Ruth Mersereau to be Green candidate
Sheffield Greens have announced Ruth Mersereau as this year’s local election candidate.
Ruth has recently finished working at Hallam University in the city centre and wants to join Cllrs Douglas Johnson and Martin Phipps helping residents in City Ward.
Cllr Rob Murphy, who, after 11 years, is standing down, said, “It has been an honour to represent this area for so long, but I know Ruth will make an excellent addition to the Green Team.”
Ruth said, “From talking to local residents in the city, I know how hard our Green councillors work on local issues. Please get in touch if you have ideas on how we can improve the area more.”
Helping them Help
All the Green councillors took part in the Help Us Help stall at the Christmas market, giving out information on how to support people who are homeless, sleeping rough or begging. Martin said, “This is one of our top priorities as local councillors. People need proper support and housing and we will keep fighting for this.”
Shoreham Surgery on the move
Shoreham St surgery has won approval to move into bigger premises at the New Era development near the ring road. The surgery hopes to offer more services and take on more patients.
Station actions
Rail fares went up on 2nd January. Greens were out speaking to passengers about their travel frustrations. Councillor Douglas Johnson said, “Passengers can claim for delays of 15 minutes or more. The refunds might be small but, if more people make claims, it lets private rail companies know they must act to improve public services.”
Gritting in icy weather
Green councillors have been asking the Council to make sure the station forecourt is gritted when snow and ice are forecast. Cllr Douglas Johnson commented, “There’s something wrong if council policy says no pedestrian areas are gritted in advance, even when it’s the main way in and out of the city for thousands of commuters every day.
Your Voice Matters
We run regular drop-ins for anything you want to discuss with your councillors, at the Harlequin pub on Nursery St (6-8pm, first Thursday of the month) and now also at Union St Co-working Space (1 2:30-1 :30pm, third Wednesday of the month).
Better ideas than widening roads
Greens have criticised new plans to spend millions on widening the Inner Ring Road because of the impact on air quality and access for local residents. Green activist, Emily Brooke-Davies said, “As someone who walks through this area, I know how difficult it is to cross here already. I feel the money would be better spent to make it easier to use other forms of transport.”
Green councillors have now secured a committee session to examine how the impact on residents can be made better.
Citizen science – air quality
Residents around the ward have been measuring air quality levels, thanks to some “ward pot” funding. We hope to have some results soon but the results so far show some worrying levels of everyday pollution.
Let us know if you want to know more.
Kelham Island planning
Residents and businesses in Kelham Island have been working to set up a neighbourhood planning forum to have more say over the development of the local area.
We are now waiting for a formal decision from the planning department.
Universal credit
If you need to claim universal credit, check out our factsheet at www.sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk/uc Or phone us.
Out & About
You might have seen us out and about in the area. If not, feel free to get in touch with us. Ruth can be contacted at ruth.mersereau@sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk or on 01142 397 704.
Twitter @ruthmersereau
Get to know Ruth Mersereau
What would you bring for people as a Green Councillor?
I’ll be joining a team of hard-working Green Councillors and following on from Rob Murphy’s eleven-year legacy.
I’ll be listening to people and working with the inspiring community groups. I’ve really enjoyed joining in and helping out with people at Shoreham TARA.
Tell me a bit about yourself
I’m a piano teacher and moved to Sheffield because it’s a super-friendly city, with a thriving arts and music scene.
Why do you want to be a councillor?
I enjoy helping people and finding ways to solve problems. There’s a lot to be done to make the city cleaner and make sure the Council/Amey are sweeping streets and emptying bins.
Why the Green Party?
I need to be able to freely represent people in City Ward and hold the Labour Council to account. The Green Party offers a way to do that. Labour doesn’t.
What do you do when you’re not campaigning?
I cycle, play the piano, go to the cinema, and am learning how to figure skate.
Useful numbers
Your green councillors
Cllr Rob Murphy
07875 01 5354
@RobMurphy2012
robert.murphy@sheffield.gov.uk
Cllr Douglas Johnson
07500 766 189
@DouglasJSheff
douglas.johnson@sheffield.gov.uk
Cllr Martin Phipps
07581 364 252
@MartinPhipps13
martin.phipps@councillor.sheffield.gov.uk
Council and local services
Roads, pavements, streetlights, bins, gritting and fly-tipping,
0114 273 4567 or streetsahead@sheffield.gov.uk
For crime and anti-social behaviour
Emergency – 999; non-urgent – 101
www.southyorks.police.uk
Concerned about help for someone sleeping rough?
0800 066 5358 or at www.streetlink.org.uk
Or 0800 731 1 689 (evenings and weekends)
Residents’ groups
Shoreham TARA
Meets 1 st Monday of the month, 6.30 at Duchess Rd community centre
Sheffield City Centre Residents Action Group
Meets 2nd Tuesday at Mappin St www.sccrag.org
Kelham Island Community Alliance
www.kica.uk.com
Blog
Find out more about what’s going on in City Ward on our blog.
Comments
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