One of the initiatives brought in by the Liberal Democrat city council is to provide free insulation for homes across the city.  Not only does this help households cut their fuel bills, but it is also one step on the road to making Sheffield a more sustainable city with fewer carbon emissions.

To manage the cost of the scheme, it is being introduced gradually across the city with the first areas including Walkley, Manor, Arbourthorne, Hillsborough and Gleadless Valley.  However, although the scheme is not yet available for all in Nether Edge, some residents can take advantage of it straight away.

The households that are already included are those where one of the residents is aged 70 or over; or where someone is in receipt of one of these benefits:

• Council tax benefit (not including single person reduction)
• Housing benefit
• Income support
• Income based jobseekers allowance
• Attendance allowance
• Disability living allowance
• Disablement pension (must include a constant attendance allowance)
• Child tax credit (when household income is £16,040 or less)
• Working tax credit (when household income is £16,040 or less)
• State pension credit
• War disablement pension (must include a mobility supplement or a constant attendance allowance)
• Income-related employment and support allowance

You can read more about it here on the Sheffield Liberal Democrats website or by calling Freephone 0800 915 9096 (8am - 6pm Monday to Friday) or by emailing insulation@sheffield.gov.uk

Last week, the Liberal Democrats nationally made a pledge to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use.  This would make sure there were more homes available for those who need them and would also create 65,000 skilled jobs.  This comes at the same time as Sheffield’s Liberal Democrat council is planning to build the city’s first new council houses in decades.

Although our city has seen a lot of new building in recent years, it hasn’t necessarily provided housing that’s affordable for those on lower incomes.  It also isn’t sustainable to simply abandon some properties that could be brought back in to use, and derelict buildings inevitably cause some problems for the neighbours.  One such property is 99 Machon Bank, which could be a lovely house but has now been abandoned for some years.  The council’s private sector housing team are currently trying to work with the owner to get it brought back in to use voluntarily, but if this fails then the council is able to take enforcement action against the owners.  Do let me know if you’re aware of any other similarly derelict empty properties in Nether Edge ward.

You can find out more about the party’s national empty homes pledge by watching this video from Party Leader Nick Clegg, Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP and the Lib Dem Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Teather MP.  The pledge has also received backing from the National Housing Federation.

Hunter House Road - have your say on the permit parking scheme proposal in this and surrounding roads.

The city council has written to every home in part of Hunter’s Bar to ask them for their views on a proposal to include their area in a permit parking scheme.  The scheme would include Hunter House Road, Hunter Hill Road, Roach Road, Penrhyn Road, Pinner Road, Fulmer Road, Guest Road, Stretton Road, Sandbeck Place, Osberton Place, Junction Road, Hardwick Crescent and parts of Cowlishaw Road and Psalter Lane.

The reason this proposal has come forward is because the council agreed to review the existing Sharrow Vale Permit Parking Scheme following comments from local residents and businesses after it had been in operation for a year.  I chaired a well-attended meeting at the start of the year when people came along to express their views.

The result of this has been the council looking at ways to improve the existing scheme and looking at the effect the permit parking scheme has had on the surrounding area.  It is fair to say that opinion on whether to extend the scheme to the Hunter House Road area has been divided, with strong opinions on both sides.  That is why the council is now carrying out a further consultation in the area to see whether people are happy with the proposed scheme or not.  Details of the proposed scheme can be viewed on the Sheffield City Council website here, which also gives you details on how to make your views known.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning a few points that have already come up:

• The main proposal is to split up the existing large Sharrow Vale Permit Parking Scheme (which stretches from Hunter’s Bar & Endcliffe Vale Road all the way down to London Road) in to a number of smaller schemes so they can be tailored to suit the specific problems in that area.  The main downside to this however is that your permit would only be valid in a smaller area.
• The majority of changes are changing road markings to create extra parking spaces and to ensure there is a balance between the needs of residents and of the people whose businesses depend on people driving in to the area.
• Some extra roads are being added in to the permit parking system, the biggest of which is the Hunter House scheme, as both the council and some residents felt that by being surrounded by permit schemes they would end up suffering from being just outside the boundary.  When a permit scheme is created some people who would have parked inside the permit scheme area instead park in the surrounding roads taking up space that would have been used by those local residents.
• Since the Liberal Democrats took control of the city council they have cut the cost of parking permits to just £10 for a year and £30 for any extra permits needed. The cost is now designed just to cover the cost of running the permit scheme rather than to make any money for the council.
• Permits are only available to residents and businesses within the permit scheme area.  There is also a system that allows you to buy temporary visitor permits for when people come to visit you.
• These proposals are not set in stone - do tell us and the council directly what you think.

To let your local Liberal Democrat team know your views, then please click here to complete our short survey

 Parts of Nether Edge, such as Machon Bank, are already in a 20mph zone

New proposals to allow councils to put in place 20 mph schemes over groups of streets without the need for traffic calming measures such as speed humps were announced today by Road Safety Minister Paul Clark MP.

The Government is encouraging local councils to introduce 20 mph schemes into residential streets and other roads where cycle and pedestrian traffic is high, such as around schools, shops and parks.

In the past, councils wanting to implement 20 mph schemes on groups of roads have had to do so in ‘zones’ which require traffic calming measures such as speed humps. 20 mph limits without traffic calming were only recommended on individual roads.

However, following a successful city-wide trial in Liberal Democrat-run Portsmouth which suggested it is possible to significantly reduce speeds on residential streets without speed humps or other traffic calming measures, the Department for Transport plans to allow 20mph limits to be used across more streets where traffic speeds are already low without the need for such measures.

So my question is this, would you want a 20mph zone in your area?  Some parts of Nether Edge ward are already included in 20mph zones but should this be extended?  Also, which roads should be included?  Although the Government’s proposals don’t include main roads, (so for example, Abbeydale Road and Ecclesall Road would remain at 30mph), but the question mark will be over roads that run through the area that are not classed as main roads but are very well used and as such are a key part of the city’s road network, such as the bottom end of Osborne Road and Sheldon Road.  The government does say that “major through routes” should be excluded, but defining these will be a matter of opinion.

This is an issue that has already been discussed by the Nether Edge Neighbourhood Group, and I would appreciate people’s comments on the issue - click on comment at the top of the post to have your say.

Quite a number of streets in Nether Edge have been hit by a problem with the street lights over the last few days.  Last night, the lights in quite a few roads - such as Ladysmith Road, Edgebrook Road, Barker’s Road and Union Road - were out completely, but there have been problems with them going on and off for days.

I’ve been informed today that the council is aware of the problem, and are trying to get the lights repaired as soon as possible.  As is often the case, the problem when all of the lights go out in an area is one that needs to be fixed by the electricity company YEDL.  This can take a little bit of time as they try and find the fault, although they promise to get things sorted out within 30 days.  Sometimes trying to find a fault means that they end up having to leave the lights on all the time, including during the day.  Also, if the problem is related to the supply of electricity to people’s houses as well as streetlights, they will (if they need to) give restoring the electricity supply to people’s houses a priority over the streetlights.

I am happy to take up any issues relating to problems with streetlights, especially if a light has been faulty for some time, but you can also contact the council directly by using any of their contact details here.  They also have a page that tells you a little bit more about what they do on maintaining streetlights.

At recent community meetings, Sheffield Hallam University have announced new plans to redevelop their former Psalter Lane Campus. The plans are currently at an early stage, and they have yet to make public any specific plans or designs. However, what is clear is that:

• Sheffield Hallam University are working with developers Bellway Homes.
• Their current proposals include over 100 properties - mainly 3-4 bedroom homes, but also apartments in the old art school.
• They are expecting to demolish the current buildings on the site (except the old art school) in December 2009.
• They are expecting to submit an application for planning permission in the New Year.

I was at the recent meeting of Banner Cross Neighbourhood Group, when Sheffield Hallam University displayed drawings of the proposed redevelopment. Despite this, the university says these are just very initial drafts of what could happen on the site rather than specific architects designs, but that they welcome comments from residents. It’s therefore important that local residents contact the university now to make clear what their views are and what want they want to see on the site. The demolition in December has also come around very suddenly and they don’t need any permission to go ahead with it, and so again residents should contact the university now to iron out about any problems it may cause.

You can make your views heard and be added to Sheffield Hallam University’s redevelopment mailing list by emailing fd-marketing@shu.ac.uk including your name, email and postal address quoting “Psalter Lane Campus Redevelopment” in the subject line. Also, copy any comments you make to the local Liberal Democrat team at netheredgelibdems@gmail.com as we want to know what people think.

The Banner Cross Campaign Group have organised another meeting to discuss the future of the former Gilders site at the junction of Ecclesall Road South and Psalter Lane.  I understand the meeting will also include a discussion about the former Sheffield Hallam University site on Psalter Lane.

The meeting will take place on Monday 2nd November 2009 at 7pm in Banner Cross Methodist Church.

The Jacobs factory off Troutbeck Road

Today I was talking to residents of Troutbeck Road and those nearby on Abbeydale Road.  Although they raised a number of issues the main one was the planning application for the old Jacobs site.

The current application is for the “erection of retirement village, including nursing care home, EMI/dementia care home, sheltered accommodation for the over 55’s, doctors surgery or hospital for the terminally ill.”  This is such a wide range of different facilities that it’s hardly surprising that there is some confusion on the part of local residents as to exactly what will happen.  However, at the moment this is an outline application rather than a detailed application, to get the principle agreed that it could be any one of these things on the site.

Despite the vagueness of the application there does however seem to be general support for doing something with what is currently a derelict site that brings down an otherwise nice area.  The latest proposals are also far more popular than a previous plan to build 201 apartments on the site.  There is however still concern over traffic and parking.

As with most areas of terraced housing, parking in the area is not easy.  This is not only an issue for the residents of Troutbeck Road, but also those residents of Abbeydale Road who have to park on Troutbeck Road because of the peak-time parking restrictions outside their own homes. A lot of residents are concerned that this application will lead to more restrictions on parking on Troutbeck Road, such as putting double-yellow lines down one side.   This would mean there were completely insufficient parking spaces for the number of cars that need to park on the road, and even more so if all the offices at the bottom of the road are occupied.

The previous application for 201 flats was withdrawn but that time the highways issues were again a major issue.  This time around the building of a residential care home or similar is likely to cause fewer parking problems, but if restrictions are placed on Troutbeck Road there could still be big problems.

I have written to Development Control in the council to emphasise the importance of the highways issues, (as well as to ask that the development results in the opening up of access to the River Sheaf), and to pass on the views of local residents, but it would also be a help if local residents also made their views known directly.  Although the official deadline for comments has passed, there is still time to make your views heard before the meeting of the Planning Board.  To comment, you should write to Stewart Greenslade at Development Services, Howden House, Union Street, Sheffield, S1 2SH.

You can find full details of the application on the city council’s website here.

A new pedestrian crossing is going to be installed on Psalter Lane, thanks to pressure from local residents and councillors.  The exact location is still to be decided, but it will be somewhere between the top of Sharrowvale Road and Cowlishaw Road.  I know from my own experience how difficult it can be to cross the road here, given the volume of traffic that now uses the road, but I’ve also spoken to residents of Southcroft who find it particularly difficult.

Now the Community Assembly has agreed to fund the crossing, we now need to wait for the council’s highways officers to come up with a scheme and a timetable for the work.  I’ll keep residents up to date with the plans.

Cllr Colin France & Anders Hanson examine traffic problems around the Gilders site

Many residents in the Banner Cross area will be pleased with the decision by the council’s planning board to reject the proposed food store and housing on the former Gilders site on Ecclesall Road South.  This was a good example of local residents working hard with local councillors and MPs of all parties to affect a decision made about the local community.

However, understandably Gilders cannot leave the site as it is and so I am pleased that their Managing Director Gary Scotting has offered to sit down with local residents to discuss the future options for the site.  Thank you to those residents who have got in touch with me with their suggestions.  Cllr Colin France and I have also knocked on a lot of doors in the area to find out the opinions of people in the area.

With the current economic difficulties it is understandable that Gilders need some return on their sale of their site.  However, it is also important that any plans do not generate extra traffic and damage the quality of life of existing residents.  There is also the affect that any new supermarket may have on local retailers in Banner Cross and Greystones.  I understand that there is however a possibility that the site could be put back in to use as a car showroom, rather than being sold.  So there are a number of options for the site.

The new Banner Cross Campaign Group is hoping to organise a meeting  later in September or at the start of October.  Your local Liberal Democrat team will make sure that as many people are aware of the date, time and venue for the meeting as possible.