Mylnhurst School

One planning application on the current weekly list is a planning committee decision. It may be of interest to those who live in the vicinity of Mylnhurst School.

Country Roads

Ecclesall has a number of narrow country roads that have had little attention from the Highways Department. The huge increase in vehicles on the roads over the years has not been reflected in measures taken to protect and preserve these roads.

There's news of a campaign initiated by the WI to do something about traffic problems. The immediate focus is an increase in the number of HGV vehicles on the roads around Mayfield Valley including Cottage Lane and Hangram Lane. It's believed that this is a result of satnav use directing drivers to go off previously used routes.



There's an article about this in the current edition of Sheffield Telegraph.

It is not only HGVs that should bother us. Speeding private cars are at least as great an issue. These country roads should be seen as a prime feature of this part of Ecclesall and Fulwood. The character and visual appeal are such that special conditions should apply. People use Cottage Lane as regular cut-through, and as ever when this is the case the drivers' minds are on other things than the safety and comfort of those on foot on bike and on horse. Groups of children are also from time to time taken along here on outdoor projects.

The speed limit on these roads is currently 60 mph! A few years ago legislation was put in place to enable local authorities to designate 'quiet lanes' with speed limits of 20 mph. Sheffield's progressive council decided not to take up the offer.

Council Committees

The composition of the new Scrutiny Committees of the Council is now published on the Council website. The change of administration has led to a renaming of the Scrutiny Boards something that each new administration seems to want to do. By clicking on the names of each committee you can read about the areas covered and also the councillors serving on each one. You can also follow links to agendas and from their minutes and reports:
Economic and Environmental Wellbeing Scrutiny
Healthier Communities and Adult Social Care Scrutiny
Children Young People and Family Support Scrutiny
Safer and Stronger Communities Scrutiny

The South West Community Assembly composition has changed in certain respects. It has a new chairman, Andrew Sangar, and three new councillor members among which is the only non Lib Dem, Geoff Smith of Crookes, replacing John Hesketh.

Lord Mayor

You can read about the new Lord Mayor, Cllr Sylvia Dunkley at this page on the Council's website.

Half-Term Events

Not long before schools half term. Parents wanting to plan ahead may wish to browse the leaflet put out by Activity Sheffield for the South West of the city. It's available when you click the link at the bottom of this page.


Just a minor warning: check on the accuracy of the information by phoning. I've found one mistake (King Ecgbert's School on Darwin Lane?). There may be others

Cyclists Speak Up

There's a pretty vocal cycling lobby in Sheffield. When you start looking around you notice that there are any number of pressure groups variously linked together each one making sure they get around the table at crucial forums and events, ready to make their voice heard. In fact it's hard to imagine any other grass roots movement that generates quite as much support at this moment . Some good and some not so good things follow from this. There's an article in this week's Sheffield Telegraph that suggests the cyclists are keen to get in early with the new council administration. Nothing I would disagree with. I've always been generally in favour of more cycling (with one or two reservations). There was some disappointment that the previous administration lacked enthusiasm for the Twenty's Plenty concept which was a key policy of many cycling groups.

My reservations are about the momentum being built up within the cycling lobby which can seem to be unbalanced and uncritical. For example at one conference I was at not long ago I was in a group dominated by cyclists who all seemed to think that they should be allowed to ride on pavements alongside pedestrians. Another serious problem is the attitude of certain mountain bikers who are not content with being allowed to ride on bridleways but insist that they should have the right to go on narrow informal footpaths and public rights of way where they can cause significant erosion to vulnerable surfaces. I see evidence of this regularly. We need also to remember that selling bikes and the increasing range of gear associated with the activity is a growth area of the economy. Children in schools are a captive audience for the cycling lobby who send speakers in to promote cycling. While this may be highly responsible and a counter to some extent to the advertising of the motoring industry what may stay in the minds of children are the spectacular photos of downhill racing MTBers who often have no care for the sensitive environments they are damaging.

Nevertheless, all in all, I wish the cyclists luck with getting a safer deal for both cyclists and pedestrians, and let's hope the new administration does not forget it's support, in opposition, for moderating traffic speeds in residential streets across the whole city.

Rival Gangs?

We now know more about the makeup of Sheffield’s Council after the recent elections. Labour have a large majority and their group leader, now Council Leader, is Julie Dore. The new leader of the Lib Dem opposition is Shaffaq Mohammed a Broomhill Councillor.
I know nothing of Julie Dore so we will have to see. Cllr Mohammed is someone I’ve written to when he was a Cabinet Member and not had a reply. He also was asked to meet with officers about the future of the Sheffield Moors, another of my interests; he didn’t turn up. Room for improvement.
There’s an article about the Scrutiny Committee meetings in The Star which, like many things that go on in local party politics, seems to be mainly posturing. It’s not much use going along to Scrutiny meetings if the members are so poor at holding the officers to account, which I’m afraid is my observation whatever party is in power. The way forward for our area has to be to make local accountability work.

In the new Cabinet will be: Bryan Lodge, finance, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, business, Jackie Drayton, children and Harry Harpham for homes and regeneration.
Mary Lea, health, Leigh Bramall, environment and transport, and Mick Rooney communities. The only one of these I’ve had experience of is Harry Harpham and I would think very hard before giving him responsibility for anything.

The opposition responsibilities are: Colin Ross (children, young people and families), Alison Brelsford (homes and regeneration), Gail Smith (health, care and independent living), Roger Davison (business, jobs and growth), Ian Auckland (environment and transport), Simon Clement-Jones (finance) and David Baker (communities).

Ecclesall Forum Meeting 11th May

Notes from the Meeting - not exhaustive. Minutes will follow

Analysis of the Bus Survey is not yet complete. It was reported that some residents did not have a survey form delivered by Ecclesall Directory

Several residents from the Common Lane and Cottage Lane area were present. It’s hoped that money can be raised through the You Choose budget for signage at the entrances to Common Lane Open Space. These would remind of opening times and deter visits from youths intent on drunken and anti social behaviour.

The You Choose grants, we are now told, have now a limit of £1,300 as opposed to £2,000 as originally reported but this has still to be confirmed.

Any one organisation is limited to making one application. This means Ecclesall Forum will not be able to apply for funds for both the Terminus building supports and the signage for Common Lane Open Space.

There is again some concern that the deadline for applications to be in for You Choose grants is so soon.

A recent police operation targeting scrap dealers who cruised around streets was successful in revealing a number of offences being committed. It must be remembered that there are some legitimate and licensed operators; but many others who are not part of the scheme. Residents should be aware.

The Ecclesall Woods sawmill project is going ahead now with a new contractor.

Local Parks and Green Spaces

Community Assemblies are still young in Sheffield and we're yet to see how the change in administration will affect things but the general principle of more making decision making more local holds across the political spectrum.
The next stage in devolving power to Community asemblies is to make them more directly responsible for budgets that were previously managed centrally, in particular Parks and Countryside, Libraries and Streetforce.

Parks and Countryside is working to their Green and Open Space Strategy. They have recently presented a paper to a SWCA Briefing meeting. In it there is this chart with an interesting comparison which I must say I found surprising.

I had not thought that the South West area would have fewer green spaces than the other 6 community assembly areas.
Sheffield is attempting to bring its parks up to the 'Sheffield Standard' which has the following 'categories of assessment':

One Councillor

I don't know how the Crookes councillor John Hesketh was viewed by residents in his ward. I've only seen him in operation on committees. He's now lost his seat on the Council as one of the casualties of the anti Lib Dem vote. There would have been many students voting in the Crookes ward so can assume that any coordinated voting patterns could have made quite a difference if the agenda was to 'give the Lib Dems a kicking' or 'give Clegg a kicking' because of tuition fees. I don't know about that. Hesketh's is an interesting case because you couldn't ignore him while you struggle to remember names of most other councillors. I've attended some of the Planning Committee meetings for this part of Sheffield at which he was chairman. He cultivates an air of no-nonsense which is interpreted by some as blustering - not a description I would have used from my limited experience. For those of us who have been frankly astonished at some of the planning decisions coming from council officers he gave us hope that they would not get an easy ride and that questions would be asked. This is very much the view I've heard from others who've been to planning meetings. I noticed a reader's comment below an article in The Star complaining that Hesketh 'bullied council officers' and celebrating his departure. Perhaps this came from a council officer or colleague posting anonymously. It's always necessary to properly scrutinise officers' judgements and my impression is there's not enough of it going on. Sadly I think there will be even less with the new administration.

The South West Community Assembly was until last Thursday composed solely of Lib Dem councillors and some of us had wondered if represntation from another party or an independent would have produced more proper discussion. Well there will now be one Labour councillor alongside the other eleven. It's just that I would not have chosen that to be a replacement for the one Lib Dem who came closest to asking real questions.

AV Aftermath

It's impossible to know why people vote the way they do. That's why commentators have a field day speculating. Nobody can absolutely prove them wrong. So there are more opinions flying around than opportunities to air them. For what it's worth my view is not that unusual: Voters like to vote against people and parties rather than for them. So I take claims by the winning parties to 'have a mandate' for their policies to be so much wishful thinking. Which is one reason why I supported electoral reform. It is also why the No campaign put so much effort into their propaganda. By being ruthlessly negative about their opponents they avoided the electorate at large expressing their majority negative feelings against one party at future general elections. Most people know which party that is.

Our MP has had to take a lot of criticism from every quarter, some of it unjust and some on target. I've also had my criticisms. But in the context of electoral reform he and those in his party who advised him were appallingly naive and misguided. Having the AV vote on the same day as local elections was one example and always obviously a grotesque tactical blunder. Politicians are supposed to be astute. In parts of London where there were no local elections the vote for AV was higher and even in the majority.

But the real lesson is that voting at elections (where parties have access to funding denied to independents) should never be seen as the only or even the major expression of democracy. More participation at local level should be the place to start for those who want improvements to our democratic process.

White and Green

It's getting to be a habit to post about The Common. But it is my favourite spot in all Ecclesall. The character of this place is special - informal and old world with the spacing of the trees and the distant views just right. The key thing is that it doesn't look too managed. It was cloudy today or it would have been visually even more stunning. May brings out all the whites along with greens of grass and spring leaves.
Mayblossom on the hawthorn is alongside other native trees like holly and oak with the ample uncut fringes seasonally crowded with cow parsley. Blackbirds were singing; if you're lucky you might hear the blackcap another fruity performer though much faster.

And again the goats had come through from the neighbouring land, this time to feast on the new bramble and horse chestnut leaves.

Election Results Notes

The Local Council election has left Sheffield with an overall Labour majority of 14, 17 over the LibDems.

Sheffield City Council seats: Labour Party 49; Liberal Democrats 32; Green Party 2; Independent 1.


Ecclesall Ward has been retained by the LibDems. There is a slightly reduced vote for them despite a considerably increased turnout ( 56.6% as against 45.5% in 2007). The full result is

Neale Gibson-Abo-Anber
The Labour Party Candidate
Votes: 2160

Arun Mathur
Green Party
Votes: 1187

Christina Alison Stark
The Conservative Party Candidate
Votes: 1587

Diana Stimely
Liberal Democrat
Votes: 3390


Electorate: 14696
Turnout: 56.6%


Crookes Ward councillor John Hesketh has lost his council seat almost certainly because of the student vote. The LibDem councillors have some pretty nondescript characters among them. He is one of those (almost the only one) who spoke up independently at Community Assembly meetings.

Dore and Totley Ward has returned a LibDem again with a slightly reduced majority. This is a new councillor, Joseph Otten.

Fulwood Ward has been held by Andrew Sangar of the LibDems fairly comfortably despite an increase in the vote for the Greens and Labour.

City Council Election Results

Local Council election results can be viewed as they happen on the Council Press Offices Press Office site here

The full detailed results can also be viewed very soon after declaration here.

Polling

After last year's debacle I decided to attend the polling station early and break the habit of a lifetime. There was a steady stream of visitors which may or may not indicate a large turnout over the day as a whole. A 'Yes' campaigner was nearby handing out leaflets, emphasising the grass roots element on that side of the argument. For the record, my polling station looks like this.



But for fittingness it can't beat the one in the picture below:

acknowledgement http://twitpic.com/4tlbia

The Educated Electorate

The last time I saw some statistics on education it cost over £50,000 in pupil funding from taxes to take a child through school and there are many add-ons. For private pupils parents would be looking a great deal more than that. You need to add on to that the amount needed to take students through university – up to £27,000. And of course many go on further.

In elections citizens are then deemed to be sufficiently qualified to put an 'X' on a piece of paper (only one) to help elect a member of parliament. Voters are not even expected to write their names. If enough people put an 'X' in a certain place today in the referendum we may all be allowed to show that we can count and write numbers, perhaps as many as five. Despite the funds committed to our education many MPs think their constituents are not up to this. Sheffield MP David Blunkett is one of them and supports the No campaign. I wonder if he would trust them to do the work his dog does?

Yes or No

The Referendum Campaign - Opinion


Nobody’s totally impartial about anything but still we should try where we can. Otherwise where will we find ourselves? One place might be in the Conservative camp planning a No campaign in the referendum.

The Yes campaign has been naïve of course, often genuinely believing they are right and that this small step would make things fairer. It was folly to underestimate the sheer ruthlessness of powerful forces that have learned well how to stay in power. By all means do all one can at all times to appear reasonable and civilised but once you see that there’s a threat to your power base you must fight with every weapon you have. Decency, honesty and reasonableness must temporarily be ditched – they can always be re-adopted later on when the danger has passed.

Hence we have a series of comments and insinuations that are dubious accompanied by some statements that are simply lies. But the spin culture is well understood by the establishment nowadays following generations during which marketing skills have been suitably honed and polished. Truth and lies matter less than the craft and sheer intensity with which you deliver your message.

Hence “what bogeyman can we associate our opponents’ message with?” becomes more important than whether their message has any validity. Why bother arguing the points made when market research indicates the effectiveness of this kind of shortcut? In this case the bogeyman is Nick Clegg and his supposed buddy the PM is happy for his team to identify him as such. The PM also declares himself that Australia wants to abandon AV when there is no evidence for this. Desperate need drives these tactics of course. His own supporters will never forgive him if he loses.

Another useful lesson learned over the years is that when you play dirty the other side will always throw up someone who angrily refutes your lies. This can then be interpreted as a personal attack. The result is predictable. Mr and Mrs Elector say they’re all the same and vote for the devil they know – or think they know.

Eeny Meeny

So who should I vote for in the local council election?

Some questions to bear in mind.

1 The only candidate to send something back after my invitation to tell us something?

2 The candidate whose party has pushed most paper through my letter box?

3 Someone who could make a foil to the cosy hegemony represented by the present members of the SW Community Assembly?

4 Someone who actually lives locally in the ward?

5 The candidate whose party has the most informative website?

6 A candidate whose party is led nationally by someone I respect, or least dislike?

7 A candidate who tells the best story about potholes in the road, or alternatively one who does not go on about potholes because he/she thinks other things are more important?

8 Someone who has knocked on my door and made the effort to canvass my vote?**

9 Someone who agrees with me about most matters that affect my neighbourhood***

10 N.O.T.A.

Or should I vote tactically, to keep one candidate or party out? Easier to do that with AV of course.

** Nobody as yet but I'm hoping.
*** Only any good if I know.

Voter Turnout

Two votes on Thursday so this is the week for the people to decide, or at least those of the people who bother to tear themselves away from their sofas and make their way to the polling station. Because voter apathy is to a large extent what Thursday's votes are about. That is especially so with the AV vote of course. But it's also the case with the local council election. Turnout at local elections is often abysmally low to the extent that we are shamed by many third world countries.


There are some unexpected paradoxes in the equation here. For example in Sheffield there is a close contest between Liberal Democrats and Labour for the control of the council. Last year an unusually high turnout gave an advantage to Labour. People who don't normally bother to vote made an effort because the vote coincided with the General Election, which favoured Labour. So it's in the interest of the LibDems to get their own people out but not to make such a noise that the opposition crowd to the polls as well. This is further complicated because they want the AV vote to be a 'yes'. You might then think they want a high turnout. But opinion polls suggest a majority for 'no': so if more of those potential 'no' voters are Labour then again they could benefit from a low turnout.

Public and Private

Community Assemblies were launched at the time of a new wave of interest in public participation along with policies on Community Empowerment sometimes called Community Engagement. In 2008 a white paper was published by the Department for Communities and Local Government pointing the way forward. All this responded to general concern about widespread apathy about the political process and declines in voter turnout. Most councils have some kind of more localised setup in which ward councillors have a role in their neighbourhood. The idea of greater transparency would seem to be going along with this. Certainly local people have no chance of being empowered of they are not also well-informed.

Our Community Assembly, the South West CA, is one of seven in Sheffield and consists of the councillors who sit on the council in the wards of Ecclesall, Crookes, Fulwood and Dore and Totley. There are four meetings each year, or rather there are four held in public to which the public are invited. Public attendance at council meetings is standard these days and there's usually an opportunity for public questions and petitions. Community Assemblies should be at the forefront of this engagement with the public, being more local. But the odd thing is this: While the four open Community Assembly meetings are public there are many others which are held in private. Not only that but the agendas minutes and reports of these meetings are also private. You will need to put in a Freedom of Information request to get any details. To me that seems clearly contrary to the present climate of greater transparency. No one's denying that there may be times when a case could be made for certain business being carried out in private - all council meetings have this option but its not often used. For Community Assembly meetings of all council meetings to be mostly private must surely be perverse.

For this reason I've decided to publish these minutes myself having sent in FoI requests. You can see minutes and agendas of public South West Community Assembly meetings on the council website byfollowing links from here. The minutes of private meetings I've received are at the side. The interesting thing is that despite the FoI request I've only been sent some of the private meeting minutes. I'm waiting for the others which I will publish here when they come. It remains to be seen whether these minutes contain anything revealing why we need to be kept in the dark.

Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of my sending a letter to my M.P. It was four months ago on January 1st that I sent it. So far I've not had a reply. Three times I've written again to ask what's happened about my query and asked to see him and I've had two apologies. I know he's a busy man but surely he can do better than that. Now, today, I've learned what I did wrong. I omitted to send a cheque for £25,000.

Did nobody else know that this is the price of getting to see your M.P.? Well it's no joke. My wide reading has taken me to the recent copy of PR Week. This tells me that "The Liberal Democrats are offering lobbyists the opportunity to attend ‘exclusive dinners’ with Nick Clegg in return for an annual payment of £25,000." You can read the whole article by clicking here.

I believe the Tories and Labour have been doing something similar for quite some time. The LibDems however, have been known to claim higher standards than the others. Anyway, I'm now setting up a fund to enable me to see him. He is my constituency M.P. after all. Please send all contributions to.....etc.