Andrew Cooper | Sheffield Green Party

Councillors Marieanne Elliot and Toby Mallinson in front of a digital billboard sited in the pavement — Councillors Marieanne Elliot and Toby Mallinson

In February, a Green motion to council included a request for an advertising policy which does not support high carbon industries and products harmful to people and nature, as promoted by Adfree Cities. Sheffield City Council officers have been developing this policy.

The policy, approved by the Finance Committee today, is welcomed by Green Councillors Marieanne Elliot and Toby Mallinson.

Recent research by AdFree Cities evidences that advertising and inequality go hand in hand. A case study in Sheffield shows that 56% of outdoor advertising is in the 3 most deprived areas and there’s only 8% in the 3 least deprived areas.

Cllr Elliot said;

“Advertising has a direct effect on the way we make decisions and children are particularly vulnerable to marketing techniques that promote unhealthy diets.

“I’m pleased that the policy recognises that it is irresponsible to promote food and drink with little or no nutritional value that’s high in sugar and fat. It also recognises that gambling is a public health issue.

“The policy even goes as far as stating that high carbon/ fossil fuel organisations and products can influence opinion by using greenwashing to mislead people. This is real progress. Introducing this policy is a strong move for Sheffield as it tackles some of the impacts of consumerism, advertising and injustice. If we seriously want to move away from greenwashing and promoting products and foods that are making our health worse and negatively affecting our wellbeing we need policies like this.

“If I were to draw out any areas for improvement, I’d like to see restrictions on fossil fuel financiers like the big banks – Barclays and HSBC for example.

“The new policy will not be binding on the advertising companies straight away as their existing contractual terms still apply, until their renewal/ expiration date. This means that we might not see the changes as quickly as we would like.

“The inconsiderate positioning of advertising boards is not something that this policy deals with. We have advertising boards obstructing pavements and cycle lanes in Sheffield and we need to deal with that. Also, the positioning of boards can cause light pollution and detrimentally affect wildlife, this should be a planning consideration.

“A further step would be a moratorium on new digital advertising boards. These boards can use as much electricity each as 4 average homes. Unfortunately there was a missed opportunity by not including this in the new local plan. I am pleased that council officers will now take away my request to look at this.

“JCDecaux and Clear Channel currently have a total of 146 advertising boards across the city. This number does not include adverts on bus stops (controlled by the region), phone boxes or privately owned property. The policy will not address those. It would be great to see the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Mayoral Authority follow suit with a review of its bus stop advertising Hopefully other local authorities will be inspired by Sheffield’s progressive policy too.”

Cllr Mallinson said;

“The policy recognises that outdoor advertising affects and influences people. Large multinational companies spend millions on advertising for a reason. Advertising can promote products which are damaging to our environment and our wellbeing and the council has a responsibility to put measures in place to address this.

“The concentration of advertising in particular areas is a real concern – you can’t escape it! City, Darnall, Burngreave, Hillsborough and Broomhill & Sharrow Vale are the five most affected wards.

“An important aspect of the new policy is that it differentiates between advertising that local businesses may need locally, and advertising from national and multinational corporations on large illuminated bill-boards. In order to support a transition away from a throw-away carbon intensive culture we need to progressively reduce and even eliminate advertising from national and multinational corporations in line with the aims of the Adfree Cities campaign.”

Veronica Wignall, co-director at Adfree Cities said;

“This is a bold and common sense policy that firmly prioritises climate action and the health and wellbeing of people in Sheffield over the financial profits of advertising companies and global brands. Sheffield has set a standard for other councils across the UK – we hope to see many others follow suit.”

A group of Green Party Councillors have visited a busy Sheffield Steel factory aiming to be Carbon Neutral by 2030. Davers Steels Ltd, based on Petre Street has 37 employees and produces fabricated steel products for the construction sector.

Daver Steels site on Petre Street with its 550 solar panel roof.

Davers Steels has installed 550 solar panels onto their roof, which generate 50% of their annual energy usage and have a 0% carbon Business Energy Tariff. They are also electrifying their vehicles – charged from their own power. They now only have one company vehicle that uses diesel but have plans to replace that with an electric one. They are working towards gaining certification for ISO 14001 Environmental Management, which is a framework that will ensure they continually improve their environmental performance.

Councillor Douglas Johnson, Leader of the Green Group on Sheffield City Council, said,

“What impressed me most about the visit to Daver Steels was that the company’s very clear commitment to achieve environmental goals matched the financial benefits of doing so.

“With rising energy prices, the payback on their solar panel investment has reduced from six years to three. This demonstrates that actions that reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions also make good business sense. They are looking at every element of their business from how they generate their energy, their transport use and how they recycle their waste.

“Sheffield City Council and South Yorkshire’s Mayor need to be promoting environmental best practice like Daver Steels are already doing and make it commonplace. We need to see what we can do to make it easier for companies to get advice about reducing their emissions and costs; and also assess what can be done to help with financing the move to install renewable energy and energy efficiency measures for those who need that support.

“Sheffield City Council has set a target of being a zero carbon city by 2030. This is a target for the whole city, not just the Council. So trailblazing SME companies like Daver Steels are important to show the way for others and demonstrate that a green future is not just possible but profitable too, no matter what the size of the business or organisation .”

At the Council’s meeting on Wednesday Greens backed the Labour budget amendment which passed. Unfortunately the Labour Group joined with the LibDems and didn’t support the forward-looking ideas in the Green Party amendment .

Councillors who have left Labour this year did support the Green budget amendment, however.

Councillor Douglas Johnson , Leader of the Green Party Group said,

“The Labour Group amendment made only one small change to the budget by increasing the penalty charges for fly-tipping and littering, which the Green Group supported. We are happy to support good ideas from other parties.

“We were disappointed that Labour did not reciprocate by supporting the Green Amendment. There were no immediate financial implications in our amendment and it would have asked the Council to investigate the viability of new significant sources of funding – the sort of funding we will need if we are to address the rising cost of energy, the need for clean affordable public transport and to tackle climate change. We hoped Labour might have seen beyond tribal politics and might have worked cooperatively with us in the interests of the city.”

“The positive thing is that the Council has a budget that is agreed by all political groups on the Council. This is due to the new way of working, with a Committee System and no single party is in charge of the Council. This means political parties have to work together. The Green Party believes in working collaboratively with other parties is a good thing and we have never believed in tribal politics. Good ideas can come from all parties and we shouldn’t dismiss proposals out of hand simply because they are not our ideas. Though the fact that no party has an overall majority forces parties to work together we would welcome a change in the culture in the council where political groups instinctively worked collaboratively across party lines.”

“It is a true demonstration of ‘together we get things done.’

One thing was clear at the Sheffield City Council Licensing meeting on Tuesday 27th February: Gambling causes harm. The Committee heard a proposal for a new gambling establishment ‘Bet Extra’ at Castle Square (1)

Cllrs Ruth Mersereau and Douglas Johnson

The Licensing Committee heard evidence directly from Charles Ritchie, who founded the “Gambling with Lives” charity after his son Jack died tragically at the age of 24 from becoming addicted to gambling. (2)

Green Party Leader and City Ward Councillor Douglas Johnson said,

“I felt a weird privilege to sit next to Mr Ritchie and explaining why the three local councillors also worried about expanding a betting shop in the city centre.

“I told the committee about the impact that a newer, bigger betting shop would have on the hundreds of school children, students and young people who pass through Castle Square every day. When I suggested it could be a condition that windows are blacked out to avoid the lure of gambling, the solicitor for the business strongly rejected that. He indicated they would have as big a display as the law permits.

The Green Councillors’ comments were also in line with objections from the Children Safeguarding Partnership, the Licensing Service and Changing Sheff, the city centre residents’ group (3) . It was very disappointing to find out that the sub-committee had decided to side with the gambling business and to grant the licence for bigger premises.”

Councillor Ruth Mersereau who is also a City Ward Councillor who submitted a detailed objection to the proposal said

“There is evidence to show that gambling can be a significant cause of harm to human health and wellbeing. And, as has been noted in previous objections by Public Health to nearby proposal for gambling shops in Haymarket and Fargate, there are a number of land-based gambling premises already existing in the area.

“Gambling shops in the city centre have attracted anti-social behaviour which has deteriorated the area, and taken significant resource to address. This is in direct conflict with the council’s aims to regenerate the area through the Future High Street Scheme.

“It also will likely disturb residents living in the vicinity, and runs counter to the council’s aim to encourage more people to live in the city centre. Anti-social behaviour makes the city centre a worse place to live as well as visit, as well as incurring additional costs and resources to address.

“People likely to be the most negatively affected by this potential premises include people at risk, including children, young adults and people with addictions and gambling related harms. Harmful gambling is related to health inequalities. The most socio-economically deprived and disadvantaged groups in England have the lowest gambling participation rates but the highest levels of harmful gambling, and they are also the most susceptible to harm.

“The proposed location is close to areas of high deprivation, as noted in the public health objection to the nearby gambling shop applications.

“As well as detriment to the area through attracting anti-social behaviour, we believe an extended gambling shop in this location would also pose a material risk to the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people, from students to people who may suffer from drug addiction, who may be rough sleeping and/or homeless, who may use the service.”

The Licensing Committee’s decision to expand the betting shop comes as the council is consulting on a Public Space Protection Order or PSPO. The council is consulting on this because of the level of begging, “loitering” and street drinking in the city centre already.

References

1) (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Licensing Sub-Committee, 27/02/2024 10:00 (sheffield.gov.uk)

2) www.gamblingwithlives.org

3) Home (changingsheff.org)

4) Yorkshire betting shop can expand despite warning from dad who lost son to gambling (yorkshirepost.co.uk)

Leader of the Green Group on Sheffield City Council, Cllr Douglas Johnson has expressed sadness and disappointment after Labour and LibDem councillors blocked the Council from joining the Sheffield Coalition against Israeli Apartheid.

The vote came in a meeting of the Strategy & Resources Committee after Full Council had been asked to consider joining the Coalition in a successful Green Party motion on Gaza in November 2023. The Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid is an umbrella group and includes the Sheffield Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Sheffield Trades Council, Kairos Sheffield, and Sheffield Labour Friends of Palestine. Sheffield Green Party members voted to join the Coalition in March 2023

Official advice to councillors was that the Council would be “at risk of” acting unlawfully. Councillor Johnson addressed this, prior to the meeting, by saying,

“For the council to join the Sheffield Coalition against Israeli Apartheid, it would be a powerful symbolic statement that we stand against division and for human rights.

“Just as in the days of apartheid in South Africa in 1981, it is right for this council to make a stand, just as the full council voted for in November 2023. I fully accept we have to comply with democratic laws – even the ones we disagree with. However, in this instance, I do not believe the legal restrictions prevent us from joining the Sheffield Coalition.

“I believe the duty is on all of us to stand up and say that the awful death-toll in Gaza and the total displacement of an entire population is wrong. If we don’t stand up and say this now, who will and when?”

Lib Dem and Labour Councillors voted against joining the coalition at the Strategy and Resources Committee, with only the Green councillors supporting it.

REFERENCES

1 – The Council resolution in November 2023 noted that “Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B’tselem and the South African government recognise that the Israeli Government is enacting a system of apartheid” and requested that the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee consider whether the Council should join the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. The resolution can be found at

https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/b28259/Stopping%20Genocide%20in%20Gaza%20-%20Council%20Resolution%20Passed%20on%201st%20November%202023%20Government%20Response%20.pdf?T=9

2 – https://sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk/2023/03/12/sheffield-greens-support-israeli-apartheid-free-zone/
3 – Link to S&R agenda – https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=641&MId=8786#AI33382
4 – Link to Coalition Pledge – https://pledge.sheffieldpsc.org.uk/

Green councillors have welcomed the news that Sheffield City Council has passed the Heritage Strategy for Sheffield report (1), some 12 months after it was endorsed by Full Council. It’s a triple success for Green councillors.

Sheffield Green Party have long called for the adoption of Joined Up Heritage Sheffield’s Heritage Strategy, our city’s very own grass-roots, inclusive strategy for buildings, people and culture. This will now become a core aspect of the City Council’s future policies and procedures.

Two other long-term Green Party initiatives were also agreed by the Strategy and Resources committee – the creation of a Sheffield City Council Heritage Officer post, and enhanced support and funding for our city’s many Conservation Areas.

Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Green Party Councillor Brian Holmshaw, a founder member of Joined Up Heritage Sheffield said,

“As a long term supporter of the city’s heritage, I’m overjoyed to see that we’ve finally recognised the central economic and social role that heritage plays in the city. I hope that placing it at the centre of city policies will help to stop some of the terrible decision-making that the council has made over the years. The recent debacle over the Market Tavern in the projected Castlegate Conservation Area, demonstrates this.

“Retrofitting old buildings to a high environmental and conservation standard should always be the default position, so that we can continue to celebrate Sheffield’s buildings, its people and its stories into the future.

“I look forward to the city council working more closely with the city’s key heritage stakeholders, with climate change-minded architects and with heritage professionals to improve how Sheffield looks and feels, both to its residents, and to visitors to the city.”

Cllr Henry Nottage, Green Party spokesperson on the Economic Development and Skills Committee said:

“Historic England estimated that, in 2022, England’s heritage sector directly contributed between £15.8 and £17.5 billion to the national economy. Sheffield needs to be building on that success and getting its fair share of the heritage bonus. Putting in place a ‘dedicated heritage officer post in the city will help to do just that.

“Investing in the preservation, refitting and ongoing use of heritage buildings and other historic places has huge economic benefits for individuals and communities. Protecting conservation areas can lead to increased tax revenues, more jobs, revitalised neighbourhoods and district shopping areas and a more vibrant local economy.”

Notes

1 – The heritage report to Strategy and Resources Committee on 21 February 2024 is here

2 – Green councillors proposed the specific post of a heritage officer in their costed budget proposals in 2019. Prior to that, in 2018, they had called for action on protecting Castlegate’s heritage through conservation area status is here

3 – Sheffield Green Party policy on Conservation and heritage practice is here

Cllr Douglas Johnson – Chair of the Housing Committee

“I am very pleased and proud to present this year’s Housing Revenue Account, business plan and budget to this council.

“This item is on behalf of the tenants of Sheffield City Council and concerns what they – our tenants – pay and how we manage it on their behalf. We provide services of tenancy management, repairs and estate maintenance. We invest in planned maintenance and extensive major repairs such as roof replacements and insulation schemes. We also build new homes. We supply a panoply of other services to a huge number of tenants, some of whom are highly disadvantaged in this city.

“We should be proud of providing this public service of over 38,000 households. Many local authorities sold off their housing stock; Sheffield did not – although it dabbled with outsourcing of its repairs service until it was finally brought back in house.

“Housing should be seen as a basic human right and, as I say, one we should be proud to deliver.

“So, I want to thank all our hundreds of staff who make this mammoth undertaking happen. I know they don’t always get the respect they deserve for doing their best to look after people’s homes.

“I also know we don’t always get it right. But let’s face it – cases of disrepair in council homes still make the news. It is easy to overlook the fact that hundreds of repairs are carried out successfully every day.

“In the Housing Committee’s climate statement, we note that 82% of all our council homes have energy performance certificates in bands A, B and C. I know EPCs aren’t the only or best measure but how favourably this contrasts with the vast bulk of the city’s private rented sector. The shocking equivalent for Sheffield’s private rented homes is only 23%.

“In this budget, we are asking the council to increase council rents by the standards amount permitted by government. To do otherwise would be to vote for cuts in jobs and services to tenants.

“I therefore commend this Housing Revenue account to the council.”

Sheffield Green Party Councillors have called for more action on climate change following a report that shows there has only been a 3% reduction in carbon emissions in the city since 2019. (1)

The Pathways to Decarbonisation report, commissioned by the Council, had indicated that it was possible to achieve an 85% reduction in emissions by 2030 (2). A report by the Tyndall Centre in 2019 said that the Council needed to achieve carbon reductions of 14% per year if it was to have any chance of being zero carbon by 2030. (3)

City Ward Councillor Martin Phipps said,

“Green involvement in the Council Administration has been central to the climate action the Council has taken: from introducing Climate Impact Assessments, to the creation of the Ten Point Plan for Climate Action (4), to ensuring major schemes like Connecting Sheffield and the Clean Air Zone progress in the face of political opposition, but people in Sheffield need to see more action across the Council if it is to play its part in achieving a stable climate.

“We need to take more action to improve public transport, improve the energy efficiency of homes and to invest in Green skills for the jobs of the future. As well as the actions that can be taken locally, we need Government to rise to the challenge of global climate change, in the way they addressed the banking crisis and the Covid pandemic

“Keir Starmer’s refusal to ‘turn on the spending taps’ and Rachel Reeves’s comments on Labour’s commitment to fiscal rules over climate action have made it clear that whether the Conservatives or Labour receive a majority from the next general election, pressure on council budgets will continue. Therefore as a council we need to be focused on what we can do locally.”

Gleadless Valley Green Cllr Paul Turpin says,

“More could be done by the Council and the South Yorkshire Mayor to invest in the Green jobs and skills that will provide secure employment for local people for years to come.

“The Council has allocated £3.5 million to invest in local renewable energy projects. We need to see how this will be implemented to provide Sheffield with secure and stable energy prices.

“Sheffield City Council could raise funds by establishing Green Bonds to lever in finance from the community. West Berkshire Council raised over £1 million on its first Green Bonds issues. This helped improve the energy performance of schools by installing solar panels and supported active travel and tree planting projects. (5)

“The council could have an advertising policy which does not support high carbon industries and products harmful to people and nature.

Cllr Christine Gilligan Kubo Hillsborough Cllr Christine Gilligan-Kubo, Deputy Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee said,

“We could implement a workplace parking levy to leverage funding for active and public transport at comparable levels to Nottingham City Council, who raised around £680 million over 10 years; (6)

Brian Holmshaw, Green councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale, said,

“The Green Party believes that all Policy Committees on the Council should have action plans to deliver targets to reduce their emissions and should report any increases. We need to be committed and relentless in our action to address climate change. Not only will this mean we have a clean and stable environment, it will also mean warm homes, secure jobs and cleaner air.”

References

Cllrs Marieanne Elliot and Bernard Little

At the Communities Parks and Leisure Committee meeting, Green Councillors voted against the Council’s proposals to introduce a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in the City Centre. Under the draft PSPO, people could be sanctioned for loitering, begging or drinking alcohol.

Green Party Councillor for Gleadless Valley Marieanne Elliot said,

“The Public Sector Protection Order, as described in the consultation document, would mean that someone sitting on the floor, quietly with a hat, could be regarded as someone who is likely to cause harassment, nuisance or annoyance. Is it really sensible to issue a £100 Penalty Charge Notice to someone who is begging?

“There is also the issue of what sort of behaviour is regarded as acceptable or unacceptable. A family having a glass of wine with a picnic in the Peace Gardens could well be treated differently from someone sitting on their own with a can of lager. It is not at all clear what would be a fair application of the rules in these circumstances.

“The proposed definition of loitering raises lots of questions. It could potentially criminalise groups of students and young people, not drinking alcohol, just enjoying being outside on a warm evening.

“There seems to be an intention to explicitly address issues outside banks and supermarkets, but not outside independent shops and businesses.

“If a Public Space Protection Order comes into force, there is a serious possibility that the unwanted behaviours (drinking alcohol, loitering, urinating, begging) will be displaced to adjacent communities around the city centre, like Netherthorpe, Lansdowne, Park Hill, St Mary’s, Leverton and Kelham Island. There is currently no coherent plan for addressing this displacement.

“The council could use resources more effectively by working on tackling some of the root causes, rather than considering punishing people with punitive sanctions. There is extensive empirical research that says this sort of action can disproportionately affect the most vulnerable; people experiencing trauma, poverty, unmet support needs, those excluded from the housing market. There are excellent voluntary sector organisations in Sheffield, helping to support these people, and they could do with more support.

It is frustrating that, on one hand, council licences are granted to 24 hour booze shops all over the city centre and on the other, they are considering banning city centre drinking in public places. Also, the council could provide more public toilet facilities in the city centre.

“It is reported that Sheffield is one of the safest cities in the UK. We also heard that the police now have 50% more officers operating in the City Centre, this is very welcome news and surely means there is more opportunity to address actual illegal activity.

A PSPO needs to be justified so there must be reasonable grounds to impose it, that is the legal test¹ and it’s not clear this has been met.”

Green Party Councillor for Walkley, Bernard Little said,

“As a councillor for Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Walkley, I’m surprised that I wasn’t directly consulted about the plans. The map of the proposed PSPO shows that some of the ward will be inside and some of it outside the protected area. There is obvious risk of displacement to residential areas and this needs to be discussed with our communities living in those areas.

This proposal is ill-conceived and will impact a group of vulnerable people that need safe places and support.”

The majority of the Committee voted in support of the draft PSPO and to begin formal consultation, with only the 2 Green Councillors, Marieanne Elliot and Bernard Little, voting against.

References

¹Anti Social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014 s.59 (3) (c)

Councillor Douglas Johnson spoke at the Council’s Strategy and Resources Committee in response to the reports “Race Equality on our Council” and “The Equality Framework – Equality is Everyone’s Business”

“The statements that are before us today on equality and the actions proposed to take us on our journey towards being an anti-racist city are very welcome and not before time.

“The basic statistics show that our city is changing. A population that was 95% white in 1991, even after decades of migration, dropped to 89% ten years later, then to 81% by 2011 and at the 2021 census is now 75%.

“Ten years ago, most people still said they were Christian. That is no longer the case.
Sheffield has benefited from this: we have steadily improved our diversity and, in doing so, our outlook on the world.However, there are other facts we see with our own eyes, which may be uncomfortable when we talk about race equality.

“If you see classes of primary children going to swimming lessons, you will observe there are classes of almost all white children’ and there are other schools with almost all black children.
[I use the word “black” in a deliberately blunt way here]

“And whilst most people – 60% – in England and Wales have a spare bedroom, 60% of Somali people live in overcrowded homes. 72% of Somali people live in social rented housing, compared to just 17% of the population at large. So, when it comes to rehousing overcrowded families, our policies and the individual decisions affect everyone – but the impact is clearly not the same. We need to use this data to drive change.

“Finally, I want to say that I think the developing change in culture in this council is a welcome step. We have to accept that, try as we might, we will sometimes still make bad decisions.

“In my time fighting unlawful discrimination, I often found that organisations, when faced with clear evidence of discrimination, would either clam up or aggressively deny they could possibly discriminate in any way. They ended up in court. A far better approach came from those organisations that accepted the challenge and looked at the objective data to see what they could do better. It resulted in a better outcome for the individual and a better outcome for the organisation.

“For this council, the move away from its former culture of defensiveness will genuinely help us become an anti-racist organisation.”

Author: Andrew Cooper

Greens visit trailblazing Steel Company aiming to be Carbon Neutral by 2030

Greens welcome agreement on City Budget

Greens say “Don’t Gamble With Lives”

Greens stand against Apartheid

Greens welcome Heritage Strategy Report

Cllr Douglas Johnson, Chair of the Housing Committee, proposes the Council’s Housing Revenue Account

Greens call for more council action on Climate Change

“PSPO not fit for purpose”, say Greens

Statement on race equality in Sheffield by Councillor Douglas Johnson, Leader of the Green Group

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