns, and we are planning a meeting with the Church management so everyone is clear about each other’s point of view. We are also trying to get a clear answer from council officers about possible alternatives.

In the Town Hall
Having successfully installed new security doors in two blocks on Skelton and Spa Lane, we are setting up a six-month evaluation with the Capital section of Housing to see if it makes tenants more secure and saves money on repeat repairs. If it does, we will try and get this change made in other blocks across the city.

April

In the Ward

Victoria Rd Allotments: We met allotment holders with concerns about maintenance and anti-social behaviour and criminal activity on the site.

Police are now visiting the site regularly, and the allotment officers are taking action to get tenants who are not acting responsibly evicted.

We have a longer-term aim to work with tenants and council officers to support the majority of tenants who make really productive use of their plots.

Speedwatch: We met residents who have been concerned for several years about speeding on Orgreave Lane. We haven’t been able to get street signage changed because it has to follow national law, but we have:

• Got Highways to monitor the traffic for longer to get more data on the speeding problem

• Alerted the Police

• Written to Lidl asking if they will help fund a permanent variable speed sign

Some residents were also keen to help start a Handsworth and Woodhouse Speedwatch, where volunteers can help monitor each other’s streets and get speeding drivers reported and warned.

If you are interested, email the Local Area Committee:
SoutheastLAC@sheffield.gov.uk

In the Town Hall

We welcomed a new Director of Housing, James Clark, who is keen to continue to improve the service, including bringing empty properties back into use quicker and building a more efficient repairs service.

Residents on Severnside have been telling us what a difference the external wall insulation has made to their heating bills. Estates officers have also said there is less fly tipping on the estate and residents are going the extra mile to keep the area looking better now the housing looks so much more modern and smart.

In April we passed a housing decarbonisation action plan that will see more residents – both council and private tenants and homeowners – getting support to insulate their homes.

March

In the Ward

Putting the Heart Back in Woodhouse: People have appreciated work to clear overgrown bushes.

“Thought I would give credit where credit’s due. I am referring to having the trees and bushes cut back from Water Slacks drive footpath towards Skelton Lane area. The locals will feel a lot safer now you can see who is walking along the path at night.”

There has also been some fencing put in on Water Slacks Field near Skelton Lane. Some people felt it was too low to be useful, but the people living right by it say it lets small children play out more safely as cars and bikes can’t just drive over the grass outside their flats. Ideally, residents would like the whole open space fenced, but we don’t have funds for that at the moment.

Some people were worried about wildlife in the bushes we removed, but we did cut it before nesting season. Others said notice of the work would have been good, so next time we will do that.

We have also finally got a security camera moved to cover an area where residents and Police reported people drug dealing. Again, local people say things have quietened down and they feel safer.

In the Town Hall

On 5th March all 84 Councillors from all 4 political groups passed a balanced Council budget, which is an achievement given that costs are going up and more people need our services.
The Government increased the money they gave Sheffield by £17.4 million. This sounds like a lot, but our total spend is £160 million, so it is about 8.5% more. It is very welcome, though, and will mostly be spent on social care services for vulnerable adults and children.

Details are here:
Budget and spending | Sheffield City Council

In Housing, we get a report from Mystery Shoppers and independent phone interviews about what people living in our housing think of the council as a landlord. The results show people think things are improving – repairs are getting done to a better standard, empty homes are being fixed and rented again more quickly. We still have a ways to go to give the service we want, but it is headed in the right direction.

We also got more money from Homes England, which means we can start work on 124 more new council homes this year than we had planned. These will be at Newsteads in Birley and at Corker Bottom.

Get in Touch
People often raise issues on Facebook – but we need you to get in touch and give us details in confidence if you want us to be able to get things done to help.

Councillor Alison Norris
📧 Alison.norris@councillor.sheffield.gov.uk
📞 Tel: 07584 596399
Surgeries:
1st Saturday of the month
10.30am to 12pm
Ballifield and Handsworth TARA office, 409 Handsworth Rd

Councillor Mick Rooney
📧 mick.rooney@councillor.sheffield.gov.uk
📞 Tel: 0114 2392698
Surgeries:
3rd Saturday of the month
10.30am to 12pm
Woodhouse Library