Crosspool News – crosspool.info
The Crosspool community website run by Crosspool Forum
Sheffield City Council has announced that Broomhill library could close within two years unless a community group comes forward to run it.
The mobile library service that visits Crosspool is also due to be scrapped.
Under the plans, just 12 of Sheffield’s 28 libraries will be saved, five will become community-led and 11 – including Broomhill and Walkley – will become ‘independent libaries’.
The council is seeking your views on the proposals.
BBC News: Half of Sheffield’s libraries facing axe
An update from Councillor Geoff Smith following his letter to the Police and Crime Commissioner last month.
Following the Crosspool Forum meeting in July I wrote to the Police and Crime Commissioner, and various Sheffield police commanders about concerns that had been expressed about the future of neighbourhood policing.
I have been contacted by one of those I wrote to, Inspector Deborah Pickering, who is responsible for policing in the south west of Sheffield. She was unable to give me any definite information at this stage but she did make a number of comments.
First she said that South Yorkshire Police is fully committed to neighbourhood policing with local police constables and police and community support officers responsible for a particular area and known in the locality.
Second she referred to the closure of Crewe Flats where our neighbourhood police officers are based at present. She said that because of cuts to the policing budget there was some rationalising of police stations with some closing. She said that it was almost certain that Crewe Flats would close with a likely closure date of early January.
She also said that she was committed to police officers being based within reasonable distances of where they were working but could not at the moment say where police officers for Crookes and Crosspool would be based. She seemed sympathetic to my view that Woodseats would be too far away.
I will be meeting Inspector Pickering in September when I hope to be given some more definite information which I will report.
Crosspool residents living on Tapton Hill are receiving notifications from Streets Ahead notifying them of delays to the improvements and new dates for when work will take place.
On Monday 5 August, work commenced a month later than planned on Vernon Terrace, Ryegate Road, Ryegate Crescent and Bosville Road. People living on these streets should have received a letter about this.
Lydgate Lane residents were expecting work to begin at night on 12 and 15 August, but this has been delayed and will instead take place Monday 19 to Friday 23 August 2013 between 7am and 7pm. Cars will be diverted, although access for pedestrians and emergency vehicles will be available at all times.
After a review of road conditions in the area, Cross Lane will now also be resurfaced. Residents will be informed by letter once a date is confirmed.
Underground cabling issues have meant that installation of new street lighting in Tapton Hill will start in November with a projected completion date of January. The heritage lights which are due to be installed in the Broomhill conservation area are on order. Pavements will be resurfaced as street lights are replaced.
One of our councillors, Geoff Smith, has written to Shaun Wright, South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner after concerns over the future of policing in Crosspool were raised at last week’s Crosspool Open Meeting.
Residents voiced concern following the news that our nearest police station on Clarkehouse Road is set to close due to funding cuts, and some well-known local officers could be deployed elsewhere.
The letter is published below. Geoff has promised to share any response he receives.
Date: Friday, 26 July 2013
To: Shaun Wright, Police and Crime Commissioner, South Yorkshire
CC: Chief Constable, David Crompton, Sheffield District Commander, Chief Superintendent David Hartley and South West Inspector Deborah PickeringDear Mr Wright
I am one of the councillors for Crookes Ward in Sheffield. I am writing to you to raise concerns which have been expressed by local people and groups about the future of neighbourhood policing in Crookes, Crosspool and Sandygate.
I am writing to you as Police and Crime Commissioner but also copying it to the Chief Constable, David Crompton, Sheffield District Commander, Chief Superintendent David Hartley and the local inspector, Deborah Pickering.
We value our neighbourhood policing. We know who our local PC is and who our local PCSOs are. They attend local meetings regularly, make themselves available on our high streets to listen to local concerns, are known to local traders and community leaders, know the local area well and move quickly to deal with any particular crimes or patterns of anti-social behaviour.
We are not of course one of the higher crime areas in Sheffield but we have problems with burglary from houses, gardens and allotments, car crime, traffic congestion, noise and graffiti. Local people support the police and are reassured by knowing that familiar faces are near at hand and will deal appropriately with problems and keep local people informed.
We are worried that this is going to change for the worse.
The key elements of neighbourhood policing are police officers and PCSOs who have responsibility for a particular neighbourhood, know it well, and are known locally; and that they are based sufficiently near the neighbourhood that they can get to it easily and quickly by various means of transport.The future of these key elements seems to be in doubt. It appears that a number of PCs and PCSOs might have a responsibility for a much wider area with a dilution of local knowledge and responsibility. Regarding location we are concerned by the proposed closure of the base at Crewe Flats and the possible relocation to Hammerton Road, or even further away at Woodseats.
The local Neighbourhood Watch has organised a petition on the location issue which you should be receiving soon.
I would appreciate it if you would look into these matters and respond. I will be making this letter public and will be making your response public.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Geoff Smith
Councillor for Crookes, Labour Group, Sheffield City Council, Town Hall, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 2HH.
Email: geoff.smith2@sheffield.gov.uk
The top half of Dransfield Road was closed on Friday afternoon to allow children to play out in safety on the street.
Four local mums were successful in their application for Sheffield’s first-ever ‘playing out’ session, which saw the road closed to traffic from the Barholm Road junction upwards, with stewarded access for residents.
Householders on the road were invited to come out to play or pop out just for a chat after school between 4pm and 5.30pm.
Over 30 children from Dransfield Road and neighbouring Barholm Road and Cardoness Drive enjoyed a fantastic afternoon.
One of the mums, Bron Ray, initiated the event after reading about a similar scheme in Bristol which encourages residents to close their roads for an hour or two. The scheme aims to provide local children with a rare opportunity to ride their bikes, kick a football and play chalk games in the street.
The event on Dransfield Road was a huge success and the residents are planning to reapply to the council to secure future Playing Out events for their children.
As one five-year-old said on the day, being allowed to play out on the road was ‘absolutely awesome!’
The new Rivelin Splash water play area will finally open on Saturday 13 July at 11am.
The refurbished water play area is for children of all ages and includes three large splash pads, a new filter system, water play equipment plus ramped access with handrails. One of the pools will still be for paddling
The toilets will be more accessible and new baby changing facilities have been created. Water pistols, nets and buckets will be available from Rivelin Park cafe.
The water splash was originally scheduled to open in May.
The newly-constructed water play area in Rivelin is now due to open on Saturday 13 July.
Rivelin Splash was scheduled to open in time for the bank holiday weekend, but a sign has now gone up to confirm the revised date and a celebration event from 10.30am to mark the opening.
The refurbished water play area will be for children of all ages and is designed to be more accessible and inclusive. The water circulation system will be improved and new features such as water jets and sprays will be installed.
If you have any questions about the project, contact the council’s Parks and Countryside Service on 0114 250 0500 or parksandcountryside@sheffield.gov.uk.
Update 25 May: we’ve just checked and Rivelin water splash isn’t ready yet so won’t be opening this weekend. We’ll let you know if we hear when the revised date is.
Weather permitting, the new Rivelin Splash water play area will open at the start of the bank holiday weekend on Saturday 25 May.
The refurbished water play area is for children of all ages and is designed to be more accessible and inclusive. The water circulation system has been improved and new features such as water jets and sprays have been installed.
One of the pools will still be for paddling, while the other three have been turned into splash pads. Water pistols, nets and buckets will be available from Rivelin Park cafe.
The toilets will be more accessible and new baby changing facilities have been created.
If you’re planning on heading down for the opening, you should contact the council first to double check that the project will be finished in time for Saturday 25 May.
There’s a meeting tonight (Tuesday 7 May 2013) to discuss the future of community assemblies at Ecclesall Parish Halls, 7.30-9.30pm. Information from the South West Community Assembly is below.
Consultation Events
We are seeking your views on more detailed proposals which can be viewed online at www.sheffield.gov.uk/communityassemblies or by requesting a copy contact Practicedevelop@sheffield.gov.uk or telephone 0114 273 5299.
You are welcomed to attend one of the events below:-
Drop-in event
There is another chance to talk to Council Officers at a drop in event on 20 May 2013 between 10:00am and 4:00pm at St Mary’s Community Centre, Bramall Lane, Sheffield S2 4QZ. Just turn up, view the comments on the proposals so far and tell us what you think.
Please let us know if you need a language or British Sign Language interpreter or any support at these meetings.
Our three councillors, Sylvia Anginotti, Rob Frost and Geoff Smith, have recently met with First and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) to discuss the 51 bus route.
A report from the meeting, written by the councillors, is below.
If you have comments regarding this then the best way to get in touch with them directly is via the contact details on the Sheffield city council website.
The three Crookes councillors (Sylvia Anginotti, Rob Frost and Geoff Smith) have been made aware by individuals and through the Crosspool Forum of dissatisfaction with the 51 bus. In particular with the failure of buses to run at the published times.
We were going to have a meeting with First and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) in January but unfortunately the bad weather forced a postponement and we were not able to meet until March.
You will remember that we were promised an improved service when the Bus Partnership arrangements started at the end of October 2012. This was going to be achieved in two ways; an additional bus on the route and a change of route to avoid Broad Lane.
The additional bus was put on but the change of route didn’t happen. This was because of the number of people who protested that they would not be able to get to the NHS walk in service.
SYPTE figures for complaints show a continued high level of complaints up to January of this year and then a falling off. This could be for either of two reasons; people have become fed up with complaining or there has been some improvement in the service.
SYPTE’s own figures for punctuality at stops on the route show an improvement from 72% punctuality pre-October 2012 rising to 84% recently. This is against a target of 95%. So even by their own figures there is still some way to go.
First admit that punctuality is still not good enough. They said that double deckers were part of the problem and that from early July they will be replaced by brand new single deckers which along with ticket issue speeding up should speed up overall loading times.
They are also putting an additional bus on the route on Saturdays from the end of April and making minor timetable changes. They gave us a list of traffic hotspots on the route which cause problems and we will be taking these up with the Council.
Also they warned that the service could be affected by planned roadworks across the city.
We will continue to have meetings with First and SYPTE. We will welcome your views and experience at the next meeting of the Crosspool Forum and please keep on complaining to SYPTE if you have problems with the 51.
Sylvia Anginotti, Rob Frost and Geoff Smith
April 2013
Crosspool News - crosspool.info 