Localism

The publication of a Localism Bill is the latest phase of the supposed trend towards local democracy. We should of course always remember the saying "Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts" when considering the prospect of central government devolving powers to communities. Is this to be another way of denying more power from the Town Halls in a country that is already one of the most centralising and top down in the democratic world?
But the premise of this blog is that our neighbourhoods and services will give most satisfaction when the decisions are taken closest to the people who live in and use them. So perhaps we should keep the scepticism on hold for a while until we see how things turn out. Meanwhile here are some recent articles providing analysis of what is proposed from different perspectives.

Parliament - The Bill

BBC comment

Spectator comment

Guardian comment - Simon Jenkins

New Planning List

The weekly Council planning applications lists detailing those relevant to Ecclesall are linked from the side of the blog.

I could be just too suspicious, but I'm always wary of planning notifications that are made public just before Christmas. I have this idea that some bright spark may have commissioned market research and found that fewer objections get registered at this time - perhaps because people are otherwise occupied. And interestingly there is a much longer list city wide than in recent weeks.

The one that jumps out from the others in Ecclesall is one from Redrow Homes who are currently building at the Ringinglow Road Fire Station site. They are simply asking for a condition that has been imposed on their application to be waived. This concerns the materials for downpipes and gutterings. It may not be a great thing but this development has managed to irritate me from the start.
It's partly the huge hoardings they put up and the rather cynical message on one of them suggesting they "only build one home", which is then qualified by the word "yours". (I've still not worked that one out. I sort of begin to get it then I lose it. Don't other people have homes?) It will be interesting to see if the size and aspect of the houses pictured on the boards give an accurate impression. And why do they need these huge hoardings? Other developments have not needed this scale of intrusion. Is this the start of a new phase of developers' puffery? Surely when the houses are built people will be able to see them and decide then rather than make their minds up on the basis of enormous pictures. I wonder if there is any limit on this kind of thing in national or local regulation?

On the case of the current request from Redrow, I can't see any virtue in conceding to them and hope the council's planners hold firm.

Good Enough?

Well is it good enough? Sometimes its seems we just accept defeat in the face of what is clearly unfair.
This is the prelude to another complaint about roads and footpaths. We live in neighbourhoods and communities and we have very little control over what goes on in them. The council has a stated aim and a policy that claims that we should be put "in the driving seat". So here goes: Our footpaths and pavements should not come last in the priority for maintenance. I watched this afternoon, helpless, as an older lady struggled along an icy footpath on her way to deliver a Christmas card to a neighbour. The inevitable happened and it was fortunate that another neighbour and I were able to help her. But how she will be tomorrow I don't know. This unfortunate event must have happened many times recently. Meanwhile traffic is speeding regardless along a well gritted road a yard away. Some people later, myself included, walked on the road judging it to have a safer surface. Drivers hurrying to a destination in another neighbourhood did not adjust their speed - in fact some appeared to show irritation. This is not an insoluble problem. It is just that council officers (and councillors who should hold them to account) do not put themselves out to deal with it. The car comes first.

Community Assembly Meeting Postponed

The meeting at Crookes scheduled for tonight has been postponed. This seems sensible. The road surface here has gone from mildly slushy to treacherous in an hour.

Christmas Postponed

It seems that health and safety officers have been busy. A threat of snow showers has resulted in the Millhouses Park Christmas in the Park event being called off. It was due to be held this weekend.

I wonder where the health and safety people were when the River Thames Frost Fairs were being held.

Community Assembly Meeting Thursday

A public meeting of the South West community Assembly is being held this Thursday at 7 pm at Wesley Hall Methodist Church Crookes. This does provide an opportunity to raise any local issues before councillors.
The link to the Agenda and accompanying papers is here.

What Do People in Ecclesall Want?

If you or your group have ideas for improving any aspect of Ecclesall then you need funds. To give ideas about how to set about getting money it's important to speak to the right people. This is the idea behind the Funding Forum event on 18th January at the Town Hall. The poster can be accessed from Matthew's blog. Improving Ecclesall ? I can think of a few ideas without much effort. One was mentioned at the Ecclesall Forum meeting on Wednesday - the repairing of the uprights at the Terminus building. Most of our green spaces could be improved by better access arrangements. There is the big project at Millhouses Park where the Friends Group wish to see the Mill buildings renovated.

Local Post Offices Future

The Council's plan to save local Post offices has been published and you canclick to read a press release about it. On the face of it very good news assuming the details are well worked out. Too late to save some local offices perhaps but the ones we still have may be more secure.

Bin Collections

The link for information about Veolia's bin collections is HERE.
I wonder how hard they are trying? Of course it's difficult.
The least we should expect is good reliable information. Twice I tried the Council's Weather Update webpage recently and the link for information about bin collections asked me for a login and password.

Under Foot

This always happens as a thaw sets in. The compacted snow/ice on the pavements becomes even more treacherous and the number of hospital admissions increases alarmingly.

I was out before 7.30 this morning with my Snow Warden gear and a wheelbarrow full of grit on the pedestrian walkway near my house. This serves the local school but is used as well by local pedestrians on the way to the bus stops. Meanwhile traffic is dashing along the road regardless. Having, I hope acquitted myself well enough in my volunteer Snow Warden role I'm pleased to see even more praise for us from the Council Leader in the Sheffield Telegraph. Would this be a good time to put in for a pay rise?

Snow Warden Report

As the local Snow Warden it's important to take my duties seriously. I may be starting at the bottom in my quest to become Council Leader but you have to start somewhere. For that reason I'ld like to be as officious as possible. We were issued with shovel, tabard and gloves. A pity we didn't get a peaked cap and a notebook but I can provide my own. Now it's time to assess the performance of my neighbours in their snow clearing. In some countries it's compulsory to clear the snow in front of your house. Why not here? That was really a splendid urban myth, the one that said you could be liable for damages if someone slipped after you had sweated away for hours clearing snow on the public footpath. It had the useful advantage of justifying idleness.

To sum up the local shovelling:

1 Some excellent work with much bending of backs.

2 A vehicle route was created of some 200 yards to the top of Marsh House Road - a great achievement comparable to the Relief of Mafeking.

3 On the downside, not enough consideration for pedestrians. Some people cleared snow to get their cars out and piled it up to either side on the footpath. That is very naughty.
While they are casually driving out in their heated capsules we are having to scale alpine peaks or endanger ourselves by walking in the road.

Rest In Peace?

A peaceful walk through the All Saints Churchyard accompanied by a particularly loud house alarm. Did I really hear grumpy subterranean noises too?

School Nativity Photos

Many local schools will be putting on Nativity Plays. School closures because of recent weather will have interfered with rehearsal schedules but this can be seen as another aspect of the seasonal mayhem that is part of the tradition of life in a primary school. Schools certainly don’t need bureaucrats and ignorant journalists to make their lives even more difficult. In the news today is a report from the Information Commissioner Christopher Graham, which is being reported as saying that it’s perfectly OK for parents to take photos at school Nativities. This is ignorant nonsense and just making life harder for teachers trying to deal with badly behaved parents (and there are more of those than children). Schools should tell parents not to take photos. Adults standing up in the audience, obscuring the view of others and selfishly flashing cameras in the face of the cast should be told firmly that they are not welcome. This was the case when my own children were at school and it should be the case today. The school can take its own ‘official’ photos and probably a video as well to be sold in aid of school funds. The data protection issue is a side issue and a red herring. It’s just poor journalism that this is misunderstood or not even mentioned in articles I’ve read.

Snow Heaven

If there is a better place for sledging I don't know it. The Common has a pleasant, mainly gentle slope, and the most attractive setting imaginable. This is what winter games should be. There are enough downsides to this extreme weather. But for those who still remember what it was like to be ten years old this is about as good a place to be as you could find.

School Run Madness?

How to describe the traffic chaos around High Storrs and Ecclesall Junior School which this morning reached a new peak of insanity?
Are words like deplorable and scandalous too strong or not strong enough? The parents who insisted on driving their children to school this morning must have known what they were doing and yet they continued to do it. They must know about the pollution they cause and the congestion they would inevitably create. Perhaps they are addicted to traffic fumes, can’t get enough of it and believe the local residents and their own children must really enjoy it as much as they do? The atmosphere being breathed by those walking on the footpaths this morning tasted poisonous.
The Council and the schools all want less car dependency and more children walking to school. It used to happen not all that long ago, but year on year it has got worse and, lemming-like, people do it because other people do it. People must have known this morning would be bad after the weather. Yet they continue to behave in this way. The school has a Travel Plan and apparently regularly sends out requests that people walk their children to school. Although the snow and ice brought special circumstances this morning the congestion and selfish behaviour is not untypical on more normal days. What seems to be happening is an abdication of responsibility. So who is going to take up the issue and keep raising it until something gets done?

Gilders Site

Gilders VW Showroom at Banner Cross no longer exists since they moved out to Meadowhead but it still persists as an influence on the area. Development in one form or another is bound to come. Local people in the Banner Cross Action Group are anxious that what follows does not create more problems and represents something that is an asset to the neighbourhood and that any road layout alterations benefit the area when it’s finished. For that reason they want to be involved in the decision making process. The group were against the original plan involving a supermarket and this was rejected. Now a newly submitted plan seems to have been given the go ahead. It’s a complex site because of traffic which has to be an important factor in any calculations. Anything that creates more congestion and more difficulties for local residents and those on foot will not be welcome. The council seems to have accepted that the Banner Cross Action Group should have an input into the eventual solution and a working group has been set up specifically to look into traffic issues.

Community Forum

The Ecclesall Forum meets on the second Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is this coming Wednesday 8th December at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at Ecclesall Library. The Forum's stated intention is to be the voice of the Ecclesall area. That area includes all of the electoral ward of Ecclesall which stretches from Endcliffe Park to Ringinglow and from Greystones to Millhouses. An important reason for the Forum's existence is a wish to see improvements which benefit the area and local people. It's therefore important that meetings have a good attendance reflecting the various parts of the Ecclesall Ward. There are opportunities to influence projects and spending on local amenities through relations with the Council's South West Community Assembly. If you've not been before and have ideas, however modest, about aspects of your area, or if you're just interested in what's happening, don't hesitate to come along. Community Forums like this are an essential part of the local democratic process.

Local Shops

Local centres like Bents Green have been doing good trade in the last few days with more people unable to use their cars to get to the big supermarkets. Perhaps we should have more disruption like this? Good local shops bring character to a neighbourhood. But several passers by blinked and looked again at the Optician's window.

Community Assembly Meeting

Advance notice of the coming Community Assembly Public Meeting has been sent by Matthew. It will be on Thursday 16th December and is at Wesley Hall Methodist Church Crookes at 7 p.m.
Matthew has also sent links to papers relating to the previous meeting:

"Previous meeting agendas and reports, and future meeting dates and attendees"

(Though as a member of the 'Suffix Taleban' that last word brings on a twitch. What's wrong with ...ers, or even 'members'? - another Americanism, I suppose)

It would be really useful to have an earlier look at the agenda and papers for the coming meeting but Matthew says the Secretariat are inflexible on this.

Open and Shut

It's been an observation made many times and over many years that in bad weather school closures reflect the age of the pupils who attend. But not quite as some might think. The perception is that the older the pupils the more likely it is that their school will close due to snow and ice. I've heard primary school teachers complain many times that when they have struggled to school and coped with their charges in often demanding conditions, the local comp. has closed. I'm sure there is more to this than that but it's interesting nonetheless. I can remember one primary teacher complaining bitterly that she had not only her own class to teach and supervise but that older children from the closed comprehensive up the road were wandering around her school at a loose end. I mention this not to cause unnecessary conflict but simply to report the perception.
As it happens Ecclesall Juniors is open today but not High Storrs. A letter went home from the Head of High Storrs to parents from which I quote:

"reports from site services staff at the school today indicate that the footpaths are frozen and in a dangerous condition. I have therefore had to close the school for a fourth day in order that they can make the school safe.
We are extremely frustrated by this situation as I understand you will be. Please be assured that we will be making additional arrangements for students, particularly those in examination classes, in order that they can catch up with work they have missed.
With apologies once more.
Yours sincerely, "

Information

Travel Information
http://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/News/Changes+and+disruptions.htm
School Closures
http://twitter.com/SCCPressOffice
General Weather and Conditions Information from the Council
http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/whats-new/weatherupdate
Independent Local Weather Site
http://www.sheffieldweather.co.uk/index.htm

Night Sky

Venus and a new moon over the snowy streets of Ecclesall before dawn this morning.

Buried

Scenes in All Saints, Ecclesall churchyard this morning.

Meanwhile at Bents Green Methodist Church deep snow has been
added to still waters

Do They Know?

There is a limit to what 'experts' know. But that does not stop them telling us what we should do and what is going to happen.
Earlier this morning the BBC homepage weather forecast for S11 told us we could expect light snow showers. It now claims we are to have heavy snow all the way through from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Those wishing to try an alternative forecast and see various other weather data specific to Sheffield could try this site, the Sheffield Weather Page.

Stagecoach Ahead

If the Twitter site is to be believed it's Stagecoach that is winning the battle with First to get buses on the road around here. The 88 and 83 services are running and proof of that is the 88 that's just gone up Ringinglow Road.

Coping with Snow

As the messages appear first one or two then in greater numbers on the Twitter sites telling us of school closures today, it's worth stepping back and wondering why anyone should think there should be any doubt about this. Certainly local schools near here might be thought a bit odd to even consider opening. Seeing that so many parents these days are clearly unable to get their children to school without taking them in a car that is just not an option in these conditions. (There's of course quite an argument about whether it should be the way to get kids to school at normal times.) But just looking out of the window should tell you. I'm told email communication is now used by schools when weather is bad. If that's so presumably children can be given work at home. I hope that includes clearing the drive and checking if the elderly neighbours are coping. Then snowball fights must be arranged: as a council registered Snow Warden I insist that these must be conducted under European Union rules with snowball diameters no greater than 9.5 cm and distance between rival groups between 15 and 20 metres. As for sledging it's always seemed odd that nowadays it's the Australians who've appropriated this word when they see so little snow. The real sledging experience in our ward can be seen at Ringinglow and, a bit closer to the schools, on The Common- known to the Parks Dept as Common Lane Open Space. (Google calls it Whitely Woods - the name of the adjoining house used by Girl Guides).

Buses Suspended 10 a.m.

All South Yorks buses are suspended. Best place to find news is at Twitter from Travel South Yorkshire. http://twitter.com/TravelSYorks#

This is better than the Travel South Yorkshire main website which is hopeless at the moment because when you click on Snow Disruption you can't read the text because the menu obscures it.

Peaceful

Is it the presence of the snow or the absence of the vehicles? Probably both. But the dominant feeling is of nostalgia. Standing in the middle of High Storrs crossroads and taking photographs pointing each of the four ways there was no sound of cars. Human voices seemed unnaturally loud. That's what it was like until recently in the main streets in Chinese cities where the human scale of the traffic was maintained by rickshaws but no cars. And of course further back in time even these roads were places where children could play.

Weather News

Ringinglow Road at 6.45 a.m. today

The council's website has various information about how services are being affected by weather which you can get to by clicking here. At the time of writing this, their last update was yesterday evening but I imagine it will change during the day. There is also a link to latest news on bin collections from Veolia which is reproduced here. The message from them seems to be that nothing was collected on Tuesday so the bin won't be emptied this week so you might as well return it back to where you keep it. Looking out of the window of my igloo just now the prospect of any normal service going on today seems as likely as a sudden heatwave
There are two places where information can be accessed about school closures. The first is from the council's school closure page. The other one might be more immediately up to date: it's on http://twitter.com/SCCPressOffice.

Magic Red Shovel ?

As referred to earlier, I volunteered to become a Snow Warden, one of only 3 in the whole of Ecclesall. On Saturday my equipment was delivered and on Monday came the ton of salt in a builder's bag. The equipment consists of a pair of gloves (very cold) a yellow visibility tabard with the important words Snow Warden displayed ( a bit small for my size) and the key item- a bright red shovel. Feebly I quipped to the neighbours that my 'magic' shovel would sort out all snow problems in no time. I'm now beginning to think the shovel is truly magic, but not as hoped for. Each time I've cleared a stretch of footpath the snow has dumped itself back in double quantity.
"Anything from the council must be treated with suspicion," I was once told. "Every council solution to a problem is actually a job creation scheme." How easily well meaning innocents are trapped. I feel like the Sorceror's Apprentice.