Why Is Sheffield So Far Behind Many Other Uk Cities?

[Anna B]

On 15/11/2023 at 10:16, geared said:

Trams are a massive plus point, especially compared to Leeds.  Even Nottingham only recently got one.

 

Big problem is that investment money just doesn't really make it's way out of London, and when it does it's going to larger cities.

 

The council can only do so much, if the money isn't there the money isn't there.

Mmm... but I imagine most councils are suffering from this but still manage to move forward.

 

I don't think our council is very wise where it spends it's money and is way too slow to deliver results. They are notable only for their much publicised failures such as the tree felling debacle, (which went international,) World student games, doomed Music centre, airport closure and multiple problems. It hardly inspires confidence from businesses and investors. 

 

They fail to fight hard enough to aquire grants that other councils seem to get, and miss opportunities through lack of vision. Add to that our poor position demographically, barely in Yorkshire but not in Derbyshire either. We lack connectivity to other areas and are overlooked as a bit of a backwater. We miss out to Leeds which is more centrally placed every time.  

 

[Mkapaka]

22 hours ago, Anna B said:

The tram should go to Hallamshire hospital, and if possible to the Northern General as well, then it would be more used. The problem is it only serves small conurbations. 

 

Agree totally.

[Findlay]

It is a 10 minute walk up a slight hill to the Hallamshire which I did there and back from a vasectomy.
The trams are packed at peak times and so they need more trams to be running on all the routes. The design should be a figure eight loop not a spur so it can include outer residential and business areas and run more trams at the same time with less reliance on road networks which is a big vulnerability to trams running.

Bringing the Northern General into a loop would an extension of Meadowhall to meet up with Hillsborough Park

[Irene Swaine]

What Sheffield needs is to become a destination for days out, like York is, like Liverpool is, like London is and like Edinburgh is. We need to get tourists visiting and spending money here. Residential apartments will not do that. Banning 'loitering' will not do that (it will eradicate families having picnics in the summer and enjoying the views etc, look how many people 'loiter' on Trafalgar Square). 

 

Sheffield has the Millennium Gallery exhibition and the Winter Gardens and two theatres. The council need to be singing about this in promotions around the country.  

 

For a city with areas of immense wealth, such as Whirlow and Dore (though not everyone there is rich) and a rich academic heritage, having 2 universities and a network of colleges, it's strange that Sheffield can't even hold down a Pret A Manger in the city centre.

 

The council need to reopen Leopold Street and Pinstone Street and get buses running right through there and past the soon to be opened Radisson Hotel.  The combined authority should stop wasting money on the city clipper bus and focus on connecting the railway station with the city centre better. They could work with National Rail franchises and Stagecoach to introduce a scheme where passengers arriving to Sheffield by train may uses their rail ticket for one journey on the tram as far as Cathedral and one journey from the Cathedral as far as Sheffield Station. The conductor/RPO will clip the ticket when the journey is made and ensure they only travel the permitted distance. The council will pay Stagecoach a set amount per usage, using the funds saved from axing the city clipper. 

 

Give Fargate markets more variety than the usual Christmas markets and flower stalls. Get live music (solicited) being performed there. Get local produce sold there, Our Cow Molly, Henderson's pasties, Granelli's sweets. Make it a destination people choose to visit like Loughborough market and York markets. 

 

Clamp down on beggars, unmuzzled and un exempted bull dogs, the drugs fraternity and the grifters. Make Sheffield feel safer. Ensure adequate amenities such as public toilets are provided.

[Planner1]

4 minutes ago, Findlay said:

It is a 10 minute walk up a slight hill to the Hallamshire which I did there and back from a vasectomy.
The trams are packed at peak times and so they need more trams to be running on all the routes. The design should be a figure eight loop not a spur so it can include outer residential and business areas and run more trams at the same time with less reliance on road networks which is a big vulnerability to trams running.

Bringing the Northern General into a loop would an extension of Meadowhall to meet up with Hillsborough Park

So how do you think you are going to get a figure of eight loop and get to the Hallamshire and Northern General, without doing it on-street?

 

The PTE consulted on a loop out to the Hallamshire, Broomill and Ranmoor. It was dropped because the locals were against it. They asked the government to give them money to get a spur to the Hallamshire and they refused as the business case didn’t stack up.

 

The government have already recently funded a package of new trams at the same time the tram train trial went in. The PTE had wanted more trams, but the government cut it back.

 

I would think that any extensions that do get brought forward are more likely to be to Waverley and extending beyond Parkgate.

[Findlay]

10 minutes ago, Planner1 said:

...

I would think that any extensions that do get brought forward are more likely to be to Waverley and extending beyond Parkgate.

I didn't say you could loop to Hallamshire, its close enough.
You could loop again from Meadowhall to Crystal Peaks via Waverely but thats going to be a big pit anyway within 50 years with all the underground rivers creating massive caves under the houses..

Edited February 11 by Findlay

[Irene Swaine]

I suspect the business case didn't stack up because of the Hallamshire being used less these days and most emergency procedures being done at the Northern General. Route 30 takes you on to the site of the Hallamshire, which is closer than a tram would ever logistically be able to get. TM Travel and Travel South Yorkshire need to promote this better. An X5 journey used to run to the Hallamshire bus terminal too, I am not sure if it still does with all of the recent changes but again, the public need to be made aware of commodities like this. 

 

Running a tram to the Northern General would be a challenge with the structure of Spital Hill and Barnsley Road (and all of the illegal parking around there). The new TM Travel 32 bus goes to the grounds of NGH and again this needs to be promoted as a useful commodity. 

 

The only place in Sheffield the tram could be extended to would be Stocksbridge, using the bottom road and Dinnington, using the Meadowhall route to Nunnery Square and then joining Network Rail tracks to Woodhouse and branching off at Swallownest. Light rail is always going to be limited by practicalities and in direct competition with bus services which can reach that bit further.

[ECCOnoob]

12 minutes ago, Irene Swaine said:

 

For a city with areas of immense wealth, such as Whirlow and Dore (though not everyone there is rich) and a rich academic heritage, having 2 universities and a network of colleges, it's strange that Sheffield can't even hold down a Pret A Manger in the city centre.

 

Seems quite a strange example to use as some beacon of wealth and success. 

 

It has been struggling in many other places and it's over pretentious Veggie Pret division spectacularly failed.

 

How about some of Pret's other closures like  prestigious parts of London such as Piccadilly,  Fleet Street or The Strand.  What about their closures in cities like Edinburgh, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow, Norwich. What about their failed units in busy shopping centres like Lakeside or Metrocentre.   They couldn't "hold down" a Pret either.  As if that's supposedly some sort of measure.  

 

That's before we get onto the negative headlines like killing a customer by one of their mislabelled products, trapping one of their employees in a freezer, creating a subscription app which received some backlash from customers and intervention from the advertising regulator. 

 

After 74% drop in sales and a £400m debt after covid, their entire business strategy changed which included focus on out of town and streamlining of branches to make saving on rent.  Given Sheffield already has one branch at Meadowhall that was that.  

 

I think you're underestimate the sophisticated student market.  The independent coffee shops, which are far better quality always have a steady stream of customers, the sushi on far Eastern full vendors around Eyre Street and Division Street have a good following, so do the food halls. Sheffield Plate is particularly busy, even on a weekday.  With the new Cambridge Street Collective shortly due to open there will be the more choice available beyond what is just a sandwich shop franchise which was until recently part owned by McDonald's.  

 

I thought you knew about the catering market. 

[ECCOnoob]

24 minutes ago, Irene Swaine said:

 

Running a tram to the Northern General would be a challenge with the structure of Spital Hill and Barnsley Road (and all of the illegal parking around there). The new TM Travel 32 bus goes to the grounds of NGH and again this needs to be promoted as a useful commodity. 

 

The only place in Sheffield the tram could be extended to would be Stocksbridge, using the bottom road and Dinnington, using the Meadowhall route to Nunnery Square and then joining Network Rail tracks to Woodhouse and branching off at Swallownest. Light rail is always going to be limited by practicalities and in direct competition with bus services which can reach that bit further.

Blimey, something of yours I actually would agree with.

[Longcol]

6 hours ago, Irene Swaine said:

 

 

The only place in Sheffield the tram could be extended to would be Stocksbridge, using the bottom road and Dinnington, using the Meadowhall route to Nunnery Square and then joining Network Rail tracks to Woodhouse and branching off at Swallownest. Light rail is always going to be limited by practicalities and in direct competition with bus services which can reach that bit further.

Not at all sure what you mean by this - the main road via Middlewood /Oughtibridge/Wharncliffe Side  is certainly too narrow in places to accomodate a tram track.