Sheffield Green Party Councillors have proposed a new delivery hub for businesses in Sheffield City Centre.
Green Councillor Ruth Mersereau, who represents City Ward, successfully proposed that the Council’s Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee add to its workplan a feasibility study for a last mile e-cargo delivery hub for the city centre, in order to reduce emissions. The Green Group has previously proposed the establishment of an e-cargo delivery hub in its amendments to the council’s budget.
Councillor Mersereau said,
“With the introduction of Clean Air Zones in many cities, new ways of delivering goods to shops using electric vehicles and cargo bikes are being trialled. This is something we should be doing in Sheffield.
“In Glasgow, a last mile delivery hub launched in September as part of a £300 million investment in electrification of delivery services (1). In London, after four months of operations, the e-cargo bikes operating from the Pimlico hub travelled nearly 6000 miles, which led to a reduction in emissions of CO2, NOx, and harmful particulates when compared to petrol and diesel van deliveries.(2) There are other trials being undertaken in the London Borough of Wandsworth and in Holmfirth (3).
“There are now a variety of electric powered cargo bikes available, each with the capacity to deliver 190kg of goods to businesses in city centres. (4) E- cargo bikes will not be the only solution, but can play a big role, alongside electric delivery vehicles.
“It is not just air quality that improves by using e-cargo bikes. It also means safer and quieter city streets with less heavy, noisy and polluting vans and lorries. It can also reduce the number of delivery vans parked on kerbs, making our city centre a healthier and more pleasant place. That has to be good news for our environment, for people and for business.
“This is exactly the sort of project that funding from the Clean Air Zone should be used to support. We can reduce the number of polluting vehicles in our city centre and at the same time time enable viable, less polluting, quieter alternatives.
Cllr Christine Gilligan Kubo at the COP 28 protest in Sheffield
I joined the Sheffield COP 28 protest on December 9th to push for action now because I’m a grandmother. I want to leave a planet where future generations can thrive.
An increase in global temperatures of 3 degrees Centigrade is what climate scientists say we are facing unless we make radical changes now.
Melting ice sheets will lead to global sea level rises. There will be more extreme heat and drought, more intense storms, more flooding, widespread damage to infrastructure and destruction of crops and food supplies.
But it doesn’t have to be like this. We can reduce this harm to our planet if there is the political will to do so.
The current government does not care about the future of our planet or the future of our children. Unfortunately, the Labour opposition is also already cutting back on its environmental commitments and reducing its investment in the green agenda that we need for a sustainable future.
Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and insulating our homes will reduce our emissions and could cut household energy bills by up to £1400 a year. It could also save businesses £53 billion in energy bills, Taking control of our energy could also save businesses £53bn in energy bills, which would be a real boost for manufacturing in the UK.
Shell made £32 billion and BP £23 billion in profit last year while energy bills rose and people found it difficult to heat their homes. The top 20 fossil fuel firms are responsible for one-third of all emissions. They are raking in billions while many households across the UK are struggling to keep warm this winter.
The fossil fuel millionaires and billionaires have tried to block investment in renewable energy at COP28, but it is the richest who most need to stand up and take responsibility. The richest 1% of the population produce as much carbon as the poorest 5 billion people on Earth.
This must change now. We need Climate Justice now. Let’s build a fair and equitable future for our children.
Sheffield Green Party Councillors have called on Labour not to follow the same spending plans as the Conservative Government.
In response to a Labour councillors’ motion on national government spending, Green Party Councillor for Gleadless Valley Paul
Turpin said,
“Labour have said they will follow the same spending plans as the Conservative Government, if they come to power following a General Election. This is bad news for the people of Sheffield, who have had years of underfunded local services.
“Following an austerity agenda, as Labour proposes, will not deliver the change we need. Keir Starmer has made it clear that he “won’t turn on spending taps” if Labour win the next general election which promises no light at the end of the tunnel for cash-strapped local authorities and public services.
“We must tax the rich more to bring in the funding needed for public services and to make us a more equal society. A tax on the income from wealth of the richest 1% would deliver £75 billion of additional funding to help improve the energy efficiency of homes and address high energy bills.
“In the absence of action by Conservative / Labour Governments, there are things we can do locally. We could introduce an Employers Workplace Parking Levy which would apply to larger businesses with 50 or more parking spaces. The levy would help fund better public transport, support for cycling and walking and public charging points for electric vehicles.
“We could establish a wholly-owned council company to help deliver the council’s objectives and raise income to deliver reliable services for Sheffield residents e.g. gardening, household repairs, heating system servicing and replacement and retrofit works. A similar project in Oxford raised £600,000 for council services this year.
“We could invest in renewable energy projects on Council land and buildings to generate energy and income. Cambridgeshire County Council will soon be receiving £1 million each year from a solar farm it has developed.
“If Labour simply follow a Conservative spending agenda, they will fail to deliver the real positive change for the people of Sheffield that is needed.”
Sheffield City Council has asked for an exemption from the Government’s Food Waste collection strategy due to its contractual obligations with Veolia who collect the city’s household waste.
It has been estimated that the carbon reduction impact of a food waste collection service, in Sheffield, would be negligible, and even possibly negative, if there was no food waste processing facility in the Sheffield area.
The costs of new collection vehicles and bins would not be covered by the Government’s ‘New Burdens’ funding due to the Council’s existing contract with Veolia who burn food waste to generate heat and power. The Council had allocated £3 million towards delivering food waste collections but this is regarded as insufficient to deliver the service costs.
Councillor Alexi Dimond said,
“In the Sheffield context, the environmental benefits of the Government’s Food Waste collection legislation are highly dubious with high costs and low carbon savings. In part this is due to the privatecontract with Veolia which the Lib Dems and Labour supported and which runs until 2038. Thanks to the committee’s decision – although opposed by the Lib Dems – £3 million the Council had allocated for this scheme can now be more effectively used on other carbon reduction projects.
“We have a highly effective Sustainability Team in the Council who help us draw in external funding for projects that help to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs for the Council. Ensuring they have a long term future in the Council has to be a priority.
“The committee voted to consider more effective alternatives to food waste collection such as supporting home and community composting of food waste, provision of wormeries, hot bins and bokashi composters.
“It is important that funding for carbon reduction measures is not wasted and that high impact, cost effective proposals are what the Council backs, not the greenwashing, food waste collections being proposed by the Government and supported by Lib Dems for the purposes of political point scoring”.
References
(Public Pack)Agenda Document for Waste & Street Scene Policy Committee, 15/11/2023 10:00 (sheffield.gov.uk)
Green Party Councillors are calling on Sheffield City Council to provide more support to tenants of Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre and Retail Park to help reduce their costs and contribute towards net zero.
A report to the Waste and Street Scene Committee revealed that the Service Charge for businesses at Crystal Peaks have not increased since 2009. To balance the finances, officers are advising that the Council raises the Service Charge to ensure their costs are covered. Sheffield City Council has not recovered its costs, for things like energy, water, maintenance and repairs, with a gap of £263k in the last financial year. Options were put to the Committee of recovering the costs within 1 to 8 years. Green Councillors proposed greater investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy to help reduce energy demand, energy costs and carbon emissions.
Councillor Alexi Dimond said,
“Energy costs for the Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre in 2022/23 have risen by 50%, to £116k, in the last financial year and represent a significant proportion of the service charge. The Council does need to ensure it recovers its costs but it also has a responsibility to reduce carbon emissions, energy demand and therefore energy costs.
“We need to help traders by taking action to improve the energy performance of our buildings. That means investment in renewable technology such as solar panels on the roof and investigating how the energy efficiency of the building can be improved to help reduce energy costs. This is the way that we can ensure costs are kept under control in the long term, by providing certainty on energy costs for Crystal Peaks traders.”
Cllrs Douglas Johnson, Ruth Mersereau and Martin Phipps
An application for a gambling licence in the centre of Sheffield has been turned down following opposition from Green Party Councillors.
City Ward councillors had lodged an objection to a new premises licence from “Royal Amusements” for a slot machine arcade on Fargate. The comments were considered by Sheffield City Council’s Licencing Committee on Monday, together with evidence from the police, public health, Sheffield Cathedral and others. Cllr Douglas Johnson spoke at the meeting about the risks to vulnerable people and other residents in the city centre.
Following the Committee decision to turn down the application Councillor Douglas Johnson, Leader of the Green Group and a Councillor for City Ward said,
“I’m very pleased the ward councillors’ objection to a new gambling shop on Fargate was upheld today.
“The Licensing Committee heard our objections, which I presented at the meeting, together with evidence from public health professionals, police, the Cathedral, Victoria Hall, ChangingSheff and residents and refused the application for a premises licence.
“We really didn’t want to see gambling place in the heart of the city. Millions of pounds are being spent to upgrade Fargate. Opening a slot machine arcade would only have damaged this ambition. It would also undermine the intense work done day in and day out by public services and local charities working with the large number of people in the city centre who are vulnerable to such addictions.
“Gambling causes harm anywhere: we have heard of suicides related to gambling. In addition to that, the police confirmed that Fargate is a hotspot for violent crime. We all know it’s a hotspot for anti-social behaviour. Even the applicant told us that closing betting shops on Haymarket “improved” the area.
“The business claimed Fargate isn’t a residential area but thousands of people live in the city centre now, many of them students who would be at risk. I am pleased the council has used its muscle to refuse a harmful application.”
Fellow Green City ward councillor Martin Phipps added,
“It is great news that the licensing sub committee has listened and taken note of the overwhelming evidence against granting the licence for a gambling shop on Fargate. Residents, public health officers and the police clearly raised their concerns, and I’m pleased they were listened to.
As ward councillors we believe the council should look at Cumulative Impact Policy on premises such as gambling shops in the city centre to make it clear that the council believes the centre has enough gambling shops, and to support residents, public health, the police and other partners and agencies in making their case against future applications that would be detrimental if granted.”
The National Gambling Support Network provide free, confidential and personalised support for anyone who’s experiencing problems with gambling, as well as those affected by someone else’s gambling.
If you feel that you, or someone else is at risk of gambling-related harms, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 802 0133, available 24/7. Alternatively, click here:
References
Report on application to grant a premises licence for an Adult Gaming Centre made under the Gambling Act 2005 for Royal Amusements, 9 Fargate, Sheffield, S1 2HD
A number of questions by Green Party Councillors on national Labour Party influence on Sheffield politics and on the war on Gaza were not heard at this Wednesday’s Council meeting after being ruled out of order.
The questions asked by Green Councillor Alexi Dimond to Labour Leader Cllr Tom Hunt, referred to “an anonymous Labour source” who told Sheffield campaigners ‘It’s Our City’ that “the real leader of Sheffield Labour, and by extension Sheffield City Council, is Cllr Peter Mason, leader of Ealing Council. The source said that Cllr Mason is the Chair of the Campaign Improvement Board for Sheffield Labour.”
Labour’s Campaign Improvement Board was set up by the Labour Party nationally to “support Labour Groups that require improvement” (1)
Councillor Alexi Dimond who represents the Gleadless Valley Ward said,
“I asked these questions because I thought Sheffield people would want to know if the people elected locally were in fact controlled by shadowy figures in London who have no connection with our city.. I wanted to know what role the Labour Campaign Improvement Board played in local decision making and how often Sheffield Labour Councillors were meeting with them.”
Cllr Paul Turpin, Green Councillor for Gleadless Valley asked if the Labour Leader of Ealing Council would come to Sheffield to meet Councillors of all parties. His question was also ruled out of order. He commented,
“ It is important that local people know what is going on behind the scenes, and how our local democracy is being subverted by people who live hundreds of miles away and who no one in Sheffield ever voted for.”
Cllr Paul Turpin
Green Councillors Maroof Raouf and Alexi Dimond also asked a number of questions regarding the war on Gaza. This followed the controversial raising of the Israeli Flag on Sheffield Town Hall on the 10th October and public statements by Labour Leader Keir Starmer where he said it was Israel’s right to cut off power, water and food to millions of Palestinian civilians. Councillor Raouf also asked whether Councillor Hunt would support the raising of the Palestinian flag, following a request from Green Party Councillors on Friday 20th October. These questions were all ruled out of order.
Councillor Maroof Raouf, a Green Councillor for Nether Edge and Sharrow Ward, said,
Cllr Maroof Raouf
“Many local people are very concerned about what local politicians think about the war in Gaza and the collective punishment being heaped on the Palestinian people. Hundreds of people came to a rally for Peace in Gaza in front of Sheffield City Hall on Saturday. I was asking the questions that many of them would want answers to. Is the local Labour Leader following the line from Keir Starmer nationally? I, like many others, wanted to know whether he regarded the raising of the Israeli flag on the Town Hall on the 10th of October as a mistake, Though my questions were ruled out of order, Cllr Hunt has the opportunity to answer those questions in the debate on the Green Party motion on the war in Gaza on Wednesday”.
Councillor Alexi Dimond’s disallowed questions to Councillor Tom Hunt
1. On Friday 20th October an “anonymous Labour source” told local campaign group It’s Our City that the real leader of Sheffield Labour, and by extension Sheffield City Council, is Cllr Peter Mason, leader of Ealing Council. The sourcesaid that Cllr Mason is the Chair of the Campaign Improvement Board for Sheffield Labour.What is the role of the Campaign Improvement Board and is Cllr Mason the Chair? 2. What role does the board have in decision making in Sheffield, including those of each policy committee? 3. How many meetings have you or other Sheffield Labour Councillors had with Labour’s Campaign Improvement Board since the May Local Elections? 4. It has been reported by ITV that the national Labour party has instructed Councillors that “they must not, under any circumstance” attend any protest or demonstration opposing Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Has the leader of this Council instructed any Sheffield Councillors in this way? 5. When asked by Nick Ferrari on LBC during the Labour conference if Israel has the right to cut off power and water to Gaza, Sir Keir replied: “I think that Israel does have that right… It is an ongoing situation. Obviously, everything should be done within international law.” Do you believe that Israel has the right to cut off water and power to Gaza? 6. Does the Council support international law and how can Keir Starmer’s views be compatible with international law? 7. Does the Council still recognise the state of Palestine and believe that its capital should be East Jerusalem, and that all of Gaza and the West Bank should be part of this state?
Councillor Paul Turpin’s disallowed question to Councillor Tom Hunt
Will you arrange for the Leader of Ealing council, Cllr Peter Mason, to visit Sheffield in order to meet the councillors. I would certainly like to meet the new Leader of Sheffield City Council and it is long overdue for him to meet the elected members in Sheffield.
Councillor Maroof Raouf’s disallowed questions to Councillor Tom Hunt
On October 11th, the leader of your party went on national radio and said that Israel has the right to cut off power and water to the Palestinians. Do you agree with those same remarks? You addressed the appalling attacks that took place in Israel as terrorism, you called them out for what they were, however not once have you called out the massacre taking place in Palestine as genocide, would you now like to do so? Do you agree with the relocation of Gazan civilians amounting to the war crime of forcible transfer? Israel has not only bombed mosques but also bombed churches too, do you agree that this is disproportionate action taken against the Palestinians? Given the war crimes Israel is committing in Palestine at this current time, would you now like to take the opportunity, along with the Chief Exec, and say that you were wrong to raise the flag of Israel above the City of Sanctuary? Would you agree that what we’re seeing in Gaza amounts to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian peoples from the region of the world? What steps are you taking, along with your Party, to support a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine? For the fifteenth consecutive day, Gaza remains under full electricity blackout. Given Israel’s strong willingness to withhold food, water, electricity, and medical supplies, including baby formula, would you now like to say you were wrong in choosing Israel over Palestine? Do you and your Party call on Israel to stop the bombing of Palestine? Do you still continue to have the support of all Sheffield Labour councillors? On October 11th you said that “…Sheffield City Council displayed the Israeli flag to show solidarity with the innocent people in that country who faced appalling acts of terror”. Would you now like to honour our request that you fly the flag of Palestine to show solidarity with the innocent people in that country who have faced appalling acts of terror from Israel since her creation?
Alexi Dimond addresses the Stop Genocide in Gaza rally
A motion on stopping genocide in Gaza, proposed by the Green Group, was passed at Sheffield City Council’s meeting this week.
The motion called for an immediate ceasefire, to stop the killing, facilitate an intense period of diplomacy, bring humanitarian aid into Gaza, and provide an opportunity to negotiate the release of all Israeli hostages and lift the siege on Gaza before it is too late.
Gleadless Valley Green Councillor Alexi Dimond, who proposed the motion, said,
“Sheffield City Council was the first Council in the UK to recognise the state of Palestine. The sheer scale of the atrocities committed by the Israeli Government on thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza has appalled many local people, with hundreds attending demonstrations outside Sheffield Town Hall.
“I was relieved that Labour and Lib Dem Councillors locally backed our call for a ceasefire. Labour did attempt to remove the statement that criticised Keir Starmer for saying in an interview with LBC radio, that Israel “does have that right” to withhold food, water and electricity from Gaza, and that he should apologise and retract this statement supporting collective punishment. Fortunately they failed to secure enough votes to delete this part of the motion.
“The Lib Dems and Labour did manage to remove the call for a just political settlement based on an end to discriminatory apartheid policies, settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing.
“But, significant actions from the motion still remain, including calling for a ceasefire, ending arms sales to Israel, ending the occupation & considering joining the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid,
“This would not have been possible without the support & commitment of grassroots organisations and the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and the vast majority of Sheffielders, from all backgrounds.”
References
Motion passed at Sheffield Full Council on 1/11/23
Sheffield Green Councillors have called for a ceasefire to prevent war crimes in Gaza from escalating into genocide.
In a motion to next Wednesday’s Full Council Meeting, Sheffield Green Party Councillors are asking all Councillors to ask the UK Government to back an immediate ceasefire, to ban arms sales to Israel and to back peace talks.
Councillor Alexi Dimond, a Green Councillor for the Gleadless Valley Ward, who proposed the motion, said,
“The Israeli government has been explicit about its genocidal intent. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.” So far nearly 5000 civilians have been killed and the ground invasion has not yet started.
Instead of supporting war crimes, our government must call for an immediate ceasefire. Electricity, food and water must be restored to Gaza. The killing of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank must be stopped. Further escalation makes a regional conflict increasingly likely. At the same time as killing innocent Palestinians, the actions of the Israeli government make Israelis less safe.
We have been consistent in calling for a release of all hostages and political prisoners, lifting the siege of Gaza and condemning all atrocities, both those that have been committed by Hamas and by the Israeli Government. It is innocent civilians who are suffering as a result of these actions.”
Councillor Maleiki Haybe, a Councillor for the Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Ward, said,
“The Labour Leader, Keir Starmer has angered many people by saying in an interview with LBC, that Israel “does have that right” to withhold food, water and electricity from Gaza.The Green Party believes that this statement effectively supports collective punishment, and that Starmer should apologise and retract it. “Innocent Palestinians should not lose their lives because of the actions of the Israeli regime.
“The only way to secure peace between Israelis and Palestinians is for a just political settlement based on the end of the occupation of Palestinian territories and an end to discriminatory apartheid policies, settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing.”
“We strongly oppose Israel’s actions, which some describe as a ‘second Nakba’ or ethnic cleansing. “We’re calling for a complete military embargo on Israel, similar to what was applied to apartheid-era South Africa.
“It’s crucial that the International Criminal Court conducts a thorough and quick investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity, including genocide and apartheid.”
On Sunday morning (15/10/23), residents of Sheffield pulled on their wellies and headed out to the city’s Eastern Moors to plant moss. They were motivated by the air pollution from so-called “controlled burning” on private shooting estates that engulfed the city over the last week.
Green Party activist Peter Gilbert, who coordinated the volunteers, told how, “People contacted me saying that they had been struggling to breath due to the smog. They wanted to do something positive and planting moss was a practical way they could help our moorland.”
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), burning the moors damages peatland, emitting CO2 and reducing biodiversity.
Peter said, “Sphagnum moss is an essential part of healthy peatland and planting it can help degraded sites recover. It plays an important role in the creation and continuation of peat bogs. The spongy moss holds water long after the surrounding soil has dried out, helping to prevent the decay of dead plant material. It is this preserved organic matter that gets compressed over hundreds of years to form peat and store carbon. It also helps reduce the risk of flooding by slowing the downhill flow of water from the moors during storms.”
Spagnum moss
The Eastern Moors Partnership, who the volunteers came to help, is a joint venture between the National Trust and the RSPB, managing the Eastern Moors on behalf of the Peak District National Park Authority and Burbage Moors on behalf of Sheffield City Council. In these areas, burning is no longer carried out. Instead, the emphasis is on “rewetting” areas of bog and mire so that they store water, increase flood and fire resilience, and capture carbon. This is done through blocking ditches and gullies, raising the water table, cutting dominant vegetation such as heather, and planting sphagnum moss.
Green Councillor Toby Mallinson was among the volunteers on Sunday and said, “blood sports are banned on Council-owned land but there is still burning happening on private shooting estates within the City boundaries, affecting residents across the city.”
Afterwards many of the volunteers went to see TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham as part of Off The Shelf festival. Packham raised the issue of moorland burning and afterwards tweeted, “They just don’t care at all. Not about the planet, not about ecology and not about all the kids with asthma in Sheffield. It’s time to shut this down.”
The Eastern Moors Partnership is part of a wider vision for the area under the Sheffield Moors Partnership (SMP). This enables joined up thinking between adjacent land management, benefiting wildlife and people on a greater scale. https://www.visit-eastern-moors.org.uk
Sheffield Green Party Councillors have proposed a new delivery hub for businesses in Sheffield City Centre.
Councillor Maleiki Haybe, a Councillor for the Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Ward, said,
On Sunday morning (15/10/23), residents of Sheffield pulled on their wellies and headed out to the city’s Eastern Moors to plant moss. They were motivated by the air pollution from so-called “controlled burning” on private shooting estates that engulfed the city over the last week. 