I have seen a lot of political threads here on the forum but have yet to see one that asks the people in Sheffield what they believe should be the priority issues requiring attention.

It would be nice to see what you the people, expect from the council and what you think should be done to make Sheffield a better place for it's occupants and visitors.

we need more cops on the streets in residential areas! stop all these gangs of 14 year olds! although I dont think thats anything to do with the council is it? more government? i dunno...

perhaps more effort in filling in pot holes in roads instead of giving every household 15 bins for every type of rubbish? :P

A good start would be to do what your doing and that's asking people what they want;)

For me it would be more investment in FREE recreational facilities.

Originally posted by xafier
we need more cops on the streets in residential areas! stop all these gangs of 14 year olds! although I dont think thats anything to do with the council is it? more government? i dunno...

perhaps more effort in filling in pot holes in roads instead of giving every household 15 bins for every type of rubbish? :P

Giving the kids back youth clubs in all areas of the city so the wouldn't have to hang around causing trouble.

The roads definatly.

There are plenty of kids clubs. Maybe the money would be better spent on parenting classes.

Is there where? There is not a youth club anywhere round Crookes/Crosspool. If you know of one let me know.

I am talking 12-18 not afterschool clubs for up to 12's.

I think that Sheffield aught to have a fast response team to deal with fly tipping and general rubbish clearance. At the moment the group Street Force have five working days in which to act on any complaints which I think is ridiculous. Five days and the rubbish is spread everywhere or has been set on fire by yobs. The city council seem to be able to have loads of street cleaners in the city centre and in the Winter Gardens they have time to actually wash the litter bins down with a bucket and sponge. However in the suburbs rubbish accumulates on most bits of open green space and the river banks at least near me are a disgrace.

Originally posted by fuzzy
Is there where? There is not a youth club anywhere round Crookes/Crosspool. If you know of one let me know.

I am talking 12-18 not afterschool clubs for up to 12's.

ST Thom's has youth clubs. Unfortunately it involves brainwashing and the like.....

we need:

More police (although I've noticed the hightened pressence of police on the streets which is good)

More punishment for kids who vandalise, intimidate and rob

Cleaning up the streets

Reinvigourating local high streets-get new business in

more street lights

responsible landlords

Originally posted by robbie
ST Thom's has youth clubs. Unfortunately it involves brainwashing and the like.....

Is St T's still brainwashing? I remember Chris Brain's rave services at Ponds Forge so fondly. One of the many things about Christianity that made me an atheist. Maybe not send your kids there.

Originally posted by WALLBUILDER
I think that Sheffield aught to have a fast response team to deal with fly tipping and general rubbish clearance. At the moment the group Street Force have five working days in which to act on any complaints which I think is ridiculous. Five days and the rubbish is spread everywhere or has been set on fire by yobs. The city council seem to be able to have loads of street cleaners in the city centre and in the Winter Gardens they have time to actually wash the litter bins down with a bucket and sponge. However in the suburbs rubbish accumulates on most bits of open green space and the river banks at least near me are a disgrace.

So do the street force team have personal use of the vans on saturdays or have I seen them driving round Woodhouse because they only do our area one day a week? Glad to see the £50 fine warnings for littering have appeared here too. Rubbish doesn't gererate itself. The council seem to be tackling the root cause for the first time. And stop talking about it as though it's somebody else's problem. I remove litter from the grass bank outside my house.

I'm voting for robbie of walkley!

Originally posted by Strix
So do the street force team have personal use of the vans on saturdays or have I seen them driving round Woodhouse because they only do our area one day a week?

The number of SCC/ Kier vans that seem to be used for personal use in sheffield is quite staggering as you cannot go anywhere without seeing them in shopping centres etc, and I have even seen one in Bridlington.

The point raised on here regarding the lack of youth clubs is a common complaint in all areas.
However, unless the vandals that would use these facilities are sorted out first, the repairs to such facilities would be an on going expence that would not be cost effective.

It is a case of the minority spoiling it for the law abiding youths.
Catch 22! (you only have to look at the bus shelters)

Policing has increased in Sheffield and response to street crimes has been a lot faster than in the past.
I do agree that more police are needed in the suburbs and that they should revert to having bobbies on the beat in suburbs rather than riding around in cars.

I also believe that drinking in the street should be banned and that fines should be given out and enforced.
This has worked in some areas of Manchester to stop street crime and abuse from drunken underage youths.

Roads, please! I will need false teeth by time im 30 if things keep going the way they are! Has anybody been down Trippet Lane up through to Mappin St at any speed about 15mph?!!

HI strix,
Glad to hear that you clear rubbish from the immediate area of your house, I must admit I do the same. Not only that but if I'm in my local wood with my dog and see old carrier bags or easy to move rubbish I tend to take it to the nearest bin.
Fly tipping though is a real eyesore and some idiot has deposited a load of [moving house] rubbish in an underpass near my house and to date the fire engines have been called out to it three times.
I've not been to Woodhouse for a while but may I assume that the council have cleared the stream between the Badger Estate and the field also the wood near the railway station?
I hadn't realised Kier were Street Force, certainly I see a lot of their vans around usually parked up with no-one in sight.
The street cleaner at Woodseats was moved he now works in the city centre so Woodseats at times seems to be awash in disgarded garbage and I've never heard of anyone being fined ever.

The white elephant that is the airport.

Originally posted by 1Man&hisBMW
Roads, please! I will need false teeth by time im 30 if things keep going the way they are! Has anybody been down Trippet Lane up through to Mappin St at any speed about 15mph?!!

Gaaah, yeh! First thing I noticed about Sheffield when I came up here 11 years ago, the roads are terrible... Trippet Lane is particularly nasty, but it is by no means the only one.

The roads are scandalous! Has anybody else ever seen the council workers doing their "repairs". These involve a truck full of ashphalt trundling along slowly while a bloke chucks a shovel load of the stuff into a pothole, and a bloke following on foot stamps it down with his clumpy feet. Very effective. I have also noticed how English road workers dont have the physical and/or mental skills (or training) to fill a hole or excavation in properly, without it ending up like a road hump, or sinking to form the hole it once was. In France they seem to manage it- perfectly level road repairs...amazing stuff

Originally posted by steev
Gaaah, yeh! First thing I noticed about Sheffield when I came up here 11 years ago, the roads are terrible... Trippet Lane is particularly nasty, but it is by no means the only one.

Problem with the roads issue is that in theory it that repairs are supposed to be paid by the road tax fund!
This money has been used for other reasons by the looks of it and it is central goverment that deals with the road tax issue not the council.

The main prpblem we have with the council is that it is top heavy with too many managers with fat pay checks.
Notice everytime the council tells us that there will be cut backs in services just before they give themselves major pay rises!

If anyone on here can honestly say that they have seen better services over the past 7 years after record council tax increases please let me know what services....besides emptying yer half a dozen bins.

I don’t know if my problems is one that politicians can do anything about necessarily but hopefully they can try.

My brother and his girlfriend have decided they do not want to start a family in London and have been considering moving out of the capital for a few years now. Today they came up to Sheffield to look at some perspective areas and houses. Early this evening they were going through the city centre on a bus when at a stop a man getting off the bus spat in my brothers face and called him a “race traitor” before running off. My brothers girlfriends is Jamaican and she said that this was the first time she has ever experienced anything she could describe as racism, i feel so ashamed it happened when thy were in Sheffield and i am so angry i wasn’t with them at the time. This incident has been enough to put them off moving to Sheffield for the foreseeable future and because of this ignorant excuse for a human being my niece or nephew will now be growing up hundreds of miles away from me.

This event highlights two issues i have currently. The first is security on buses, I appreciate events like this are hard to predict but generally i would feel a lot safer on buses especially at night if their was a conductor or just an official over then the driver. I was mugged on a bus a few years ago and I'm sure that would not have been possible had their been someone responsible for passenger safety other then the driver.

The other issue is of course the presence of such open and disgusting racism. This is much harder and i have difficulty understanding how things could be changed. What worries me is that i seem to be hearing more and more about people being openly abused in Sheffield. I don't know whether i am just paying more attention or if this really is a growing problem in the city. What makes me feel so low is that the person who did this could have had no idea of what consequences his actions have caused. I was so excited about being close to my brother again especially now they are trying for a baby and this person has robbed me of that opportunity.

I guess one thing i would like to see addressed is to try and make people like this man realise, is that to him calling someone a ‘race traitor’ may simply be non PC, but such opinions especially when expressed in such a violent manner can have a huge effect upon peoples lives. At the end of the day I think i would like to see more tolerance and for people to really try and think about how their actions can effect others.

This is a terrible thing to happen to anyone, Your brother would have been justified in punching this racist lout!

I'm afraid racism is and always will be with us.
There are people that cannot accept that people of other nationalities are their equals and seem to believe that they are in some way superior than others.

There are laws in place that forbid this type of behavior and your brother could have laid a charge of racial discrimination and assault.

As far as security on buses! I doubt if it would be appropriate to have bouncers employed to make sure that things like this don't happen.
I would imagine that it would also be counter productive in the sense that a commuter could be refused a ride whilst being intoxicated etc'
It would be very hard to draw a line as to who could be a trouble maker and who isn't!

Originally posted by sw9wj
Is St T's still brainwashing? I remember Chris Brain's rave services at Ponds Forge so fondly. One of the many things about Christianity that made me an atheist. Maybe not send your kids there.

Yes next thing you know you'll be giving large percentages of your wage directly into the back pocket of the vicar.

Originally posted by DerekH

As far as security on buses! I doubt if it would be appropriate to have bouncers employed to make sure that things like this don't happen.
I would imagine that it would also be counter productive in the sense that a commuter could be refused a ride whilst being intoxicated etc'
It would be very hard to draw a line as to who could be a trouble maker and who isn't!



Be interested to know what the bus drivers think about this. Personally if i was a driver especially at night I'd feel a lot safer at night if i was not alone on the bus. Once I was in London and some kids were being really cheeky and the conductor threw them off the bus, so many people are not using public transport because of safety issues i’d be interested to know if an extra person would be beneficial.

Originally posted by Disco_Cat
Be interested to know what the bus drivers think about this. Personally if i was a driver especially at night I'd feel a lot safer at night if i was not alone on the bus. Once I was in London and some kids were being really cheeky and the conductor threw them off the bus, so many people are not using public transport because of safety issues i’d be interested to know if an extra person would be beneficial.

I would imagine that as bus companies are private these days that if they had to resort to this then the price of a ticket would rise considerably.

THe bus drivers in my opinion are already underpaid for the responsibilities that they have.....if they have to have bodyguards then I am sure that no sane bouncer would work for the wages presently being paid to the drivers

give the adults the power to give yobs a thick ear when they are causing trouble without the fear of getting arrested for it

Originally posted by craigmason
give the adults the power to give yobs a thick ear when they are causing trouble without the fear of getting arrested for it

I agree with you on that point but Where would you draw the line and where would it end.

In the old days children had respect for their elders and had respect for the police.
The fear of going to places like Borstal made youngsters think before they acted.


I personally think that if this type of deterrent were brought back with corporal punishment and discipline we wouldn't have half the problems that we have at present.

Originally posted by alchresearch
The white elephant that is the airport.

I'm sat in my office at the Airport now - and I can see 18 aircraft parked outside my office window (one of which has just flown in from Malaga). And last time I looked there were at least another 10 sat in the hangar. We have another helicopter arriving next week, and I hope to have another two in the fleet by next Spring.

Maybe you can't see all those from Manchester? :)

First off the Kier vans....I think (I used to work for the housing department) that the tradesmen get a van as part of their contract.....though whether they should use it to go to Brid is open to discussion!

The Council should sort out the Wicker...

Originally posted by theimposter
First off the Kier vans....I think (I used to work for the housing department) that the tradesmen get a van as part of their contract.....though whether they should use it to go to Brid is open to discussion!

The Council should sort out the Wicker...
I cant make out what you are stating here! The personal use of Vehicles at tax payers expence or something to do with the wicker! please elaborate!

Originally posted by robbie
we need:



More punishment for kids who vandalise, intimidate and rob

Cleaning up the streets



There's one problem solved!!:thumbsup:

Originally posted by markham
There's one problem solved!!:thumbsup:
It is one thing for the people to state what they want in Sheffield...So far I have seen a few replies giving me the impression that no one realy cares what happens in Sheffield as long as the locals don't feel put out!
The ones that have made statements have given valid points of view that there are things that need attention, however!! out of 6000 members of the sheffield forum, The opinions listed are less than 1% of members.

Am I to take it that Sheffielders are happy with what they are getting?

Originally posted by robbie -

'we need:

More punishment for kids who vandalise, intimidate and rob

Cleaning up the streets'




Sorry about the briefness of the post Derek, but just pointing out that my two most important bugbears are......kids doing crimes and not being punished, and untidy, littered streets. Use one to solve the other.

IE, Make the little sods tidy up as a punishment. Won't work, I know, but would seem a good solution.

Originally posted by markham
Originally posted by robbie -

'we need:

More punishment for kids who vandalise, intimidate and rob

Cleaning up the streets'




Sorry about the briefness of the post Derek, but just pointing out that my two most important bugbears are......kids doing crimes and not being punished, and untidy, littered streets. Use one to solve the other.

IE, Make the little sods tidy up as a punishment. Won't work, I know, but would seem a good solution.
I have the same problem on my street where kids throw their rubbish anywhere which invariably ends up in my front garden.
The problem is not the kids but the parents! they seem to allow children as young as 4 years old to roam the streets with no concept as to what could happen or what their kids are getting up to.
How often do you drive onto a street and there are young kids playing without a care in the street?
Parents are to blame for a lot of things !
I have a neighbour that runs a child care thing from her home..(without permission )
The kids are on the street without supervision and I have seen very near misses from vehicles on a daily basis!
The litter from these kids is generally thrown on the pavement and others have to tidy up.

You are right in one thing and that is we need to make parents aware that their kids are growing up with the wrong attitudes relating to litter and making a mess in the streets

Phase two, make the parents accompany their kids on tidying-up duty.;)

Originally posted by markham
Phase two, make the parents accompany their kids on tidying-up duty.;)
I would rather go for a charge the parents a compulsary 100 pound fine for littering!

Don't think that would work. You'd get the old 'poverty' excuses.

At least my way we'd know that if the parents are on the dole and pleading poverty they'll have plenty of litter-picking time on their hands.

Mind you, the working parents could have a choice, 'Pay a £100 fine, OR pick litter for 20 hours with you child.' That's £5 per hour.

Originally posted by markham
Don't think that would work. You'd get the old 'poverty' excuses.

At least my way we'd know that if the parents are on the dole and pleading poverty they'll have plenty of litter-picking time on their hands.

Mind you, the working parents could have a choice, 'Pay a £100 fine, OR pick litter for 20 hours with you child.' That's £5 per hour.
A bit like making criminals work their way back into society.....The old chain gangs doing the gardens of the old folk!
And cleaning up the streets and graffiti

Exactly. And letting them know that the result of their actions is unpleasant. IE. Teach your kids right from wrong, or pay for their damage. It may even embarrass them into taking responsibility.

Originally posted by markham
Exactly. And letting them know that the result of their actions is unpleasant. IE. Teach your kids right from wrong, or pay for their damage. It may even embarrass them into taking responsibility.
Hell Markham......you wouldn't want to turn the residents of this country into law abiding generouse unselfish people would you?

Hell no!!! That would be stupid, and encroach on their civil rights.

Originally posted by MrHelicopter
I'm sat in my office at the Airport now - and I can see 18 aircraft parked outside my office window (one of which has just flown in from Malaga). And last time I looked there were at least another 10 sat in the hangar. We have another helicopter arriving next week, and I hope to have another two in the fleet by next Spring.

Maybe you can't see all those from Manchester? :)

Hmm, parked? Sat? I couldn't see them from the industrial units next to the police helicopter pad either. Huge picture windows overlooking your runway. We all stopped working to gawp if a plane landed, it happend so infrequently!

Hi wallbuilder. Don't usually venture to the stream in question, but fly tipping? Where's my soap box? There's a perfectly servicable and well managed tip (recycling facility) in woodhouse, not a million miles across town, but some of the stuff that gets dumped in Shirebrook valley is sickening. Perhaps when you're new to an area you see it with different eyes. Sheffield should be a wonderfully green city, but every green space seems to be abused by it's own residents (let's address this at the root cause, not blaming the council, coz then we all have to pay). Many green spaces have garden fences as a boundary, and it often seems to be the best kept properties which have the sofa/lawnmower/plasterboard/timber mine just outside their boundary. Shame the council and National Rail are powerless to prosecute! And there's no excuse for these spoil heaps when the council rather obligingly collect this stuff if you bother to phone. But how do you change this attitude, when I watch mothers unwrapping sweets for kids in buggies and just dropping the litter. The kids don't know any better. Those kids grow up.

To address the original question:

Proactive policing: The teen who gets a ticking off marks that down as getting away with it. Clobber them with the law first time round and their mates won't bother either. They're also less likely to try something further up the criminal carreer ladder.

Re building communities: This is trotted out regularly, but I mean it. It's easy to commit an offence against somebody you don't know. Did we have less crime in the past because everybody in the neighbourhood knew eachother?

Roads: I have mixed feelings about. The pot holes are a nightmare if you're transporting a passenger with a back injury, but boy does Sheffield need to slow down! And as for road rage, there's nowhere like it. Can we have better road markings (eg crystal peaks/drakehouse traffic lights with no straight on lane out of CP) and more traffic calming/cameras? People generally have strong feelings about traffic tearing past their house, but don't give the same consideration to the residents of their travel route. (The point being the potholes are a 'natural' traffic calming device!)

My twopenneth:
Deal with the fireworks issue - make it something acceptable for everyone, I dont know how but thats not my job.

Deal with the ridiculous road systems - who's bright idea was it to dig up from Arundel Gate down to Staples then lay it in a different formation before digging it up again and relaying again? What a waste!

Give enforced penalties to offenders such as the litter picking, I like that idea. Make the parents do it with or even without the child and further penalise for ignoring it. This city is becoming a joke considering the way many people act and that there are unsafe areas... that should never happen.

Make anyone who is the cause of a traffic accident (by stupidity) retake driving test. Like speeding, illegal maneouvres (however u spell it LOL), talking on handheld mobile etc etc.

Deal with drainage if the floods are becoming an issue, dont just ignore it to happen over and over again.

Use the wasted, empty buildings in Sheffield, offer them to young enterprise opportunities and let people spread their wings.

Bring back youth clubs, they were almost totally wiped out in Sheffield in around 1990, cant recall why but I was part of the force to prevent it and wrote to Michael Heseltine, my local youth club stayed open because of it. It kept some really obnoxious people off the streets, I know cos they were all members!

Give enforced parenting classes to children of childbearing age, they might think twice if they have to sit through 10 night feeds as a practice with one of those dreadful crying dolls. While at it, show them a video of an episiotomy, then see if any of the girls really think 'it's time'!

Create 'community workers', people who address a specific area to see what they want and how they want to achieve it. Funding for small local development is there in bags and so much can be done by people who want to do it.

Do something about the beggars - I dont know what - I wish I did, but urgh! Surely the Salvation Army help with those sort of things, what about litter picking in return for a small fee or a meal voucher or something.....

Do away with having to get planning permission to do something to your own property (inside). I dont own property, its not a personal issue, I just think its ridiculous and it means you don't truly own your own property in my eyes.

Put some limits on asylum seekers, I don't have a problem with it but the Uk has been taken for granted now and we've become an international free for all. The national distribution doesn't exist and certain cities are suffering more than others. France seems to manage very well.

I think that's as much as I should say, rather a long waffle but with those things in practice the headlines on the front of the Star and Telegraph would read very differently I think.

Originally posted by Zebra
My twopenneth:
Deal with the fireworks issue - make it something acceptable for everyone, I dont know how but thats not my job.


Give enforced penalties to offenders such as the litter picking, I like that idea. Make the parents do it with or even without the child and further penalise for ignoring it. This city is becoming a joke considering the way many people act and that there are unsafe areas... that should never happen.


Bring back youth clubs, they were almost totally wiped out in Sheffield in around 1990, cant recall why but I was part of the force to prevent it and wrote to Michael Heseltine, my local youth club stayed open because of it. It kept some really obnoxious people off the streets, I know cos they were all members!


Do something about the beggars - I dont know what - I wish I did, but urgh! Surely the Salvation Army help with those sort of things, what about litter picking in return for a small fee or a meal voucher or something.....

Do away with having to get planning permission to do something to your own property (inside). I dont own property, its not a personal issue, I just think its ridiculous and it means you don't truly own your own property in my eyes.

Put some limits on asylum seekers, I don't have a problem with it but the Uk has been taken for granted now and we've become an international free for all. The national distribution doesn't exist and certain cities are suffering more than others. France seems to manage very well.


Fireworks! My opinion is that the sale of fireworks to the general public should be banned and only trained pyrotechnics at community venues allowed to set them off.

Youth clubs already covered earlier in the thread.

Planning permission is a good thing, If everyone who does DIY built what ever they wanted or knocked down retaining walls there could be dire consequences not only for the home owner but also for the neighbours.
My Neighbour has built on a room at the back of their home without planning permission.
Not only is the work shoddy but it is an eyesore and dangerouse.


Begging in the UK is unlawful and the beggars can be made to move along or be arrested.
Pity that the police do not bother to do this!

Begging in the UK is unlawful and the beggars can be made to move along or be arrested.
Pity that the police do not bother to do this! [/B]

I saw the famous jemma and friends begging outside john lewis on saturday night less than 10 metres from a police car but the police did not do anything.

You ask what would the politicials be addressing, well being Sheffield i'm sure they'll be addressing as many give away programs as possible, more people on the dole, more votes they get.