Many thanks to everyone who turned up yesterday, to express our anger at East Midlands Trains policy of preventing pedestrians walking through the station. There is excellent coverage in the Sheffield Telegraph , the Star
There is also news of a new possibility- revamping the old bridge to make a new safe secure route for pedestrians.
(see the Star) It will be interesting to see how this develops, but was is clear is that EMT must stop barricading the bridge while plans are being made.
Thursday 21 May 2009
Monday 18 May 2009
Green opinion poll hopes
Great news today on the opinion poll front-see the Green Party website
Many people are supporting our practical politics and an interesting coalition is building to ensure the Greens beat the BNP, keeping the fascists out of Europe.
The Star campaign on the station continues, with this interesting article. Its a bit harsh on the good people of Dore, many of whom I am sure are very willing to pay for tickets if the train companies provided the staff to collect them! As Geraldine reiterates in the article, no one is objecting to the train companies ensuring that they collect their fares- indeed, for the good of the railway service, we wish they would get their act together and collect them. However this doesn't mean they need to inconvenience the 2500 non rail travellers that use the station everyday (according to a recent SYTPE survey.)
This comment from "Dore resident" is very telling.
"We are actually quite frustrated by the ongoing humiliation that we have to go through on daily basis, thanks to the inadequate management from Northern Rail. The trains are often late or cancelled with very sporadic announcements, and we are unable to buy tickets on the train due to the short distance between Dore and Sheffield. Every morning we get off the train with concern that we may not be able to present our tickets at the station, if we were asked to do so. The after-work train to Dore leaves from Sheffield at 5.15 pm which renders it impossible for a great majority of us (working till 5pm) to purchase the ticket to Dore from the Sheffield train station in a timely manner."
It is high time the station authorities put a stop to this nonsense and found a way to collect all the fares without destroying the open station which used to be one of the things that made Sheffield great.
I have written my speech for the demo on Wednesday and am looking forward to seeing what happens. A large crowd are expected, so please come and join us. 5pm, front of station. We will cross the bridge!
Many people are supporting our practical politics and an interesting coalition is building to ensure the Greens beat the BNP, keeping the fascists out of Europe.
The Star campaign on the station continues, with this interesting article. Its a bit harsh on the good people of Dore, many of whom I am sure are very willing to pay for tickets if the train companies provided the staff to collect them! As Geraldine reiterates in the article, no one is objecting to the train companies ensuring that they collect their fares- indeed, for the good of the railway service, we wish they would get their act together and collect them. However this doesn't mean they need to inconvenience the 2500 non rail travellers that use the station everyday (according to a recent SYTPE survey.)
This comment from "Dore resident" is very telling.
"We are actually quite frustrated by the ongoing humiliation that we have to go through on daily basis, thanks to the inadequate management from Northern Rail. The trains are often late or cancelled with very sporadic announcements, and we are unable to buy tickets on the train due to the short distance between Dore and Sheffield. Every morning we get off the train with concern that we may not be able to present our tickets at the station, if we were asked to do so. The after-work train to Dore leaves from Sheffield at 5.15 pm which renders it impossible for a great majority of us (working till 5pm) to purchase the ticket to Dore from the Sheffield train station in a timely manner."
It is high time the station authorities put a stop to this nonsense and found a way to collect all the fares without destroying the open station which used to be one of the things that made Sheffield great.
I have written my speech for the demo on Wednesday and am looking forward to seeing what happens. A large crowd are expected, so please come and join us. 5pm, front of station. We will cross the bridge!
Thursday 14 May 2009
Rail privatisation has failed the public.
Last night Sheffield Green Party passed the following resolution.
"Sheffield Green Party supports the use of non violent direct action to assert our right to walk across the bridge at Sheffield Station, which was paid for with £7 million pounds of public money." Councillor Rob Murphy has also written to the press supporting the campaign, but explaining how the Green Party policies differ from the other two parties, whose privatisation policies got us in this mess in the first place. Many Green Party supporters will be attending the demonstration on Wednesday 20th at 5pm.
Dear Sir,
I would like to make clear that the Green Party completely oppose the gating of the footbridge at Sheffield Railway Station. However unlike the other parties represented on the City Council we believe the problem is a result of the government's policy of handing control of public services over to private companies. That a private company can stop the people of Sheffield using a bridge that has been paid for with taxpayers money, is a disgrace.
Once again rail privatisation has failed the public. Government subsidy of the railways has grown massively, fares continue to rise faster than inflation, and ticket prices are a confusing mess. The government has even been forced to buy new rolling stock for the train operators (Who find it more profitable to run overcrowded trains than to invest in extra carriages and passenger comfort).
The actions of East Midland Trains are damaging to Sheffield and it's public transport system, but that has little meaning to a large private company aiming for maximum profit from it's franchise. It is time for government to act, to prevent the gating of the walkway and to work towards regaining public ownership and control of our rail network.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Rob Murphy (Sheffield Green Party Transport Spokesperson)
"Sheffield Green Party supports the use of non violent direct action to assert our right to walk across the bridge at Sheffield Station, which was paid for with £7 million pounds of public money." Councillor Rob Murphy has also written to the press supporting the campaign, but explaining how the Green Party policies differ from the other two parties, whose privatisation policies got us in this mess in the first place. Many Green Party supporters will be attending the demonstration on Wednesday 20th at 5pm.
Dear Sir,
I would like to make clear that the Green Party completely oppose the gating of the footbridge at Sheffield Railway Station. However unlike the other parties represented on the City Council we believe the problem is a result of the government's policy of handing control of public services over to private companies. That a private company can stop the people of Sheffield using a bridge that has been paid for with taxpayers money, is a disgrace.
Once again rail privatisation has failed the public. Government subsidy of the railways has grown massively, fares continue to rise faster than inflation, and ticket prices are a confusing mess. The government has even been forced to buy new rolling stock for the train operators (Who find it more profitable to run overcrowded trains than to invest in extra carriages and passenger comfort).
The actions of East Midland Trains are damaging to Sheffield and it's public transport system, but that has little meaning to a large private company aiming for maximum profit from it's franchise. It is time for government to act, to prevent the gating of the walkway and to work towards regaining public ownership and control of our rail network.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Rob Murphy (Sheffield Green Party Transport Spokesperson)
Tuesday 12 May 2009
EMT continue to provoke revolt
Today's issue of Rail Management has this brilliant article from Sim Harris. It seems not only do EMT want to cut our city in half (they were manning the barracades again today, stopping anyone walking through the station), but they are endangering the health of our children by installing barriers that can break arms!
Here is the article in full.
Gatelines can damage your health Anti-gateline campaigners are boosted by a frank admission from First Capital Connect, as Sheffield demonstrators plan to step up their protest against East Midlands Trains
Gateline protests intensify as EMT launches random checks
East Midlands Trains has started random ticket checks at Sheffield station, effectively closing the footbridge to casual pedestrians without warning.
Campaigners who want the footbridge to stay open say they will be stepping up their protests in response. The first checks were carried out on Wednesday, and a spokesman for EMT owner Stagecoach said further manning of the station entrances could occur at any time, and might
become continuous. The policy is a precursor to the installation of automatic gatelines at the station, which have been bitterly opposed locally for more than a year.
The City Council has now passed several resolutions against the plan, and more than 80 local organisations have added their voices to the campaign of opposition.
The sudden imposition of manual checks has infuriated the protestors. They are warning of further mass demonstrations to come, in which they say they will attempt to cross the footbridge. It links the city centre with a tram stop and community housing and was opened in 2002.
There have been differing accounts of the first sessions of manual ticket checks, with protestors claiming that people with valid tram tickets were refused permission to cross.
FCC fuels anti-gateline protests by warning of hazards to children
Children in gatelines can be ‘seriously injured’ Situation is ‘utterly bizarre’, says one critic
Campaigners who oppose the installation of automatic gatelines at intercity stations are privately delighted by a poster from First Capital Connect which appears to concede that gates can be dangerous.
The DfT is firmly in favour of installing the gates at all principal stations, but although some schemes have gone ahead recently others are facing firm opposition in several provincial
cities. The reasons vary, but include the fact that gates can effectively close pedestrian routes across stations, as at Sheffield or York, and also the possible damage caused to the appearance of heritage stations.
A major debate is under way at Newcastle, while English Heritage has already rejected the
first plans for gates at York submitted by National Express East Coast. Anti-gateline campaigners maintain that the gates themselves are not fit for purpose at intercity stations in any case, where many passengers can be laden with luggage or children, or simply uncertain about how to use the gates because they only travel occasionally. The technology has also come under fire, with gateline programming often inadequate to cater for the millions of possible ticket prices which exist on National Rail. The arguments have not deterred the Department for Transport, which has signed several franchise agreements in recent times which commit operators to installing gates in all but the most exceptional circumstances.
But the First Capital Connect poster appears to be the first official concession that gates are not without their flaws, particularly when weaker or smaller passengers are involved.
It pulls few punches, warning that a child caught in a closing barrier faces ‘serious injury’, and that the gates are ‘very powerful’. Its advice is that children and other vulnerable passengers should
use the wide gate, but such a warning has not been posted at non-FCC stations with similar gatelines. One critic of the gateline policy commented: ‘It seems utterly bizarre that such a hazard should be created when we go over the top on many other safety issues. Has FCC done a
safety case, or is it a matter of gating at all costs?’
FCC said the advice was aimed at passengers who were taking small children through the gates, often at the same time as the adult, and it was then that problems could occur.
The company added: ‘Safety is our absolute top priority. We simply wanted to highlight that certain groups may find it easier to use the wide gate.
‘The gatelines comply with all safety standards. There have been incredibly few accidents in relation to the number of people of passing through barriers. The aim of this campaign is to further increase safety on our network.’
The arguments about gatelines have taken some new twists and turns in the past seven days.
First on to the stage comes East Midlands Trains, which is currently nominated for the coveted and highly prestigious title of Least Well Handled PR Event in 2008-09.
Few RM readers can still be unaware that EMT wants to install automatic gatelines at Sheffield
station, and that almost no-one in Sheffield seems to be on their side.
Gates would block the formerly freely available pedestrian link across the station, which was renovated at huge cost some years ago with the help of funding from the City Council.
Now EMT wants to restrict this community-funded link to railway passengers only or, more specifically, railway passengers who have tickets.
This, m’Lud, is where the heart of the dispute may be said to lie. EMT wants to block the footbridge to casual pedestrians in the interests of revenue protection, and the city doesn’t like the idea at all. The debate has been running for a year or more. The City Council has passed several highly critical resolutions, and the EMT approach (‘we’ll ask you but, by the way, we’re doing it anyway) has raised hackles from Tinsley to Dronfield.
But now the talking appears to have stalled. Last Wednesday, EMT ‘closed’ Sheffield without warning, using staff to monitor all the station entrances, and anyone without a ticket was peremptorily barred from the footbridge. Not only was this action peremptory, but arguably precipitate, premature and very possibly pointless.
For the net result has been to rouse Sheffield to new heights of fury. A major demonstration is now planned, and the campaigners will undoubtedly enjoy widespread support. It is exactly what a train operator does not need. The event has already spawned its own crop of contradictions. The campaigners claim even people with tram tickets were barred (the tram stop lies on the opposite side of the station from the city centre) while Stagecoach say a Supertram conductor was placed on the concourse to provide tickets, which would be accepted as a passport for the bridge. Well, somebody’s wrong.
Another query, not really answered so far, is what happens to passengers alighting from trams who then wish to cross the footbridge. The official answer is that their just-used tram ticket will be accepted by the railway staff. But that needs publicity: ‘keep your ticket if you wish to cross the station footbridge’. Has there been any? That is, according to a spokesman at Stagecoach
Group HQ (speaking with an East Midlands Trains hat on), a matter for Supertram. The trams are, of course, also run by Stagecoach. You couldn’t make it up.
This worrying example of left and right hands not working together is a deeply ominous symptom for the people of Sheffield, who are unlikely to take any of this lying down.
It is also possible to grieve for EMT (up to a point) because it in turn is a victim of the DfT’s determination to gate every station it can, irrespective of the type of passenger traffic which is handled. It seems to be impossible to explain to Marsham Street that what works well at Oxford Circus might be less suitable for Exeter St David’s. So the pressure is maintained, and EMT is now caught between a very angry city and a very determined government department, and will be wrong whatever it does next.
However, suddenly ‘closing’ the station was a PR blunder, and hardly an unpredictable one.
Now let’s welcome our second act of the evening. First Capital Connect has published a slightly worrying poster depicting achild with her arm in plaster (‘four hours in hospital; missed the school
trip’). It warns that gates can cause serious injuries to small children, who should always be taken through the ‘wide gate’ in consequence. No doubt this is right and proper, but very little has been said about it until now. What hideous incidents at obscure suburban stations have caused
this poster to be created? So, let’s summarise. Automatic gatelines, or the prospect of them, are
not only threatening to provoke open revolt in one of England’s largest provincial cities, but it is also now admitted (virtually) that they eat toddlers. Oh crumbs, Minister. Revenue protection
is all very well, but are we sure this is still a good idea?
Here is the article in full.
Gatelines can damage your health Anti-gateline campaigners are boosted by a frank admission from First Capital Connect, as Sheffield demonstrators plan to step up their protest against East Midlands Trains
Gateline protests intensify as EMT launches random checks
East Midlands Trains has started random ticket checks at Sheffield station, effectively closing the footbridge to casual pedestrians without warning.
Campaigners who want the footbridge to stay open say they will be stepping up their protests in response. The first checks were carried out on Wednesday, and a spokesman for EMT owner Stagecoach said further manning of the station entrances could occur at any time, and might
become continuous. The policy is a precursor to the installation of automatic gatelines at the station, which have been bitterly opposed locally for more than a year.
The City Council has now passed several resolutions against the plan, and more than 80 local organisations have added their voices to the campaign of opposition.
The sudden imposition of manual checks has infuriated the protestors. They are warning of further mass demonstrations to come, in which they say they will attempt to cross the footbridge. It links the city centre with a tram stop and community housing and was opened in 2002.
There have been differing accounts of the first sessions of manual ticket checks, with protestors claiming that people with valid tram tickets were refused permission to cross.
FCC fuels anti-gateline protests by warning of hazards to children
Children in gatelines can be ‘seriously injured’ Situation is ‘utterly bizarre’, says one critic
Campaigners who oppose the installation of automatic gatelines at intercity stations are privately delighted by a poster from First Capital Connect which appears to concede that gates can be dangerous.
The DfT is firmly in favour of installing the gates at all principal stations, but although some schemes have gone ahead recently others are facing firm opposition in several provincial
cities. The reasons vary, but include the fact that gates can effectively close pedestrian routes across stations, as at Sheffield or York, and also the possible damage caused to the appearance of heritage stations.
A major debate is under way at Newcastle, while English Heritage has already rejected the
first plans for gates at York submitted by National Express East Coast. Anti-gateline campaigners maintain that the gates themselves are not fit for purpose at intercity stations in any case, where many passengers can be laden with luggage or children, or simply uncertain about how to use the gates because they only travel occasionally. The technology has also come under fire, with gateline programming often inadequate to cater for the millions of possible ticket prices which exist on National Rail. The arguments have not deterred the Department for Transport, which has signed several franchise agreements in recent times which commit operators to installing gates in all but the most exceptional circumstances.
But the First Capital Connect poster appears to be the first official concession that gates are not without their flaws, particularly when weaker or smaller passengers are involved.
It pulls few punches, warning that a child caught in a closing barrier faces ‘serious injury’, and that the gates are ‘very powerful’. Its advice is that children and other vulnerable passengers should
use the wide gate, but such a warning has not been posted at non-FCC stations with similar gatelines. One critic of the gateline policy commented: ‘It seems utterly bizarre that such a hazard should be created when we go over the top on many other safety issues. Has FCC done a
safety case, or is it a matter of gating at all costs?’
FCC said the advice was aimed at passengers who were taking small children through the gates, often at the same time as the adult, and it was then that problems could occur.
The company added: ‘Safety is our absolute top priority. We simply wanted to highlight that certain groups may find it easier to use the wide gate.
‘The gatelines comply with all safety standards. There have been incredibly few accidents in relation to the number of people of passing through barriers. The aim of this campaign is to further increase safety on our network.’
The arguments about gatelines have taken some new twists and turns in the past seven days.
First on to the stage comes East Midlands Trains, which is currently nominated for the coveted and highly prestigious title of Least Well Handled PR Event in 2008-09.
Few RM readers can still be unaware that EMT wants to install automatic gatelines at Sheffield
station, and that almost no-one in Sheffield seems to be on their side.
Gates would block the formerly freely available pedestrian link across the station, which was renovated at huge cost some years ago with the help of funding from the City Council.
Now EMT wants to restrict this community-funded link to railway passengers only or, more specifically, railway passengers who have tickets.
This, m’Lud, is where the heart of the dispute may be said to lie. EMT wants to block the footbridge to casual pedestrians in the interests of revenue protection, and the city doesn’t like the idea at all. The debate has been running for a year or more. The City Council has passed several highly critical resolutions, and the EMT approach (‘we’ll ask you but, by the way, we’re doing it anyway) has raised hackles from Tinsley to Dronfield.
But now the talking appears to have stalled. Last Wednesday, EMT ‘closed’ Sheffield without warning, using staff to monitor all the station entrances, and anyone without a ticket was peremptorily barred from the footbridge. Not only was this action peremptory, but arguably precipitate, premature and very possibly pointless.
For the net result has been to rouse Sheffield to new heights of fury. A major demonstration is now planned, and the campaigners will undoubtedly enjoy widespread support. It is exactly what a train operator does not need. The event has already spawned its own crop of contradictions. The campaigners claim even people with tram tickets were barred (the tram stop lies on the opposite side of the station from the city centre) while Stagecoach say a Supertram conductor was placed on the concourse to provide tickets, which would be accepted as a passport for the bridge. Well, somebody’s wrong.
Another query, not really answered so far, is what happens to passengers alighting from trams who then wish to cross the footbridge. The official answer is that their just-used tram ticket will be accepted by the railway staff. But that needs publicity: ‘keep your ticket if you wish to cross the station footbridge’. Has there been any? That is, according to a spokesman at Stagecoach
Group HQ (speaking with an East Midlands Trains hat on), a matter for Supertram. The trams are, of course, also run by Stagecoach. You couldn’t make it up.
This worrying example of left and right hands not working together is a deeply ominous symptom for the people of Sheffield, who are unlikely to take any of this lying down.
It is also possible to grieve for EMT (up to a point) because it in turn is a victim of the DfT’s determination to gate every station it can, irrespective of the type of passenger traffic which is handled. It seems to be impossible to explain to Marsham Street that what works well at Oxford Circus might be less suitable for Exeter St David’s. So the pressure is maintained, and EMT is now caught between a very angry city and a very determined government department, and will be wrong whatever it does next.
However, suddenly ‘closing’ the station was a PR blunder, and hardly an unpredictable one.
Now let’s welcome our second act of the evening. First Capital Connect has published a slightly worrying poster depicting achild with her arm in plaster (‘four hours in hospital; missed the school
trip’). It warns that gates can cause serious injuries to small children, who should always be taken through the ‘wide gate’ in consequence. No doubt this is right and proper, but very little has been said about it until now. What hideous incidents at obscure suburban stations have caused
this poster to be created? So, let’s summarise. Automatic gatelines, or the prospect of them, are
not only threatening to provoke open revolt in one of England’s largest provincial cities, but it is also now admitted (virtually) that they eat toddlers. Oh crumbs, Minister. Revenue protection
is all very well, but are we sure this is still a good idea?
Monday 11 May 2009
Party Election Broadcast
If you missed this on the tele, here it is!
If you're voting Green, please print off this poster and put it in your window.
If you're voting Green, please print off this poster and put it in your window.
Saturday 9 May 2009
This was the scene last Thursday as EMT decided to bar members of the public from the station. I was informed that I was not allowed to take photos, and was not allowed to cross the bridge as I didn't have a ticket. The members of staff barring my way weren't even checking the tickets of the people coming out of the station, so they weren't there to catch fare dodgers, which would have been a useful activity, they were just there to stop people using the station.
On Saturday the Green Party leafleted outside the station and collected petitions for RASC. In the picture is European MEP candidate Steve Barnard, Graham Wroe and Eamonn Ward.
Here is the coverage from the BBC website.
Friday 8 May 2009
EMT madness
the PR team at East Midlands trains have certainly got a fight on their hands! Here is some of the coverage following their disastrous decision to stop the good people of Sheffield from walking through the station.
Sheffield Star 7.5.09
Sheffield Star 8.5.09
Sheffield Star 7.5.09
Sheffield Star 8.5.09
Wednesday 6 May 2009
EMT cuts city in half
Today East Midlands Trains carried out their threat to prevent pedestrians walking through the station. The result was utter chaos, with huge queues at the ticket office, people with valid tram tickets being sent away and various confrontations as people couldn't understand why they couldn't simply walk to work the way they always do.
By chance the Council were also meeting today and passed the following motion unanimously.
That this Council:-
(a) Is deeply concerned to learn that East Midlands Trains have begun
blocking off access through Sheffield Station to non-ticket holders by
deploying staff at each end of the Station;
(b) is outraged with the actions of East Midlands Trains who have
effectively cut our City in half and ignored the wishes of local people;
(c) notes with disappointment that East Midlands Trains have also outlined
that they will continue to work towards installing the barriers;
(d) welcomes the fact that the leader of Council has written an urgent
e-mail to the Secretary of State for Transport asking him to intervene on
this issue; and
(e) notes that only the Government can now stop East Midlands Trains
blocking off access through Sheffield Station and therefore calls on the
Secretary of State for Transport to urgently intervene and withdraw the
clause in the franchise which asks for gating to be installed.
There will undoubtedly be more protests at this attack on our integrated transport system (such as it is!)- the bridge that has been closed to pedestrians links the rail network to the tram and bus system. Watch this space!
By chance the Council were also meeting today and passed the following motion unanimously.
That this Council:-
(a) Is deeply concerned to learn that East Midlands Trains have begun
blocking off access through Sheffield Station to non-ticket holders by
deploying staff at each end of the Station;
(b) is outraged with the actions of East Midlands Trains who have
effectively cut our City in half and ignored the wishes of local people;
(c) notes with disappointment that East Midlands Trains have also outlined
that they will continue to work towards installing the barriers;
(d) welcomes the fact that the leader of Council has written an urgent
e-mail to the Secretary of State for Transport asking him to intervene on
this issue; and
(e) notes that only the Government can now stop East Midlands Trains
blocking off access through Sheffield Station and therefore calls on the
Secretary of State for Transport to urgently intervene and withdraw the
clause in the franchise which asks for gating to be installed.
There will undoubtedly be more protests at this attack on our integrated transport system (such as it is!)- the bridge that has been closed to pedestrians links the rail network to the tram and bus system. Watch this space!
Sunday 3 May 2009
Saturday 2 May 2009
Power to the People!
I am very excited by this initiative.
Volunteers step up plans for Renewable Energy in Sheffield
Last night, we agreed plans at the Sheffield Renewables general meeting for bringing exciting renewable energy projects to Sheffield. Our immediate priority is a proposed micro-hydro scheme at Kelham Island.
Group Chair, Rob Pilling, announced that: 'SCR is working closely with Sheffield City Council and the Sheffield Museums Trust to develop a hydro power scheme at Kelham Island. Technical feasibility work is ongoing and the planning application will be submitted shortly. The project makes strong links to Sheffield's industrial heritage and culture. It also provides an excellent opportunity for demonstrating and raising the profile of renewable energy within the city.'
The meeting adopted plans to identify and develop a series of schemes over the next few years. Initial interest is around hydro-power, but we are also exploring other technologies such as wind, solar and biomass. We plan to fund a significant proportion of the work through local share offer. So, we will be getting out and about in Sheffield over the coming months to talk to people and encourage them to consider getting on board.
Key to running the first share offer is the setting up of a special type of social enterprise called an Industrial Provident Society. The new organisation will be called 'Sheffield Renewables.' (A slightly less unwieldy version of the group's current full name: Sheffield Community Renewables).
Accompanying the project announcements is an attractive new logo, which we will be incorporating into a revamped website and information materials over the next month or so.
Sheffield Renewables is a local organisation currently run entirely by volunteers. Beyond a modest (e.g. rate of inflation) payment to shareholders, we will use all surplus income from sale of electricity to build further schemes or to support other local projects.
Information or interview: Rob Pilling (RobJPilling@gmail.com)
Website: www.sheffieldcommunityrenewables.co.uk
Volunteers step up plans for Renewable Energy in Sheffield
Last night, we agreed plans at the Sheffield Renewables general meeting for bringing exciting renewable energy projects to Sheffield. Our immediate priority is a proposed micro-hydro scheme at Kelham Island.
Group Chair, Rob Pilling, announced that: 'SCR is working closely with Sheffield City Council and the Sheffield Museums Trust to develop a hydro power scheme at Kelham Island. Technical feasibility work is ongoing and the planning application will be submitted shortly. The project makes strong links to Sheffield's industrial heritage and culture. It also provides an excellent opportunity for demonstrating and raising the profile of renewable energy within the city.'
The meeting adopted plans to identify and develop a series of schemes over the next few years. Initial interest is around hydro-power, but we are also exploring other technologies such as wind, solar and biomass. We plan to fund a significant proportion of the work through local share offer. So, we will be getting out and about in Sheffield over the coming months to talk to people and encourage them to consider getting on board.
Key to running the first share offer is the setting up of a special type of social enterprise called an Industrial Provident Society. The new organisation will be called 'Sheffield Renewables.' (A slightly less unwieldy version of the group's current full name: Sheffield Community Renewables).
Accompanying the project announcements is an attractive new logo, which we will be incorporating into a revamped website and information materials over the next month or so.
Sheffield Renewables is a local organisation currently run entirely by volunteers. Beyond a modest (e.g. rate of inflation) payment to shareholders, we will use all surplus income from sale of electricity to build further schemes or to support other local projects.
Information or interview: Rob Pilling (RobJPilling@gmail.com)
Website: www.sheffieldcommunityrenewables.co.uk
Friday 1 May 2009
Ubaka released!
Very pleased to be able to report that Ubaka and his family have been released from Yarlswood and are returning to Sheffield.Many thanks to everyone that signed the petition or wrote to Jacqui Smith. The fight isn't over yet as they could be detained again at any time, but at least for now the family is reunited. Keep an eye on the CDAS website http://www.cdas-sheffield.org.uk/ for further information, or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=87892676648&ref=nf
Park Hill
Park Hill is in the news again and will be featured on the BBC2 programme English Heritage tonight at 9pm- might be worth seeing it on i player if you missed it. Having lived in the (now demolished) big block of Hyde Park flats, I have always remained a supporter of Park Hill, but was disappointed with the lack of green features in the refurbishment plans.(see previous posts)
This is how the Star reports it.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Park-Hill-all-set-to.5225686.jp
The tv programme has some interesting insights into the relationship between English Heritage, Urban Splash and the City Council.But it ends pessimistically, with no clear way forward to Urban Splashes current credit crunch crisis. Now this much progress has been made it would seem madness for the Government not to ensure that the project can be completed.The best clip in the programme is when Richard Caborn MP appears behind a lamp post to hijack the visit of minister Rosie Winterton, to show her the importance of the footbridge over the rail station.This must be the best publicity that the campaign to keep the station bridge open have achieved, and can't have pleased East Midlands Trains who weren't given a chance to justify their unpopular and undemocratic plans to close the bridge.
Park Hill
Park Hill is in the news again and will be featured on the BBC2 programme English Heritage tonight at 9pm- might be worth seeing it on i player if you missed it. Having lived in the (now demolished) big block of Hyde Park flats, I have always remained a supporter of Park Hill, but was disappointed with the lack of green features in the refurbishment plans.(see previous posts)
This is how the Star reports it.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Park-Hill-all-set-to.5225686.jp
The tv programme has some interesting insights into the relationship between English Heritage, Urban Splash and the City Council.But it ends pessimistically, with no clear way forward to Urban Splashes current credit crunch crisis. Now this much progress has been made it would seem madness for the Government not to ensure that the project can be completed.The best clip in the programme is when Richard Caborn MP appears behind a lamp post to hijack the visit of minister Rosie Winterton, to show her the importance of the footbridge over the rail station.This must be the best publicity that the campaign to keep the station bridge open have achieved, and can't have pleased East Midlands Trains who weren't given a chance to justify their unpopular and undemocratic plans to close the bridge.
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