Winter 2000

Editorial

Whether you love or hate the motor car, it is a dominant feature of our lives today. For many the mobility it provides is crucial to work, for visiting friends and relatives or doing the shopping. It does however create numerous problems in Bradway, one of which is parking.

In our last issue we mentioned the clamping signs in front of businesses on Bradway Road. These are perhaps understandable, as the parking areas provided here and on Twentywell Lane, are designed for shoppers/customers, not all-day parking for people working locally, playing golf or commuting.

Local businesses depend on a steady flow of customers and it is a fact that if people cannot park by the shops, they will move on somewhere else. Nobody wants this to happen, as we all benefit from access to local shops, particularly the less mobile. The old adage “use them or loose them” is all too true in the supermarket economy of today. A little consideration in where and for how long people park would not go amiss.

It seems there is after all some local interest in our  getting a bigger say in how we lead our lives locally, possibly through the medium of a Parish Council. There is also a suggestion of direct action by residents to deal with local problems (see letters). And the campaign for a pedestrian crossing on Bradway Road seems to be gaining momentum, although this is not the only traffic black spot in Bradway.  The truth is, that if we want to improve aspects of our lives, it is no good moaning to friends and neighbours: the best way is to take the initiative!

Finally it is good to see the new Bradway Agewell Leisure Club up and running. We wish them well for the future.

John Baker, Editor

Silver Surfers

Silver Surfers is a term used to describe people over 55 who regularly access the Internet. As almost one million do this now, and the number is growing fast. The communications technology allows contact with friends and family all over the world in matters of a few seconds, for the price of a local phone call. It also brings a world of information to your finger tips.

A new site aimed at older surfers has been set up at www.retirement-matters.co.uk This is a one-stop directory for all retirement related products, services and information. It covers travel, housing, leisure, legal & financial services, entertainment and lifestyle subjects to name but a few. If you are a silver surfer, why not pay a visit.

There are lots of useful links from the Bradway web site. Try it.

Post Box

Dear Sir,

I hope the editor has had a good response to the letter (last issue) from Roy Cooper about Bradway having a parish council.

I often think that local democracy has become diluted for outlying areas such as Dore, Totley and Bradway. It is now probably largely forgotten that before Sheffield took over these areas in 1934-35, we did have parish councils. Dore and Totley each had councils of 7 members. Bradway was part of  Norton and that had a parish council of 11 members. All three areas, together with Beauchief, also elected members to the next unit of local government, Norton Rural District Council.

The numbers living in these local districts was of course tiny compared with today, so the proportion of elected representatives per head of population was impressive. In fact the number of people living in Bradway alone today equals that of many small towns, larger than Bakewell or Baslow. Bradway deserves its own unit of local government. Some areas within the City of Sheffield do still have parish councils, Stannington and other places to the north west of the city.

The powers of a parish council may be very limited, but they can influence so many of the small things that matter to local people, as Mr. Cooper says ‘grass verges, road signs and litter etc’. Also traffic safety, the maintenance of paths, the painting of the many rusty metal fences, the clearing of weed infested verges and acting as a guardian to prevent the selling of our limited open spaces for other development.

We need a few people to act together to organise a campaign to take this idea forward.

Tony Smith

Ed. Not many letters but several expressions of interest. A meeting of interested people to discuss how the interests of Bradway could be better represented will be held in December.

Dear Sir,

Just what is the point of inviting people to object to housing developments in their areas, when on the whole, money and developers get their way, with disregard to the views and wishes of the local people.

 Setting aside ‘nimbeism’ many people in the area agree that the need is for a sensible mix of different sized accommodation, not just what builders find most profitable. That way young people can hope to start out here and older people, as their ‘children fly the nest’, will not be forced to leave the area in search of smaller housing elsewhere.

Even if local planners do listen to local voices, complaints, preferences, suggestions, and turn down an application, often the builder will re-submit his plans, slightly adjusted, or appeal to higher and distant bodies so that eventually the work goes ahead with no significant changes. And certainly not in favour of local opinion. How can we get control of our own environment?

There are other issues here too. It is obvious that even if we do not live on a flood plain, flooding can still occur as the old sewers and storm drains are not enlarged and cannot cope with the new demand. Our water simply becomes someone else’s problem.

Other local services are also stretched. Schools, for instance are already very full. It seems there is no account of the needs of communities or forward vision in planning. Or any vision at all!

Name & address provided

Snippets

The Council is considering demolishing 3 tower blocks on the Low Edges Estate, given the estimated £6 million cost of necessary refurbishment and difficulty in letting them.

A meeting has been held between Governors, police, the Head, boys and parents of those who play football on the school field, in an attempt to discourage unnecessary noise and the use of foul language.

Abbeydale Hamlet Museum may be closed for the winter, but the craftsmen based there are still available for business during the week so please call in if you are looking for Christmas ideas.

A new planning notice on Twentywell Lane, at the site where tipping took place a few years ago is for renewal of previous permission to build one bungalow which had time lapsed.

Cards from both national and local Charities are available at the Sheffield Charity Christmas Card Shop in Sheffield Cathedral, open from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. For information call Mary Watson on 236 5666.

Used stamps can be donated to St Luke’s Hospice at Casson’s electrical shop at Totley Rise.

Christmas Dinners are already available for booking at The Bradway.

Bradway Road Crossing

As this issue was being drafted, an important meeting was being held in the Bradway Annexe on November 7th to organise support for the Bradway Road Pelican Crossing Campaign.

Mrs Gaynor Collier, chairperson of the Parents Association at Sir Harold Jackson School has taken a leading part in organising a campaign for a Bradway Road pelican crossing.

“There have been serious concerns within the Bradway community regarding the lack of any kind of pedestrian crossing on Bradway Road” she said. “In the recent past members of the community have organised at least two petitions requesting a pelican crossing. Also prior to the last General Election members of the Liberal Democrat Party were active in promoting their commitment to community issues, including highway issues such as safety on Bradway Road”.

“The road is straight and busy, and because of traffic density and the speeds at which drivers in general proceed, it is a hazardous road for anybody to cross. In February, 1999, a pupil making his way to school was knocked down, but was fortunately not seriously injured, but it could so easily have been a very different story. Indeed it seems a miracle that no child or elderly person has been killed”.

“We have recently learned that Bradway Road is now on a list of approximately 170 such sites which form a provisional programme of danger reduction schemes in Sheffield’s 2000-2001 Local Transport Plan. This indicates that £2,000 had been set aside for a scheme description and assessment of merit (feasibility study) regarding a crossing on Bradway Road”.

“Whilst it may be good news that Bradway Road is mentioned on the list of 170 Sheffield sites it is also worth bearing in mind that only 4 such sites a year go on to approval for a pelican crossing and receive one. The cost of a pelican crossing is £25,000".

“We would like to highlight the need of the Bradway community for a pelican crossing by putting pressure on the appropriate authorities.”

Roger Davis

King Ecgbert School

Over 200 people attended a Public Meeting on 12 September to hear the proposals for the redevelopment of the Mercia and Wessex sites of King Ecgbert School, Dore.

The school is in need of extensive capital works. The arrangement on a split site together with unsuitable accommodation is also unsatisfactory. Rebuilding is considered the best solution. There is a funding opportunity through P.F.I. (Private Finance Initiative). By this a private consortium designs, builds, finances, operates and maintains the buildings and facilities. The Council makes an annual payment for 25 years for these facilities and provides the educational needs. There is a 70% subsidy paid by the Government towards this, but the financing of the project also relies on income from the sale of surplus land and out of school hours use of the facilities.

The consortium is selected by the Council from a reducing shortlist, and the successful bid would provide the best proposals for building, standards and conditions.

If the project moves forward as the Council hopes the principle dates would be:

• Outline Planning permission - Dec 2000
  
• Public exhibition of bidders proposals - Oct 2001
• Detailed Planning Consent for two final
• Bidders - Nov 2001
• Construction commences - Apr 2002
• New school opens - September 2002

Brock facing a grim battle

In the opinion of the great majority of the British public, with Bradway certainly following the trend, the badger, although rarely seen alive, is regarded with great affection and is classified with Easter bunnies, Spring lambs, and Teddy Bears as part of our national heritage.

A fortunate few know of the location of local badger setts, and have spent evenings of pure delight watching young badgers at play, but there is a scent of fear drifting over distant horizons. Badger watching has become a grim and deadly business in some places, as I discovered on a holiday trip to the St Ives area of Cornwall earlier this year.

Further down the coast towards Lands End, the welfare of the local badgers became all important in the thatched roof hamlets around St Just, as fury built up over the badger culling trials introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of a research project into the cause of tuberculosis in cattle.

In a trials area, three zones are established. In one, all the resident badgers are caught in cages and shot; in the second zone badgers found on farms where tuberculosis has been detected in cattle are killed; while in the third zone they will be left alone.

The programme is expected to last for up to five years, after which comparisons will be made on the incidence of TB in cattle from areas that were badger free and those that were not.

Ministry staff moved in to locate the badger sets and to put down cages but no sooner had they moved on to work at another site than the cages would be dug up and smashed by the badger supporters, with many thrown over the cliffs into the sea. The organiser of a local street protest march and meeting was given a strict warning by the police for going ahead without obtaining permission; badger guardians tried to carry out a ‘citizens arrest’ of a ministry official who arrived on the scene with a convoy of four-wheel-drive vehicles loaded with equipment; and a hiker following the long distance Cornwall Coastal Path was stopped by plain clothes policemen who searched his rucksack.

Members of the South Yorkshire Badger group have been following events in Cornwall closely, and also in Somerset when a similar scheme is underway. There is now growing concern over the news that a further trials area is to be set up by the Ministry on the South Derbyshire-Staffordshire border, within the Peak District National Park, and more than 300 campaigners, including a number from Sheffield, attended a protest rally in Milldale in August.

Roger Davis

Street Scene

Street scene is a new initiative to improve the appearance of residential areas and the quality of life for people who live there.

A consistent issue of concern amongst residents in the City has been the deteriorating physical condition of the roads, footways, verges, and street furniture. The effect of this deterioration has been to give the impression of decline and neglect which reduces local confidence and pride. It impacts on both public space and residential areas.

Street Scene has been specifically developed to concentrate on the following:

Replacing broken and damaged street signs; Improving road markings; Improving the maintenance of grassed and decorative areas; Removing accumulated litter and rubbish.

The Council is committed to ongoing consultation with its customers on how the Street Scene can he improved. Residents and local community groups play a vital role in helping the Council maintain the upkeep of an area and everyone can play their part. Help us to care for the Street Scene by calling Sheffield Direct Services on 273 4567 (lines open: 8.00 am - 6.00 pm, Monday - Friday) or contacting us at: street.scene@sheffieldworks.demon.co.uk

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