Labour councillors are moving money away from deprived areas

I am writing to respond to the letter from Councillor Jim Steinke “Fairest Way to spend cash”, Telegraph Thursday 4th October).

Cllr Steinke fails to mention he is now the Cabinet member who will decide the process for spending this last remaining “CIL” money from developments. In fact, he has already made his decision if the consultation questionnaire is anything to go by.

The reality is that Labour’s Administration already controls 85% of the spending centrally but doesn’t spend it according to deprivation measures. It now wants to impose its top-down control on the remaining 15%.

What Cllr Steinke also fails to explain is why the Labour Administration has held up this process for 3½ years and whether this is anything to do with the fact there is a Green Party majority in City Ward, where a lot of the money has been generated. Residents have been negatively affected by years of building work and loss of amenities. They rightly expect they will receive the intended compensation to the community, whether that is upgrading of children’s parks or sorting out traffic problems in the city centre.

Labour’s proposals are to centralise control of the money and switch it to areas where Labour have more councillors. This means moving money away from deprived areas like Highfield and Sharrow – in the two wards with the highest collection of CIL money so far.

Cllr Douglas Johnson
Sheffield Green Party, City Ward