Andrew Cooper | Sheffield Green Party

Green Councillors have spoken out against the sale of council housing at Sheffield Full Council.

The Liberal Democrats on Sheffield City Council submitted a motion titled “Protecting our Social Housing stock” for debate but rejected a Green call to abolish the right to buy

Councillor Douglas Johnson said,

“What was frustrating reading the Liberal Democrat motion was that they correctly identified the problem but stopped short of providing a solution, which is to abolish the Right to Buy council houses.

“The evidence that we need to protect council housing and abolish the Right to Buy is overwhelming. 4 out of 10 young people are unable to afford the cheapest home in their area (1). Private rented housing is becoming harder to find and 34% of private tenants are regarded as living in poverty and trapped in poor quality housing (2). Only 5% of private rented properties are regarded as affordable for housing benefit recipients.(3)

“Over 22,000 people are on Sheffield City Council’s housing register and the council is losing hundreds of council houses to Right to Buy every year. The demand is increasing while the supply is diminishing.

“If the Right to Buy policy is to promote home ownership, we know that over 40% of council houses end up as private rented properties. (4) So the policy is failing even on its own terms.

“The Lib Dems say in their motion that the Council should retain 100% of the Right to Buy income from the sale of council housing, but the price the home is sold for is highly discounted anyway, based on how long the tenant has lived there and will never be enough to build an equivalent council house. The Lib Dems also say that the council should have the power to set the discount on the price to a tenant buying a council house, but why sell it at all? It makes more sense to just abolish the Right to Buy and stop losing valuable council housing”.

It was disappointing that neither the Labour nor LibDem group support our calls to abolish the Right to Buy,”

Notes

1 – Institute of Fiscal Studies report into barriers to home ownership.

https://ifs.org.uk/books/barriers-homeownership-young-adults

2 – Institute of Fiscal Studies Report into Housing Quality and Affordability for low income households.

Housing quality and affordability for lower-income households | Institute for Fiscal Studies (ifs.org.uk)

3 – Nationwide Foundation – Vulnerability in the Private Sector

Vulnerability in the Private Rented Sector in England (nationwidefoundation.org.uk)

4. House of Lords Library report into the Right to Buy

https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/right-to-buy-past-present-and-future/

Christine Gilligan Kubo — Cllr Christine Gilligan

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ordered a review of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), saying that he is on the side of drivers and is supporting people to “use their cars to do all the things that matter to them.”

He argues the LTNs harm the freedom of motorists.

It seems this government is willing to put the lives of our children and grandchildren at risk by refusing to fund any more Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and scrapping existing ones.This is a massively backwards attitude that shows the Tory government is not serious about road safety, tackling climate change, improving air quality in local neighbourhoods, encouraging more active lifestyles and better health outcomes.

Around 200 LTNs have been set up since 2020. They aim to reduce through-traffic in residential streets to encourage people to walk, cycle or use public transport. People who need to drive to their homes or visit friends can still drive to homes in an LTN.

They open up networks of streets so people can safely travel through the area on foot, bicycle, using wheelchairs or by bus. They can also create spaces to play and to socialise.

Reducing motor traffic, reduces air pollution, noise pollution and road collisions and makes the character of residential streets more pleasant, inclusive and safer for people to walk and cycle.
Making space on our streets is key to achieving cleaner air and a lower carbon footprint whilst building healthier, safer and more resilient communities.

Many car journeys in Sheffield are under a mile and these short distances can easily be walked or cycled if people feel safer on their streets.

Removing existing LTNs and cancelling funding for future schemes is not harming the freedom of motorists. It is harming the future of our city, our children’s health and our planet.

Cllr Christine Gilligan Kubo,
Sheffield Green Party

Sheffield Greens have called for more support for Sheffield City’s NHS Walk-In Centre following it receiving an “Inadequate” rating from the Care Quality Commission. (1)

Green Party Deputy Leader Angela Argenzio said,

“I’d like to thank the Care Quality Commission for their report and highlighting areas of concern.

“The performance of the NHS Walk In Centre cannot be viewed in isolation from the under-resourcing of the wider NHS family.

“With people finding access to their own GPs more difficult, especially personal appointments and with long waiting times at Accident and Emergency Departments, there is a knock-on effect on well used services like the NHS Walk-In Centre. In many ways the Centre acts as the canary in the coal mine, showing, through increased demand, the pressures that exist in the NHS as a whole.

The Green Party recognises the value of the Walk-In Centre which is why we have campaigned to keep it open. We also need to work with the NHS and the Council to see how we can improve the service and lobby for the funding it needs to be effective.”

Cllr Douglas Johnson, Leader of the Green Group said,

“The finding that the Walk-In Centre is understaffed and overstretched should be no surprise after 13 years of Tory austerity and the creation of a health “market” by the previous Labour government.

“A truly meaningful response to this judgement would be to properly fund the NHS. Viewing the performance of the NHS Walk-In Centre in isolation at best gives an incomplete picture and at worst completely ignores its relationship with other health services. Demand for services at the Centre would be a lot less if everyone in the city had good access to their own local doctors.

“To respond to the CQC, we need to look not just at how we can improve the Walk In Centre but also how we can get the Government to recognise that all the customer-facing parts of the NHS should be funded and resourced properly to keep people out of hospital.”

Notes

(1) CQC Report into the NHS Walk-In Centre
Urgent – 1-361166596 Sheffield City GP Health Centre (26/07/2023) INS2-15322122231 (cqc.org.uk)

Sheffield Green councillors have been beavering away on a project to look at reducing flooding and improving the natural environment.

Cllr Douglas Johnson is Sheffield City Council’s representative on the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, which has just approved £96,000 to look at the prospect of reintroducing beavers within the city boundary.

He said,

“As the risk of catastrophic flooding increases due to climate change, more attention is being turned to Nature-Based Solutions. (1) I have argued that funding for flood risk management needs to focus more on natural flood management as a way of future-proofing climate change resilience. So I am really pleased we have this innovative source of funds to support a beaver project.

“The study gives us the opportunity to examine the issues close to a major city, where thousands of homes and businesses are at risk of flooding.

“By slowing down the rate of water flow from the large upland areas to the west of Sheffield, we have the potential to safeguard homes, businesses and infrastructure in our city and further downstream in Rotherham and Doncaster.

“This funding outcome is down to the hard work of council staff working together in flood risk management and ecology, as well as external partners.”

Cllr Marieanne Elliot, who set up a nature emergency working group, said,

“This is a really positive step towards recognising that beavers can play a vital role in natural flood management (NFM).

“Other councils have got projects underway and this an opportunity for Sheffield to show that we are serious about the benefits of re- introducing this keystone species.

“Beavers are brilliant ecological engineers. They create and maintain habitats; fish and other creatures benefit from their presence. Their dams improve water quality and slow the flow of water to help prevent flooding.

“The funding will be used to see if we have areas suitable for beaver habitats. “

Notes

(1) – Nature Based Solutions – Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust (wildsheffield.com)

Green Councillors on Sheffield’s Transport, Regeneration and Climate Change Committee have welcomed all-party agreement on bus priority improvements on Ecclesall Road, Abbeydale Road and London Road.

The report was passed unanimously by Councillors from all parties. (1)

The report made clear that further measures could be considered once an assessment of how effective these proposals were once implemented and said:

“Any implementation of these works will trigger a subsequent review. This will be undertaken to determine if further bus priority measures are required. This may include options to amend bus lane hours of operation along these corridors and the enhanced enforcement of parking and loading restrictions with red routes. “

Councillor Christine Gilligan, Deputy Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Change Committee said,

“I welcome the unanimous support for the range of proposals, starting with the improvements to junctions and the introduction of camera enforcement on bus lanes. These roads are subject to serious congestion and this has severely impacted on the reliability of bus services which are subject to significant delays.

“It is also important to acknowledge that Councillors of all parties have committed themselves to review the scheme and see if further bus priority measures might be required at a later date” (2)

Councillor Douglas Johnson, Leader of the Green Group said

“It was nice to see an outbreak of cross-party working. Work can now go ahead on junction improvements and then we can consider further bus priority measures later should they be needed.

“As Greens, we support measures that promote public transport, which helps with the cost of living as well as tackling climate change.

“I am also very pleased to see the committee approve improvements to walking, cycling, traffic management and parking in Kelham Island. As a ward councillor, I have been discussing this with residents for many years. This will make Kelham Island more joined up with the city centre, promote walking, cycling and public transport and improve the local environment where so many people live.”

Cllr Ruth Mersereau said:

“It’s very welcome news that the committee has unanimously approved further progressing the Kelham Island and Neepsend scheme. This has been designed to help to reduce bus journey times and to provide safer, more direct and attractive walking and cycling routes from these two neighbourhoods to the city centre.”

NOTES

(Public Pack)Agenda Document for Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, 19/07/2023 14:00 (sheffield.gov.uk)

2.Councillors endorsed the report that explains “a red route would include replacing yellow lines with red lines to allow more effective camera enforcement of illegal parking. Red routes are one option available to Traffic Authorities to enforce illegal parking or loading more effectively. However, parking, loading and unloading can still be accommodated on red route corridors during certain periods. The determining factor for the times that parking is allowed on red routes are normally the hours of operation of bus lanes, or those periods when corridors experience congestion. For example, a red route could be introduced on a corridor that has morning and afternoon peak period bus lanes.”

The report also confirms overall project sentiment from people living in the area 45% positive to 43% negative, despite a prominent campaign against bus priority

Cllrs Christine Gilligan and Ruth Mersereau

Green Party Councillors have welcomed new City Council plans to tackle climate change.

The ‘Climate Decarbonisation Routemaps: Our Council and the way we travel’, was presented to the Council’s Transport, Regeneration and Climate Change Committee on Wednesday. (1)

The 10 Point Plan for Climate Action that was agreed by the Cooperative Executive in March 2022 by Green Councillors in cooperation with Labour, committed the Council to develop routemaps to decarbonisation across seven areas:

Our Council,
The Way We Travel;
Our Homes;
Energy generation and storage;
Our Land;
Our Business and Economy
What We Buy, Eat and Throw Away

This is the first of those routemaps focusing on travel and the Council’s own carbon emissions.
The Council activities to reduce its own emissions are focused on improving the energy performance of council housing and the Council’s own buildings. There are plans to reduce emissions from street lighting and the council’s vehicle fleet. The plan also seeks to ensure that the council makes decisions and procures goods and services in a way that minimises carbon emissions.

The plans to improve the way we travel in Sheffield focus on improving routes and facilities that enable as many people as possible to make journeys by walking, cycling and wheeling. The plan seeks to improve the low-carbon public transport network to provide attractive alternatives to private vehicle journeys. There is also a focus on finding ways to ensure goods and services are provided through a low-carbon LGV/HGV and freight/delivery system to reduce vehicle journeys and road traffic. The plan also has a real benefit to health outcomes with decreased vehicle emissions and improved air quality through a shift to electric and zero-emission vehicles.

Cllr Christine Gilligan who is Deputy Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Change Board said,

“I am really pleased that these route maps are coming to our committee and I look forward to progress reports on future route maps and updates on the actions that fall out of these current route maps. Greens will keep the pressure on to make sure the plans are implemented.

“The route map, The way we travel, highlights the urgency of this agenda – look at what is happening in Europe at the moment with record breaking heat events.

“In terms of transport we need everyone in the city to act. We need more public transport, walking and cycling to reduce our dependence on cars. As a council we have the powers to change our car centric culture and this plan stresses the importance of a modal shift in transport. The goal is that by 2030 there will be a 65% reduction in transport related emissions but currently we are facing traffic growth and a 35% increase in journey times This increases not only carbon emissions but also air pollution so I really hope that this committee will fully take on board the need for change and continue to give their full support to all the actions in this road map. We have a responsibility to the citizens of Sheffield to act on the climate crisis now.”

Cllr Ruth Mersereau who is also a member of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Change Committee said:

“As a council, we have committed to reduce our emissions by 95% and to cut transport emissions by 65% by 2030 – this is only 6 and a half years away. The need to address climate change is becoming even more urgent, so I’m really pleased that we have a routemap designed to help us to navigate the actions we need to take.

“This routemap spells out how we can minimise the effects of climate change in our city. Taking these actions gives us a fantastic opportunity to improve public health and well-being, and also bring a range of other positives including creating new jobs, improving our relationship with nature, improving road safety and community safety, and lowering energy costs.”

Notes

(1) Draft Protocol for Cabinet Reports (sheffield.gov.uk)

Councillors Bernard Little and Marieanne Elliot in a very leafy environment — Cllrs Bernard Little and Marieanne Elliot

Green councillors Marieanne Elliot and Bernard Little welcome a new task group looking at biodiversity and call for partners.

Wednesday 12th July saw the first meeting of the task group that Cllr Elliot established under authority of the council’s Communities, Parks and Leisure Policy Committee. The task group will look at nature recovery and improving biodiversity.

Speaking after the first meeting, Cllr Elliot said,

“Now we have got this task group underway, we invite organisations working on nature recovery in Sheffield to get in touch if they would like to participate.”

“The Council declared a Nature Emergency in June 2021. We know that many species are in decline and we need to take a holistic approach to environmental land management if we are serious about nature recovery in Sheffield.

“Sheffield’s ecology is hugely varied and highly important for people’s well being, tourism, a viable environment and for a secure future.

“We have a wealth of knowledge and experience in Sheffield to draw on; numerous nature- focused organisations and a long standing history of excellent city ecologists.

“Our ecologists are experts in their field and their work is highly valued. Over the last few years they have been working with partners to map Sheffield’s natural capital and ecosystems to highlight areas of high biodiversity potential. Their work has contributed to a regional mapping project and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority have recently been granted £241,265 to progress with a Local Nature Recovery Strategy. This is very welcome news.”

Cllr Bernard Little added,

“The Group will engage with key groups in the city, such as The Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and the Green Spaces Forum with its over 100 Friends of Groups and the nationwide “People’s Plan for Nature.

“The challenge is to reverse The loss of 30 million birds have been lost and around two-thirds of our insects in the last 50 years.

“For Sheffield to be a Green City, we have to learn to live as part of nature, not apart from it.”

REFERENCES

1. The membership of the group is 2 councillors from each of the Green, Labour and LibDem groups.
2. At its first meeting, LibDem and Labour councillors voted together to appoint a Labour councillor to chair the group. The Deputy Chair is a Green councillor.
3. The group meets in private and will report to the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee in due course.

Cllr Alexi Dimond in one of the Callow Tower Blocks where CCTV & steel shutters have been installed.

Green Councillors in Gleadless Valley have secured CCTV and steel shutters protecting the communal rooms (which have been the target of vandalism) for blocks of flats on Callow Drive. The Newfield Block has been subject to arson attacks and Callow Drive was also the scene of the murder of 25 year old Abdullah Hassan in April this year.

The security measures were installed as part of the Council’s CCTV renewal programme, following a long campaign by Greens, who had offered to pay for CCTV out of their ward budgets. Green Councillors got the Council to commit to doing Newfield Block and Callow Towers first as they had no CCTV installed in the first place.

It’s been reported that there have been at least 14 arson attacks in the block prior to the murder in April including one to a wheelie bin inside the communal area of the block and another in the laundry room.

Gleadless Valley Green Party Cllr Alexi Dimond said:

“I have been working with residents to demand CCTV be installed in the Callow Blocks for two years since I was elected in May 2021.

“The Callow Tower blocks were to my knowledge the only high rise blocks in the city not to have CCTV and were subject to numerous arson attacks over the last few years.

“Sadly the CCTV was not installed earlier as it may have prevented the tragic murder of Abdullah Hassan.

“I hope these measures will help people in the Callow Blocks feel more secure and reduce the risk of further incidents in the future.”

Green councillors have called on Sheffield City Council to reaffirm its commitment to help refugees and asylum seekers and Sheffield’s status as a City of Sanctuary,

The motion, which has been developed in collaboration with people seeking sanctuary, campaigners & members of other parties, asks the Council to:

Sign the ‘Fight the Anti-Refugee Laws’ pledge and join the “Lift the Ban” coalition
refuse to adopt and enforce new housing regulations which discriminate against migrants
call on the government to withdraw the UK-Rwanda agreement, repeal the Nationality and Borders Act, Illegal Migration Bill
call on the government to recognise the impact of climate change as a legitimate reason to seek safety
reaffirm our status as a City of Sanctuary, and work with the Local Authorities of Sanctuary network to ensure we are meeting the accreditation criteria
investigate ways to fund advice to asylum seekers which was previously delivered by the Sheffield Law Centre
work in partnership with organisations and people with lived experience of the asylum system to identify strategies for mitigating the adverse effects of government policies within Sheffield
introduce a Councillor ‘Migrant Champion’
.
Councillor Alexi Dimond, Green Councillor for Gleadless Valley said,

“Sheffield is rightly proud of being a welcoming city which strives to be inclusive of everyone. However a lot has changed since we first declared ourselves the UK’s first City of Sanctuary. Violence & persecution has increased as the world has been destabilised by a dysfunctional system fueling conflict and climate change.

“We have had 13 years of an increasingly far right Conservative government which seeks to blame the most vulnerable people for its own failings. Racist policies & avoidable tragedies such as the deaths of up to 650 migrants in the Mediterranean means it is more vital than ever to reaffirm Sheffield as a City of Sanctuary and oppose the government’s hostile environment.

“Sheffield Green Party hopes that all the parties in Sheffield will be able to support this vital motion, which follows the amazing success of the Migration Matters festival – the biggest celebration of migration in the UK.”

REFERENCES

1) Green councillors will also be asking for a minute’s silence to remember the 650 migrating people who drowned off the Greek coast
2) Migration matters website is https://www.migrationmattersfestival.co.uk/

Green Campaigner Rachel Hope with Green Councillor Marieanne Elliot collecting signatures for their petition to save the 10/10a bus service.

Sheffield Green councillors have welcomed the forthcoming return of the number 10/10a bus service. The circular service linked Gleadless Valley and Heeley, Nether Edge, Broomhill and Netherthorpe through to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and was withdrawn last August.

In September last year, Greens supported a petition initiated by Gleadless Valley Tenants and Residents Association to save the bus service. Green Councillors, Alexi Dimond, Marieanne Elliot and Paul Turpin together with Sally Pedley of Gleadless Valley Tenants and Residents Association wrote an open letter (1) to South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard asking him to intervene and seek another operator to run the service.

Gleadless Valley Green Councillor Alexi Dimond said,

“This is great news and I’d like to thank the TARA and everyone who was involved in the campaign to restore the service. As soon as the service was cut, Green Councillors worked with the TARA to create a petition. We have played our part in keeping the petition going because we never gave up hope that a service that is so valued, particularly by many elderly residents, would return.

“I would like to thank the Mayor Oliver Coppard for his intervention and for listening to those of us in the community who have been fighting these cuts for many months.

“Unfortunately many bus services across Sheffield remain in a tenuous position due to rising costs and we need to be ever vigilant to ensure services are maintained. Many people on the lowest incomes cannot afford cars or taxis and so cuts like these affect people on the lowest incomes the most. That is why government support is so necessary, particularly at a time when so many households are under extreme cost of living pressures.”

Gleadless Valley Green Councillor Marieanne Elliot said,

“As soon as we knew that the number 10 was going to stop running we started campaigning. I’m very pleased that the campaign has been successful. Over 1000 signatures were collected by the Gleadless Valley TARA and Green councillors because of the real impacts the loss of this service has had. Thank you to everyone who signed – it really made a positive difference.”

Cllr Paul Turpin says,

“This service is vital for people across Sheffield who need to get to the hospital, whether it be for healthcare or to work. Clearly, this bus route means a lot to those who need it and I’m glad it is finally being reinstated.

“It hasn’t escaped me that the loss of the service when Powells folded could have been avoided if the service wasn’t simply granted to the company with the lowest tender in the first place. Reliability and quality of service should always be a priority in these circumstances.”

Cllr Brian Holmshaw, Green Party Councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale said:

“The 10/10a is a vital service for getting to and from the Hallamshire Hospital from Endcliffe, Sharrow Vale, Hunters Bar and Brocco Bank and for young people attending King Edwards VII School and the primary schools in the area. Local councillors in the city campaigned hard for it’s return on behalf of our constituents, and I’m pleased to see that the Mayor’s office have responded positively.”

Cllr Bernard Little, Green Party Councillor for Walkley said,

“I am delighted for residents who depend on the number 10 in getting to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and shop in Upperthorpe.”

Photo – Green Campaigner Rachel Hope with Green Councillor Marieanne Elliot collecting signatures for their petition to save the 10/10a bus service.

Notes

(1) The TARA and councillors’ letter can be found at: Open Letter calling for number 10/10a bus service to be restored from Gleadless Valley Green Councillors and Gleadless Valley TARA | Sheffield Green Party

(2) The 10/10a route will operate from 24th July and will be run by Stagecoach.

Author: Andrew Cooper

“Abolish the Right to Buy” say Greens

Letter to The Star – How low will this Tory government stoop to boost its re-election chances?

Greens call for greater support for NHS Walk In Centre

Greens welcome beaver funding to help tackle flood risk

Greens welcome all-party agreement on improvements to Bus Corridors.

Green Councillors welcome Council plans to address climate change as record temperatures are recorded across the world.

Greens lead on Nature Recovery task group.

Greens win safety scheme for troubled blocks

Greens call on Council to recommit to its support for migrants.

Greens welcome the restoration of the 10/10a bus service