
Download a summary of bullet points from last Thursday’s meeting.
Bullet points from Crosspool Forum Open Meeting, 24 January 2013 (PDF, 57KB)

Crosspool News – crosspool.info
The Crosspool community website run by Crosspool Forum

Download a summary of bullet points from last Thursday’s meeting.
Bullet points from Crosspool Forum Open Meeting, 24 January 2013 (PDF, 57KB)
Crosspool Forum’s next Open Meeting will take place on Thursday 24 January at St Columba’s church. It starts at 7pm.
Come along and give your concerns on local issues to local councillors, the police and officials.
The guest speaker at this meeting is Mark Johnson from City Wide Care Alarms who will be talking about how you can remain safe, secure and independent in your home.
The church hall at St Columba’s has been redecorated and a new sound system installed.
View the Open Meeting provisional agenda (PDF, 66KB)


Stephen Hill Methodist Church and St. Columba’s Church invite you to join them for a joint carol service on Sunday 16 December at 4pm at St. Columba’s Church.
You can hear the Christmas story through readings, poetry, plus traditional and local carols, with warming refreshments afterwards.

Three events mark the start of Christmas festivities in Crosspool this weekend.
On Saturday 1 December from 10am-2pm Crosspool WI hosts a Christmas Fayre in Lounge@Crosspool cafe. Pop along for craft stalls, refreshments, homemade cakes and their great Crosspool bake-off!
On Sunday morning the Christmas trees will be going up in the precinct above our local shops. So look out for them when you pass through next week.
And on Sunday afternoon from 1.30-3.30pm there’s a Christmas disco for children between 3-11 years at St Columba’s church hall. Father Christmas will bring a present for every child and refreshments and nibbles will be served.
Crosspool Forum is hosting a Childrens’ Christmas Disco on Sunday 2 December, 2012.
The event for children between 3-11 years will run from 1.30-3.30pm in St Columba’s church hall. Father Christmas will bring a present for every child! Refreshments and nibbles will be served.
You can get your ticket from Crosspool Pet Shop – tickets are £5 per child and the accompanying parent or guardian is free. You can also contact the Forum on crosspoolforum@fsmail.net or 0114 335 1674 for tickets and more information.


Garth Hewitt, founder of the Amos Trust, will be performing in Crosspool as part of his UK tour. You can hear him at St. Columba’s Church, 503 Manchester Road on Thursday, 15 November at 7.30pm.
Garth will be singing songs and telling stories from his new album, Justice like a River. The songs are inspired by Amos’s partners around the world. From surfing street children in South Africa to grassroots educators in India, from frontline farmers in Nicaragua to creative campaigners in Palestine.
The show is described as ‘an evening of entertainment, encouragement and challenge to make the world a better place.’
Tickets from St Columba’s Church Office (0114 267 0006): £7, or £4.50 concessions.
Below is a bullet point summary of Thursday’s meeting you can also download a PDF copy (53K).
Cllrs Geoff Smith & Rob Frost, Police, 20 Crosspool residents & 9 members of the Forum Management Committee attended. No Guest speakers.
2011 Minutes adopted as a true record
Matters arising – none.
(Ian Hague). The Forum is in its 10 year & has made positive progress, still publishing the Clarion & very popular website. Acting as a voice for the local residents & continuing to have excellent relations with the Council, police etc. The usual Christmas trees were erected. & then Jubilee flags 8 bunting for the summer, floral displays, days out to (Stratford upon Avon), (BBC Salford Quays). Computer courses, Children’s Christmas disco, car boot sales. Crosspool Festival Week & Summer Fayre, Helpers and ideas to Ian please!
(Chris Batchelor). Again a health end of year bank balance. (but as usual one bill still to come in – summer planters).
Chris Batchelor (Treasurer) has resigned, & Marika Szabo (Hagg Copse & the Orchard). Anyone interested in joining the Management Committee to contact Ian or any member. A mandate was given to Ian & the committee to choose a new treasurer.
26th July minutes adopted as a true record
1) Cllr Smith gave explanation on previous questions. 2) 51 bus route
PC Louise Atha:
The Precinct Christmas Trees will go up again, & a Children’s Disco has been arranged for Sunday 2nd December. Well attended Computer courses to continue in Jan 2013. Crosspool Festival Week expected to start on 29th June 2013..
Centenary Celebrations are in hand for 2013 to mark the 100th anniversary of Tapton Congregational Church & the first bus route in Sheffield Jan 1913, the No. 51. A suggested 2014 Crosspool Calendar – ideas/help please?!
The next Open Meeting will be Thurs, 25 October 2012. 7pm, St Columba’s.
Bullet points from Crosspool Forum AGM & Open Meeting, 25 October 2012 (PDF, 53KB)

Paul Heaton from The Beautiful South and The Housemartins has been recalling memories of St Columba’s youth club in a BBC radio documentary.
In today’s The First Time With…Paul Heaton programme on BBC 6 Music, the singer-songwriter described the youth club disco at St Columba’s on Manchester Road as the location of one of his first musical memories:
“My brother and his mates were allowed to go and I was under 12 at the time so wasn’t allowed in. Me and my middle brother sneaked to the edge of the door and looked underneath it. They were playing The Jean Genie by David Bowie.
“At the time wooden stacked heels were in fashion. My brother and his mates were all doing this dance, banging their stack heels on the floor. It was unbelievable. The noise of them banging their stack heels was louder than the music itself.”
You can listen again to the programme for seven days. St Columba’s is mentioned around 2 minutes, 45 seconds in.
Below is a bullet point summary of Thursday’s meeting you can also download a PDF copy (74KB).
25 Crosspool residents, Cllr Geoff Smith, and 7 members of the Forum Management Committee attended. A guest gave a presentations :.
from April meeting – none.
PCSOs Phil Whitaker & Tony Hizam. (for Louise);
After a recent Meeting at Hallam Football Ground Ian Hague presented Mrr Clegg with some pertinent local questions. Emailed responses having been received, these are as follows:
Geoff Smith was asked to look into why Veolia will only accept card payments for the purchase of green waste bagsthis year.
The ‘20s Plenty’ scheme has decided to designate the ‘Steel Bank area (Crookes, Commonside, Walkley) for the signage to make it a 20 zone, though this may take a year to implement.
Crosspool Festival Week – Rev France Eccleston said this had been very successful – & we had two dry weekends!- Some £1524 was raised for the Ryegate Child centre Fund. Residents were asked to contact the committee if they wish to help nest year – the Open Gardens scheme will need a new organizer.
The Summer Fayre; Ian Hague said thiswent well – £726 was made, all to go back to the community. The Union flags in the precinct have proved very popular – these were erected for the Jubilee and will stay up until the Olympics are over.
The Car Boot Sale was a wash-out this June, but it is hoped another can be held in September.
Disco – after the success of the Christmas one Ian is hoping to hold another.
Computer course; this has proved very popular again; Ian expects to hold more in Sep 2012 – names to him please. There will be a beginners’ course, advanced (internet) course, & possibly desk top publishing course.

Kate Hill gave a presentation about her website – FunMeFit – a portal for the whole of Sheffield to get active, & to share their activities on. She hopes to run a Fun Day on 16th Sep at Hallam Cricket Club to fund-raise for this.
The next Open Meeting will be Thurs, 25th October 2012. 7pm, St Columba’s.
Download minutes from Crosspool Forum Open Meeting, 26 July 2012 (PDF, 74KB)

Update 5 June 2012: sadly some technical problems arose, meaning the bell wasn’t able to ring on Sunday. The bell expert has been brought back in to fix it. We’ll let you know when it is working again.
After years of silence, the bell in the tower of St Columba’s church in Crosspool will ring out once again this morning.
The peal will take place just before 10am to mark the queen’s diamond jubilee.
Priest–in-charge at the church Reverend Frances Eccleston is planning on the bell getting more use from now on: “We hope to ring a brief peal on the bell before our 10am service on Sunday morning most weeks.”
The St Columba bell sits in the church tower behind four concrete panels. It was cast in Loughborough in 1901 before being set in the tower in December 1955.