Last week there was a letter about shopping in sheffield in the Telegraph; ie every city in the north aiming to be a 'world class' shopping city is an obvious folly, because not everyone can be the best.

I'm going to send a letter supporting these views, and saying that we shouldn't be chasing the same dream as everyone else, especially as there are already lots of special things in sheffield that we could concentrate on.

However, I know that you're more likely to be published if you can namecheck the author of the letter you're referring to. Does anyone have a copy handy? I think it was Jerry someone?

Thanks

mikey to the resuce

"Do we need more shops?" by Jerry Simon

Nice one mikey, you got me out oyfmy S7 Garage hole aswell: thanks dude.

Here's the letter, by the way

What a pertinent point made by Jerry Simon regarding shopping (letters, Friday 12th November). ‘World Class’ is an epithet that seems to be stuck to everything new in Sheffield; the station square, the plans for Sheaf House, the New Retail Quarter. It is obviously the latest regeneration buzzword. Let’s be clear, nuclear armaggedon not withstanding, Sheffield probably won’t ever be a world class shopping city. World class shopping cities are New York, London, and Tokyo. Perhaps Manchester and Leeds make it into division one.

We shouldn’t be chasing the same dreams as everyone else. Sheffield can be world class in other respects: the greenest city in Britain, with green lanes for car sharing, trees on every street, parks over the ring road, sustainable technology, recycled goods produced, an efficient tram to every suburb. Or we could build on our social reputation to become a Social Enterprise City attracting charities and NGO’s. These are within reach.

Surely our regeneration ambitions have to be built on what we’re already good at. Otherwise they’ll just be empty promises. Knocking down Grosvenor House to fulfil Sheffield’s retail potential makes sense and I support it; but the only way we’ll be ‘world class’ is to try something new, and to embrace and build on the difference that is so fundamental to this city’s identity. I hope our leaders have the guts.

Tom Common

Good on you Tom. Agree with every word. I moved to Sheffield exactly because it's different from other cities. If it ends up becoming the new Leeds then I dunno what I'll do.

yo, thanks dude. everyone's so in awe of Leeds-as-economic-miracle that they forget it's pretty much souless. A high rise full of successful young professionals doesn't sound like much fun to me. And for all the shopping arcades that people look at achingly, it's just stuff to buy: consumer paradise = cultural desert.

are you Pete Green? read your article in the telegraph, was good stuff. We're doing a fanzine about sheffield along similar lines, called GO. We're all about sheffield being different, and that you don't need to look any further than this difference for an identity on which to build regeneration.

so yeah, we cant' catch manchester and leeds, and I say god, because we already have a manchester and a leeds. cities should have a reason to exist in their own right.

anyway, give me a shout if you're interested

go_sheffield@hotmail.com

and I'll try to work out what a PM is to contact you

PEACE