So, I want to know what people think about Sheffield life. Is it getting better or worse? The city centre appears to be better because of the new clubs, bars and expensive flats - but is really what we want as residents? Do these kind of things actually benefit us :?

I personally think Sheffield life is improving. The students, new bars and posh accomodation are really help to boost the city's finances and it means the council are able to start spending on redevolpment of public areas. The only thing that worries me is the increase in crime that tends to come hand-in-hand with increased fortunes of a city.

I don't think Sheffield is forward looking at all. The city centre developments are just to attract the same old shops that can be found in every city centre. Environmentally we are going backwards- instead of improving recycling we are investing in a massive new incinerator to burn our rubbish, producing dioxins that give people cancer. Sheffields strength is its local communities- this is where the investment should be going. Local shopping centres, not Meadowhell. We need to encourage people to shop locally and avoid having to travel so much.We need to encourage local businesses, not rely on footloose multinational "inward investment".
Sorry to rant!
Graham

Here's a story on recycling for you. I came to Sheffield in 1999 as a Student, and finished last summer. When I arrived there were three paper recycling bins that I walked past daily. One was near the student halls, another was in Western Park Hospital Car Park, and the third was on the university concourse. The last two have disappeared and the first one is now too far away from where I live for me to lug all the papers I buy to it. In other words I have no way to recycle my paper without a hell of a lot of walking involved. (I have no car).

Its a shame really that the council doesn't consider sending round waste collectors to pick up paper. Its something that my Grandma has had for a few years in my home town of Frodsham in Cheshire. The borough council for the area is tiny and the biggerst townit has to deal with is probably Northwich, or Middlewich, bith of which are tiny.

You'd think that a big city like Sheffield, which I heard is the 4th biggest city in Britain would be streets ahead. Alas, no. If anyone knows if the 4th biggest city in Britain thing is true, please let me know, I'm doubtful.

Well Onyx are actually going to start doorstep collections of paper and card soon I am told- but it is far too little too late. In the meantime if you want to know where your nearest recycling point is check out the Green Party website at www.sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk

Graham

Thanks. It says the Western Park Hospital has recycling facilities, I didn't see them last time I looked, and Im not too keen to go poking about. I will have another look.

We live right on the north west edge of Sheffield (Deepcar) and already have a weekly "blue box" collection that takes away our glass, paper, and tins. So this kind of thing does happen in Sheffield.

I think you have a scheme in Deepcar and Stocksbridge because you have a local parish council.

I'm lead to believe that the largest city in England thing goes:

1. London
2. Birmingham
3. Manchester (could be 2nd)
4. Leeds
5.Sheffield

Sheffield is supposedlt the 2nd greenest city in England, behind Nottingham. Although this is absolutely nothing to do with its environmental policies.

1. London
2. Birmingham
3. Manchester (could be 2nd)
4. Leeds
5.Sheffield

isnt it:

1. London
2. Birmingham
3. Manchester (could be 2nd)
4. Sheffield
5. Leeds

for england and:

1. London
2. Birmingham
3. Manchester (could be 2nd)
4. Edinburgh
5. Sheffield

for the UK?

[snip]

1. London
2. Birmingham
3. Manchester (could be 2nd)
4. Edinburgh
5. Sheffield

for the UK?

I always thought that Glasgow was bigger than Edinburgh.

The stats on this page clearly indicate Sheffield is 4th largest English city (by population density).

http://www.demographia.com/db-ukcities.htm

Ranking the stats for 2000 gives :

1) London (7,172,000)
2) Birmingham (977,000)
3) Leeds (714,000)
4) Sheffield (513,000)
5) Liverpool (439,000)
6) Manchester (393,000)
7) Newcastle (259,000)

Intrestingly Manchester is below Sheffield. Maybe there is some confusion over what people mean by "Manchester" (eg. do they really mean Greater Manchester as was)., or perhaps the list is quite different when you compare the land area occupied by these cities rather than popultation.

Nomme

London 1
Birmingham 2
Manchester 3
Leeds 4
Sheffield 5

The point is, sheffield, as all city's do, needs investment and whichever way this is acheived, it is to the benefit of the people of the city. We have a forward looking council and I think are on the right track, life anywhere is what you make it, develop your interest's, get involved, show an interest in thing's in general. This city in my opinion is a wonderfull place to live and work, it is ideally situated, prosperous and is moving forward to meet the new challenger's in 2003. Support the improvment's and be happy that we are so fortunate to have what we have up to now.

Halevan, I am interested to know on what gounds you believe this council to be forward thinking.[/code]

Because of the wonderfull new projects we can see and use, new peace gardens, winter gardens, super tram, meadowhall, proposed new five star hotel,tudor square, millenium gallery, ruskin gallery, pedestrian precincts, spearmint rhino, la chambre, night clubs, restaurants and many more that are in the pipeline. Why do people want to slag off a good council when they are doing all these things and trying hard, you might not agree with their politics or what they are doing, :oops: :P but surely you can't deny the result's

If you look at Manchester as a seperate city, then yes it is quite small. But if you class it as Greater Manchester, then that includes towns like Bolton, Rochdale, Salford, Oldham, Sale, Leigh, Wigan and countless others.

Our local news 'North West Tonight' and 'Granada Reports' always start their stories with 'Greater manchester'. It's only when you listen on that you find out the story relates to somewhere miles away. One recent example was a 'mugging in Greater Manchester'. Obviously, your ears pick up when they say Manchester. Then you find out it's in Oldham, about 20 miles away.

Because of the wonderfull new projects we can see and use, new peace gardens, winter gardens, super tram, meadowhall, proposed new five star hotel,tudor square, millenium gallery, ruskin gallery, pedestrian precincts, spearmint rhino, la chambre, night clubs, restaurants and many more that are in the pipeline. Why do people want to slag off a good council when they are doing all these things and trying hard, you might not agree with their politics or what they are doing, but surely you can't deny the result's

I not sure that Meadowhall, La Chambre, Spearmint Rhino, restaurants, nightclubs or the new five star hotel have a great deal to do with the council, other than in the planning or licence application stage. I certainly don't pay my council tax to have a swingers or strip club in the city. None of these are actually council incentives.As for the supertram, it doesn't go anywhere near the south west of the city, which is actually quite a large area. So I'm not quite sure why you think they are forward thinking.

They certainly weren't forward thinking when the airport was built, which incidentally could have been the real breakthrough for city. Firstly it was built very small, but then the council sold off the land around it for housing, thus ensuring that expansion will never take place. The list goes on, and on, and on.............. :roll:

You have your opinion and I have mine we shall just have to agree to disagree. Thank you and keep posting :oops:

These aren't my opinions, they're facts.

There are still recycling facilities on the University concourse-they are now situated in the car park near the Winter Street entrance. You can also now recycle clear and coloured glass there.
I would love to be able to recycle my tins and plastic but without a car, I can't.

Sheffield still owes in excess of £20 million for the Supertram. Central government has never come up with the cash because of local incompetance. The network originally agreed was going to reach Rotherham & Barnsley who are still paying for it!
This only one example of mismanagement which is generally a result of incompetant officers getting away with it because of a lack of control by councillors.

Isn't the council still in debt over the Student Games?

Sheffield council appear to blow all their cash trying to make the place look nice, but like Don Valley and the NCPM, these projects never prove as sustainable as they hope. We'll see how the latest shiny glass and steel monuments to Sheffield's continuous redevelopment (those being the Winter Gardens and the Millenium Gallery) fare. It all looks nice, but I think the actual citizens of the City feel like tourists in their own home when we go into town and find ourselves surrounded by modern architecture that we haven't even seen before and have no real idea the purpose of.

I'm only in my 20s, and I've seen the Hole in the Road, the Eggbox, most of Paternoster Row, The Peace Gardens, the Bus Station as well as many other streets changed beyond recognition. There's also extensive cobbling and placing of abstract metalwork, Supertram network, Orchard Square, Tudor Square, Hartshead Square, the new courts and down next to it (Coronation road is it?), the corner of Bank Street, top of Charles Street/Devonshire Street, Hallam University (Adsett building) and big chunks of Arundel Gate, Trippet Lane and West Street where the new flats are being built, Shoreham Street and around Milton Street with the new Student Accomodation, Sheaf Market, Ponds Forge, the Disappearance of Sheaf Brewery... all are major redevelopments around the city centre in the past 10-20 years. A lot are an improvement, but there's been no continuity for the people living here... Now I hear that Coles and the old Odeon may be demolished and a new shopping centre built opposite the City Hall... I can't remember what the city looked like 10 years ago...

I've probably missed some stuff there, too...

From what I've heard, it took at least 25 years to rebuild after the Blitz. 30 years later people decide that the architecture that was modern then should be replaced with 90's/00's modern architecture. I wonder if the same is going to happen again to Sheffield in the 2030's...

Hey

Tell me, if you look at this website:

www.sheffield1.com

do you not think Sheffield is forward thinking?

:?:

Sheffield is seen as attempting innovative developments in the past but they're not always successful. This is usually because we try to do them on the cheap and apply the wrong solutions to our problems. This way we end up with compromises that don't work and the people who matter - the people who are in contact with these developments - suffer. We would be better off producing quality, thoroughly conceived developments at a slower rate than rushing to redevelop the city as then we would have something lasting that is a solid foundation to base further development on. This won't happen while people expect instant change, though - too often popular politics appeals to people wanting instant change by adopting short-termist attitudes that only damage the quality of our urban environment.

The PFI system for developing new schools has been criticised because it expects architects and developers to work to rediculously short timescales. This has the effect that many schools are built by few architects to a 'set design' which is inappropriate as large buildings such as schools have to be designed with their location in mind to be succesful. Fir Vale school, for example, bears striking resemblance to the new Tapton School. This is inappropriate - not because one school deserves better buildings than the other but just because the environmental and current built environment issues are different. Fir Vale used to have an attractive hall as part of their school - because of cheap PFI building solutions this was demolished rather than put to good use and renovated.

There's two ways you can describe forward thinking. One is in the context of modernisation and general improvement. The other is in actually planning ahead where budgets and the way things are used are concerned...

Yeah, we're modern, but we're not always good at the other one...

Very well put :)

mikeG writes in this thread in April 2008 about living in Stephen Hill [?], and he also mentions the burglaries in that area. As a former "temporary Sheffielder" I have a bit of a love affair with the ould town, and never thought there were many robberies or burglaries; maybe I was well blinkered!
Please, if anyone has the inkling, or time, then maybe they can cobble a few lines together!
Thank you in anticipation.
Fat Al Olds.