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Vote for Toby Mallinson in Hillsborough
Author: Graham Wroe
Devastating impacts from the loss of the 52A from Hillsborough to Wadsley, Wisewood and Loxley.
Councillor George Lindars-Hammond’s suggestion that other parties “are blocking better bus services for Wisewood and Wadsley” (Letters April 28) is nonsense.
A meaningless Labour stunt staged in a council meeting helps no one. Bus services are controlled by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority not Sheffield City Council.
Following the service cuts last October, Hillsborough Green councillors suggested a shuttle bus solution directly to the elected Labour Mayor Oliver Coppard. Only the mayor can create and fund new bus services.
The loss of the 52A from Hillsborough Interchange through to Wadsley, Wisewood and Loxley has had devastating impacts:
Working people and parents lost a frequent, direct service to central Sheffield and to key employers such as the hospitals and universities plus secondary schools. It forces people to drive where they have access to a car.
Older and vulnerable people lost a frequent, 7 days a week, option for daily shopping, medical appointments or just going out and about. The replacement 31 often fails to turn up or is full. It only runs hourly in the daytime and not on Sundays.
Hillsborough Greens regret this misrepresentation of the hard work that all local councillors are doing to restore adequate bus services following the changes last October. Councillors should be working collaboratively on this vital issue, not divisively.
Greens across South Yorkshire will not give up pushing the mayor, bus companies and the Conservative Government to provide the investment and services we need across all local communities
Toby Mallinson
Council election candidate, Hillsborough Green Party
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Housing is key for Greens
Dear Editor
City Ward Green councillors, Sheffield Green Party and the Green Party nationally are committed to high housing standards. Housing issues form much of our enquiries, including from students.
In City Ward, we have supported:
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Students affected by the cost of living price hike that was applied to supposedly fixed-cost packages
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Residents affected by damp, mould and pest issues
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Residents who have been placed in inappropriate housing for their medical needs
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Residents, in commenting on planning and licensing applications that would affect their quality of housing, from loss of light, loss of privacy and sometimes even loss of sleep, as well as objecting to flats that are too small for good quality of living
We are also in contact with those affected by the ongoing horrendous building safety crisis. Much more Government support for residents is required, both to ensure residents’ safety and to release them from flats they cannot sell.
The Green Party are committed to a better quality of housing, supporting and proposing insulation programmes for warmer homes, lower energy bills and lower carbon emissions. We support action on unaffordable rents by using rent controls, more council housing built to the highest energy efficiency standards, and city-wide landlord licensing.
As my colleague Cllr Douglas Johnson, chair of the Housing committee, said in his budget speech, “We believe in good public services”. This is one of the reasons that we believe public services should be in public ownership, a view unfortunately no longer shared by Labour who, under Keir Starmer, have abandoned commitments to bring into public ownership services such as energy and water.
As City Ward councillors, we are regularly in touch with residents, attending regular community group meetings across the ward, and contacting residents about proposals or ideas. We are also contactable for casework by phone or email.
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Water company Chief Executives receive £15m in bonuses while sewage is dumped in our rivers.
Dear Editor
As global temperatures continue to increase it is clear we need to do something to maintain the security of our water supply. Increasing incidences of extremely heavy rain caused by climate change are also creating more problems for water companies as our current system of sewers can be overwhelmed.
The plans by Severn Trent Water Company to double the size of reservoirs such as Ladybower however are premature when so much of our water is wasted through leaking pipes.
Before considering such drastic action which will have a terrible impact on Derbyshire’s environment and biodiversity we should bring the water companies back into public ownership, to stop the money flowing out of the company to rich shareholders when it should be invested in improving the system.
The staggering figure of 151,329,000,000 litres of water lost by Severn Trent due to leaks in 2020/21 shows the complete lack of accountability the company has.
Not only are the companies losing phenomenal amounts of clean water, but they also continue to discharge raw sewage into our waterways. Despite sewage being pumped into our rivers and seas 825 times a day last year, water company CEOs received nearly £15 million in bonuses. Water company shareholder dividends should be stopped until sewage and infrastructure repairs have been resolved.
Green Party Candidate for Ecclesall.
Sign the petition by Greenspaces
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Sheffield Labour Party have learnt absolutely nothing from the Lowcock Report
A letter to the Sheffield Star
I was horrified to see the letter from Cllr Peter Price (Sheffield Star 10/04/23 not yet online) which confirmed that the Sheffield Labour Party have learnt absolutely nothing from the Lowcock Report.
He continues to blame trees for damaging the pavements when it has been shown that in the majority of cases, the terrible state of the pavement was not caused by the trees but by many layers of tarmac. When this excess tarmac was removed in the vast majority of cases it was then possible to resurface or modify the pavement without chopping the tree down. Other trees were targeted because they had slightly moved the kerb.
Where trees were found to be damaging or discriminatory (making life difficult for wheelchair users/parents with pushchairs/mobility scooters etc) the issues should have been addressed using one of the recommended 14 Engineering and Tree-Based Solutions. These practical alternatives to tree removal are used as standard by Local Authorities in the UK and had already been paid for under the terms of the PFI contract. In Sheffield they were ignored whilst Sheffield Labour Councillors routinely lied about them and healthy trees were needlessly destroyed.
Many of the beautiful healthy street trees throughout the city were chopped down because they were wrongly accused of being damaging or discriminatory by the Council. In Shiregreen this happened before the campaigners became aware of it. Peter Price remains completely unapologetic.
He praises Cllrs Fox and Lodge, continuing to ignore the ecocide they presided over and the £400,000 of Council Tax payer’s money wasted on legal proceedings against tree campaigners who have now been completely vindicated. Councillors Price, Fox and Lodge should resign their posts on the Council now.
Graham Wroe
Manor Castle Green Party
The original letter from Cllr Price
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Misunderstanding about how Sheffield has been governed for the past year.
There is a lot of misunderstanding – not least from Star contributors and journalists themselves – about how Sheffield has been governed for the past year. After the successful referendum to abolish the anti-democratic “strong leader” or cabinet system where only 10 Councillors made all the decisions, in May 2022 Sheffield moved to a committee system, where all Councillors have a say.
There were then negotiations between the three largest parties resulting in a joint administration of Labour, the Lib Dems and the Green Party, with power shared proportionately by each, based on their respective number of councillors (39 Labour, 29 Lib Dem, 14 Green).
The Conservative and the one independent Councillor were not part of this agreement and not part of the administration.
A politically proportionate committee system – with no Party currently having a majority on any committee – has meant for better policy to be made on a more transparent and consensual basis. Yes, there are things to be improved upon: there needs to be more engagement with local communities, experts and groups impacted by policies. However, the committee system is something to be strengthened and developed. It allows politicians to concentrate on common goals rather than argue about what they disagree on, especially at a time of tough financial challenges.
The biggest threat to the committee system and to a Council which makes good decisions would be a Labour majority in the current local elections. The recent deselection of their candidate for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale for comments they made “about the need for reform, greater accountability and transparency at the council off the back of the Sheffield tree inquiry“* is a warning that the current Sheffield Labour leadership has no intention of learning the lessons of the Tree Dispute.
Green Party Councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale
*Sheffield Star 6th April. https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/sheffield-labour-local-election-candidate-deselected-over-tree-felling-comments-4095662
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Support our Crowdfunder!
Please support and share our Crowdfunder.
We need to reach our target of £2000 before April 23rd.
You can find out about our local election campaign here.
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Why post is not arriving in Hillsborough, Walkley and across the city.
Senior bosses at Royal Mail have just been hauled before a Parliamentary Select Committee. Their report outlined that the company had “systematically failed to deliver” the universal service obligation to deliver letters, prioritising more lucrative parcels instead.
You may be experiencing this in your household. We’ve been talking to posties who tell us that previous full staffing has been replaced by a new system with inadequate staffing that now requires 15% overtime to cover all rounds. It’s impacting Hillsborough, Stannington and Walkey in my sorting office area and deliveries on your road could now be entirely reliant on staff doing enough overtime.
These roads are sometimes seeing no post for a week and then it all arrives in one bundle. One customer told us they had posted a letter to themselves first class in desperation to test the system and were still waiting for it a week later.
We’ve been told that Royal Mail got behind in Sheffield during the snow and ice in December and has yet to get back on top of deliveries under this new system which management know does not work.
Current strikes in public services are not just about pay. They are about long hours and poor working conditions leading to demotivated staff delivering poor service to customers. Strike votes are reaching the required threshold backed by massive public support as union membership soars. Even headteachers have indicated a willingness to strike.
Please thank your local postie for keeping things going despite the incompetence of Royal Mail’s management. They want the failings of the new systems to reach management at the highest levels so please submit a complaint via their website if you need to.
We also need the government to recognise the need to properly fund public services and pay staff adequately for the valuable jobs they perform on our behalf.
Council election candidate, Hillsborough Green Party
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The sad state of the Labour Party
Dear Editor
G Shepherd makes some very good points about the sad state of the Labour Party. (Star letters 4th April) I think they would be far more at home in the Green Party.
We have been proud to support striking workers campaigning for a fair wage.
We demand not only that the NHS is protected and safeguarded from privatisation, but that the Government funds it properly so we can once again be proud of our health service.
We believe in freedom of speech and openness and certainly wouldn’t ban candidates from watching a film. I presume they were talking about “Oh Jeremy Corbyn:the big lie.”
Sheffield Greens have recently joined the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and have no qualms about speaking out against the injustice the Palestinian people are facing.
G Shepherd does not mention the Lowcock Report on the tree dispute which showed how untrustworthy some of our Labour politicians are.
G Shepherd would be most welcome to join us in the Green Party!
Green Party Candidate for Fulwood
G Shepherds letter is below. (it does not appear to be on the Star website)
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Sheffield Greens launch election campaign to tackle inequalities alongside climate crisis
Sheffield Green Party have launched their city council election campaign with a pledge to tackle inequalities at the same time as climate change.
The party is standing candidates in all 28 wards in the Sheffield City Council elections that take place on May 4. All wards have three councillors and one-third of seats are up for election this year. A crowdfunder has been launched to help cover the costs of the campaign.
Paul Turpin, who is standing for a second term in Gleadless Valley ward, said: “It all comes down to tackling inequalities – in income or health or even down to clean air. We’re talking about levelling up on that.
“People living in the most deprived areas have the lowest healthy life expectancy and the highest air pollution. By tackling those issues, that is how we tackle the climate emergency.
“We’ll do the right thing even if it’s the hardest. We don’t put votes first, we work on principles and do our best for the people. It all comes down to that.
“A lot of people are concerned with the cost-of-living crisis and with air quality. It’s all connected.
“Fifty per cent of people in our ward don’t own a car and public transport is not fit for purpose. If we can sort out transport, we can sort out air quality. If we can sort out housing, then we can sort out the cost-of-living crisis.”
Toby Mallinson is standing in Hillsborough ward. He is a teacher and joint secretary of Sheffield NEU education union.
He said: “People are most upset about losing the 52a bus which is a lifeline. It is essential for people who are employed at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital who travel from Wisewood.
“A lot of old people can’t get to their families and shops. They’re relying on a replacement service, the 31, which is too small, too inadequate and doesn’t operate out of hours. Older people are marooned.
“It is an ongoing crisis that hasn’t been resolved. There’s not much I can promise as a councillor as the service is run by the South Yorkshire Mayor and private companies. We want the bus companies brought back under public control and to be a public service, not a profit-making enterprise.”
Bev Bennett is standing for the first time in Nether Edge and Sharrow, the area where she grew up. She said: “There is a lot of knife crime. There is nowhere for the children to go.”
A full-time carer, mum of four and grandmother of five, she said: “I am campaigning to get safe spaces, community centres and youth clubs for them to go to, so they can come off the streets and drug dealers are not going to exploit them.
“My grandchildren always tell me they have nowhere to go. It is affecting their mental health as well, we’ve all been locked up for three years. I want to do something about it.”
Many thanks to Julia Armstrong for this article.
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