SheffieldForum

Just now, RollingJ said:

As both voting forms come in the same envelope (mine did, from SCC's Returning Officer), i would guess they are one and the same.

Oh - are you postal vote? 

 

 

I've checked my paperwork and have received two sets of correspondence:

 

1: Polling card for local election and regional mayoral election

 

2: Sperate booklet pertaining to the mayoral election (which states on the envelope that they are required by law to send the booklet to each person entitled to vote in this election

 

Are these what people are meaning in this thread as to two sets of 'voting papers'?

Did one come from the Sheffield City Council returning officer and one from the Mayoral returning officer?

 

(Are they the same person?)

One of Sheffield's best loved artists Pete McKee is calling on the public to help him locate 25 of his past original artworks. The works are set to star in new exhibition which will make its debut at Weston Park Museum later this year.

 

Opening in November, The Boy with a Leg Named Brian will take visitors on an autobiographical journey through Pete’s childhood in 1970’s Sheffield.

 

You can view all the works Pete is looking for at Sheffield Museums. Pete is only looking for original artworks, not prints, and only the works listed – please don’t get in touch regarding any paintings not included in the list.

 

The originals are easily identifiable – they will be painted on board and will either be unframed or framed in a wooden frame.

 

If you own one of the listed originals, please get in touch with Pete’s team, who would love to talk to you about borrowing it for the upcoming exhibition. You can contact them at [email protected]

7 minutes ago, Sophie6 said:

Hello, I am a student from the University of Sheffield studying my Master's in journalism and I was wondering whether you would be interested in telling me more about this topic potentially for publication in the Sheffield Wire paper ?

Sophie, GrumpyCatWeasel is a troll poster that we’ve probably tolerated a bit too long — nobody is really planning on sending homeless  away on buses (and this topic only remains to show what a ridiculous idea it would be) . 🤣

 

 

7 minutes ago, foxydebs said:

The screenshot is the building I meant and this is definitely old record tools site as my other half worked there and it has said demolition pending for years, so we keep saying they will build apartments or student accommodation on it eventually.

Ahh, no — it isn’t that building for this development. The William Rowland building is on the diagonally opposite corner to your screenshot (i.e. directly behind where that shot was taken).

25 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

I'm afraid it's nothing earth shattering. It's what is being driven by the ever increasing shift in us consumers demanding instant this, instant that,  at the click of a button and all at rock bottom prices.

 

Those fleshy parts previously fetching and carrying cost continual wages. They take sick days. They take holidays. They need constant supervision and management and discipline and training which costs even more money. They are subject to National insurance payments and pension payments and demand annual increases..

 

Doesn't take much for the number crunchers to work out the investment/maintenance cost of the machinery versus the benefits versus cost of X number of human staff and do the maths. 

 

If people want to cling on to human touch, they have to be prepared to pay more on the price tag.

Theres actually a good argument by a PhD Researcher in the full article linked that automation is currently proving uneconomical for many businesses:

 

“Cowman-Sharpe says the investment needed to retrofit an entire factory likely means the effect of automation hasn’t been that big so far. “£150 million is a lot of money,” he says. “Given the cost of energy at the moment, it could be cheaper for a lot of places to actually continue to pay a workforce.””

 

Over time, and as global prices adjust it may change of course.

You can meet the team helping Sunnybank nature reserve next Wednesday:

 

 

Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust have been provisionally granted £10,000 worth of funding for Sunnybank nature reserve (off Ecclesall Road) and Crabtree Ponds nature reserve (off Barnsley Road), BUT they need your help to unlock it!

 

Basically, to be given the funding they need the public to match it - if they can raise £10k of donations from the public then they get the £10k of match funding from The Big Give Green Match Fund.

 

HOWEVER, they on'y have ONE WEEK to raise it, starting today.

 

Please give what you can to help plans for nature and health benefits at these locations here: https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002SEV60AAH

 

 

Here's what the money will go towards:

 

• £4,000 – Crabtree steps replacement
• £1,200 – Crabtree Woodland and Meadow Management
• £5,100 – Crabtree Pond Dipping Platform Installation
• £3,500 – Sunnybank pond restoration
• £2,000 – Sunnybank Interpretation board
• £3,000 – Sunnybank Welcome sign x2
• £1,200 – Sunnybank habitat management

 

DONATE HERE & THE BIG GIVE WILL MATCH YOUR DONATION: https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002SEV60AAH

 

 

From Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust:

 

"As our cities grow, wildlife gets pushed out. Hedgehogs, birds, insects and reptiles are all losing their homes and being forced into smaller areas, resulting in declining numbers. Likewise, people in local communities are losing green spaces to new developments or anti-social behaviour.

 

"Research shows the benefit of time spent in nature to people's wellbeing, however our busy lives and lack of access in urban areas can mean we don't have these opportunities."

 

DONATE HERE & THE BIG GIVE WILL MATCH YOUR DONATION: https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002SEV60AAH

 

 

"We are lucky enough to manage a number of urban nature reserves, however without funding for maintenance and upkeep, these are in danger of becoming inaccessible to people and unsuitable for wildlife to thrive.

 

"With your support we will be able to improve access with steps & paths, therefore protecting wildlife as well as creating new habitats including ponds and woodland management.

 

"These actions will support wildlife and provide wider benefits such as improved air quality and carbon capture."

 

DONATE HERE & THE BIG GIVE WILL MATCH YOUR DONATION: https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002SEV60AAH

21 minutes ago, Mr. Johnson said:

I'm all for increasing the number of people living in the city centre. It's needed to provide vibrancy and jobs but the architecture of most modern buildings (not just Sheffield) is bereft of any beauty.
All UK cities are getting identikit slabs of grey and brown puncturing their skylines.

The big glass building at West Bar is an exception to the rule. There's just no joy, no unique qualities or indeed soul in most of the buildings being constructed lately. I know it's all about cost but I'd like to see all councils require that developers propose and then stick to more aesthetically pleasing and unique designs.

But, what is 'aesthetically pleasing'? It's totally subjective. What is horrible to you is lovely to somebody else.

 

Personally, I don't see too much of a problem with this building/ It is functional and far more 'aesthetically pleasing' than the old industrial unit that is there currently! And it works with the other newer buildings going up around that area.

 

Plus, the more restrictions you put on development, the less development you will actually get and developers will just look elsewhere. As long as liveable spaces are decently liveable and functional spaces work to their function then it's all good, surely?

Tonight!

 

Book your place now for this informative online talk.

The Tribune today has an in depth look at controversial automation at Boohoo/Pretty Little Thing’s distribution warehouse on Shepcote Lane, which has led to swathes of redundancies. Here’s a snippet:
 

“In 2021, the warehouse employed an army of ‘pickers’ — staff employed to collect items from around the 615,000 square foot or 14-acre warehouse and hand them to other employees to pack ready for distribution. However, following a £150 million investment in the facility, many of these picker jobs have been automated. “When the warehouse opened in 2018, everything was manual,” says one staff member. Now, paid staff have been replaced by a conveyor belt system. “It brings stuff to you rather than you having to go and get it,” they add.

“On the one hand, this makes it “a lot easier” to pick, the staff member says, but it also means they need far fewer workers. The warehouse shed 300 jobs last September, with another 90 earlier this year. The man I’m speaking to works in the hygiene team, cleaning the vast warehouse ready for a new shift to start. This, he adds, is “better than picking” — but not by much. “[Boohoo]’s got a bad name, and it deserves it,” he says. “It’s just ****. You are just like a number; anonymous. They don’t care about you or do anything for you.””

 

Here’s a link to the whole thing (it’s worth subscribing, The Tribune is a fantastic outlet for quality local journalism!).

 

And here’s a video of the new automation in action 😮:

 

 

1 hour ago, foxydebs said:

Is that where record tools used to be

I think it’s the old William Rowland site?

 

At the end of Scotland Street, where it joins Meadow Street (bounded by Edward Street, Upper Allen Street and Broccoli Street).

 

Manchester-based award-winning developer Beech Holdings has secured planning permission for its Sheffield Gardens Build to Rent scheme on Meadow Street.

 

The development has a gross development value of £55m and will deliver 158 homes in a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. Sheffield Gardens is the second development that is outside of the developer’s home city, demonstrating the company’s commitment to becoming a national developer.

 

Residents will benefit from several amenities include a large, private gym, external landscaped courtyard, and roof-top gardens. Beech Holdings has achieved 100% bio-diversity net gain through the inclusion of external amenity and bird/bat boxes to promote and encourage nature.

 

Stephen Beech, CEO of Beech Holdings said: “This is a significant development for Beech Holdings, our very first in Yorkshire and second outside of our home city of Manchester.

 

“It demonstrates our commitment to deliver exceptional apartments across the UK’s regional cities as we grow to be a national developer.

 

“Our company has a 20-year history of delivering exceptional apartment developments and I’m thrilled to be able to offer local people in Sheffield that same standard.

 

“We always look to regenerate where we can; this unused and unloved commercial site is in exactly the location we want to breathe new life into. We’ll be creating over 100 immediate jobs for the construction phase, and we’ll have a permanent staff of at least 10 to deliver residents a premium level of service and maintenance.”

 

The Sheffield Gardens scheme has been supported by architect Leach Rhodes Walker, consultants The Cummings Group, sustainability experts Hydrock and planning consultants Urbana. Works will begin in Q4 2024 with the demolition of the current dilapidated and unused commercial buildings on site.

 

The scheme will remain in the long-term control of the Beech Holdings’ Group, with full property management and a commitment to the community with at least 10 permanent jobs created, alongside the 100+ jobs created in the construction phase.

 

Neil Baumber, Development Director at Beech holdings said: “We are actively looking at other sites in Sheffield, we feel we can offer the standard of accommodation that local people desire. We’ll be getting to work quickly in the final quarter of this year.”

 

Beech Holdings has a 20-year history of delivering exceptional quality, sustainable homes for Greater Manchester, with a particular strength in designing apartments that suit young professionals’ and graduates’ lifestyles that are passive to emissions.

The company has its first scheme in Newcastle due for completion this summer and has great ambitions to be a major player in the UK residential development sector. This brings the total number of apartments delivered or in planning to over 1,000 across Sheffield, Newcastle and Manchester.

 

11 minutes ago, Grumpycatweasel said:

Moderator i deem this thread as spam 

 

should we call the OP a troll? Cynical? 
 

unsure if this is a form of internet bullying?

 

 

You’d be the expert in trolling…

 

 

Streets ahead will be sending the gritters out from 2am as temperatures are set to go below zero overnight and it’ll be a chilly start to Thursday.

 

“Priority routes above 200m will be gritted”

 

Residents are also advised to read up on the latest winter weather advice. 👍

3 minutes ago, Jeffrey Shaw said:

Thank you for plaudits.

 

I agree that there's absolutely no point in contacting Coppen- and its associate PAS Property Services Ltd- by post (with or without an SAE) or telephone or an attempted visit to its premises. Rely only on using statutory rights as explained at inordinate length on the PROPERTY forum [which seems to have vanished!]

 

Jeffrey Shaw, Solicitor and Sole Principal

Nether Edge Law, PO Box 3439, Sheffield S11 8NH

Telephone/fax: 0114-268 7638 or 0845-108 0109

E-mail: [email protected]

The property forum is still here:

 

https://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/forum/4-sheffield-property-amp-housing/

5 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

I don't think figures will necessarily have been massaged but it is worth taking them with a pinch of salt.

 

I'm all for this and I want it to succeed and I'm not saying there won't have been any positive impact even in this short a time, but is it likely just 1 month of public ownership has radically altered the trams fortunes, or done anything long lasting? Probably not - meaningful change will take much longer.

 

Probably two types of thing are happening:

 

1) Quick wins and short-term, focussed action. You can walk in to an organisation and you immediately set some obvious, small things right, and also you can enact some short-term focus on certain things - that probably accounts for the fare evasion, if they've been hot on that, more  etc. Downside is quick wins become harder to find and short-term actions can't always be maintained long-term.

 

2) Recent high profile. The tram has been in countless articles, posts, conversations etc because of the takeover, so it's had lots of free publicity which will have put it back in the minds of many potential passengers. That might account for a fair bit of the 17% increase in revenue - would be interesting to know if patronage is up. Also, if fare evasion is down then that alone might account for the 17% revenue increase!

 

 

So it really needs someone with a good insight in to the system, the organisation, and what actual changes etc have been made in the last month to really understand how impactful it's been. That's not me, unfortunately!

 

 

Has anyone in the media asked Oliver what changes have actually been made?

An increase of 17% revenue is quite impressive still, considering ticket prices are reduced currently.

 

Politicians probably won’t be able to say much else now (via direct channels) as we’re in purdah before the local elections.

36 minutes ago, redruby said:

Ok, thank you for clarifying that I missed something.

 

However, I think you need to be mindful that discrimination isn’t just about racism and religion.  There have been plenty of remarks on here that are offensive to other groups which have not been removed.  I hope next time someone starts on with ‘control your woman’ thread it is removed as sexist.  Or talking about disabled people being ‘benefit scroungers’ it is called out as ableist.  Or derogatory comments about old people are removed as ageist.  Because they are all equally offensive but I do sometimes feel as that certain groups have more protection regarding discrimination and offensive comments than others. Perhaps not in law but in regards to what is considered acceptable on a forum I’m such as this.

From the guidelines:

 

Report offending posts

 

A report post link is present at the top right of all forum posts. Please use this to report anything inappropriate, including a short message explaining why you think the post should be reviewed. It may take some time to review a post and take action; please do not engage with the offending post in any other way (including quoting or replying to it) in the meantime as it may lead to more work cleaning up threads or references to the offending post being missed.

 

Whilst staff and moderators will try to take action when they notice offending posts during their own normal use of the site, the forums are not actively monitored throughout and we rely on users’ self-moderation and the reporting of posts.

 

45 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?

 

'Massaged' figures?

Oooh, the cynicism is strong. 🤣

 

The figures will be made public in accounts, surely? So we’ll be able to mark his work when that’s published.

Now gone.

 

RIP Hallam FM ☹️

 

Did anyone catch the changeover? Would be interested to listen and see if they did something for it?

 

1 hour ago, Resident said:

The 60 mile thing was something I was told by a member of the station staff. 

There are 2 witness accounts that state that 2 buses left the interchange, one saying they'd seen them side by side on the parkway and another stating that they'd seen 2 of them near Crystal Peaks. 

I have a feeling that the incident is being downplayed by SYMCA/SPCT.  

IMO the most bizarre part of the story is that the theives alledgedly took the vehicles back to the bus station. Who in their right mind would cause such significant damage to a vehicle 10 miles away from where it was nicked then risk driving it back given the risk of being seen by plod and stopped.  That bit of the story doesn't smell right to me. 

 

They definitely didn’t take both back to the station — there are photos from the morning showing one of them in situ at Killamarsh after crashing (and being recovered).

 

I’ve heard about 15 different stories about this now — there’s some Chinese whispers going on! 🤣

2 hours ago, redruby said:

Unless I missed something I don’t believe anyone has said anything racist or discriminatory so I’m not sure why we have this little reminder?  Unless discussing this topic is in itself is taboo.
Would we be getting little reminders such as this if there was a discussion might be discriminatory towards women?  Or disabled people?  Or ageism?  I’ve seen discriminatory remarks about all those groups on this forum but no reminders about about the ‘guidelines and terms of the forum’.

You missed something.

 

And yes, I will post reminders where I see fit.

 

Just a quick note to remind people of the guidelines and terms of the forum.

 

Racism and discriminatory language isn’t welcome.