Norfolk Road Conservation Area

There are proposals to alter the Norfolk Road Conservation Area. To find out what is proposed go to
http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/urban-design--conservation/conservation/norfolk-road

If you want to comment on the proposals you can email planningudep@sheffield.gov.uk before February 22nd.
There is a half day workshop at Park Library on Friday 22nd February from 1.30 to 5.30pm where Officers from the Urban Design and Conservation Team will hopefully be able to answer your questions.

March to Lindholme

This weekend I am joining the South Yorkshire Migrant and Asylum Action Group march to Lindholme Prison near Doncaster. Find out all about it on Indymedia here. http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/10/384411.html
It is a disgrace that we deny asylum seekers the right to work and contribute to our society. And its even worse that we lock them up when their only crime has been to seek asylum from a country that has been persecuting them. The UK now has two prisons entirely full with asylum seekers!

Litter pick

This morning I joined with a few neighbours to do a local litter pick. We managed to tidy up Glencoe Road, Stafford Road, Stafford Street (where there was unfortunately some fly tipping that I am reporting to the Council to sort out) and Fitzwalter Road. This happens at 10am on the first Saturday of every month, and we then join the coffee morning at Victoria Methodist. It would be great to see more people next month! The major culprits it has to be said, are the cigarette smokers! Why can't they take their rubbish home?

Another major problem is dog mess. I have recently followed 2 unaccompanied dogs home and talked to the owners about the mess they make. If I see the same dogs out unaccompanied again I will be informing the authorities.

If you know of areas where there has been fly tipping please report it.

If the land belongs to the Council or if you do not know who owns the land, phone Environmental Services on telephone number (0114) 203 7410 or (0114) 203 7411. If the land is privately owned Environmental Services will contact the owner and take legal steps to get the rubbish removed, this can take longer to arrange than removal from Council owned land.

Some of the litter pickers are interested in the idea of forming a local group to improve our environment. If you are interested in this idea, please get in touch with me.

How would the flooding have affected us if we lived in Asia or Africa?

Dear editor

Many people in South Yorkshire recently faced the traumatic experience
of having to leave their homes, either because of actual flooding or
the threat of Ulley dam breaking. Our thoughts are very much with the
people who still can't return to their homes and have lost most of
their possessions.

Imagine for a moment how worse the situation would have been if we
didn't have our excellent emergency services and there had been no
engineers to save the dam or firemen to pump the water away from
flooded streets.Imagine if our houses were not made of brick, but
of sticks and mud,so easily washed away by the torrents. Imagine how
the floods would have affected us if we lived in an Asian or African
village.

As climate change brings more and more extreme weather we will all
suffer from the consequences.In South Yorkshire those that are
suffering most are the people that couldn't afford insurance.In future those
that suffer most from climate change will be the poorest people in the
poorest countries, but no one will be immune to the severe weather
that we can expect. There will be more and more environmental refugees
fleeing homelands that have been flooded or ruined by drought.

I am really pleased that Sheffield is to become a "City of
Sanctuary"-this means that the City Council is publicly committed to
working  to promote a welcoming city for asylum-seekers and refugees. I think the
people of South Yorkshire will now be even more understanding to these
folk that have such traumatic stories-after all, many now understand
from personal experience a little of what it is like to be a refugee.

Graham Wroe
Sheffield Green Party

Action needed on flooding

Having spent Friday bailing out my cellar  I am very
concerned about the flooding. This extreme weather is
exactly what we can expect more of as climate change
gathers  pace. We need to learn lessons very quickly. 
It is clear that  Sheffield's  infrastructure can't 
cope with such extreme weather. We need major  investment 
to improve Sheffield's drains and  river  defences.
Yorkshire Water's parent company Kelda have recently
announced £338m profits and are giving 32p dividends to
it's shareholders. This money should have been invested to
improve the drains, sewers and river defences to ensure the
safety of Yorkshire residents.

South Yorkshire's flood-defence strategy needs to be
re-examined so that more emphasis is placed in creating a
sustainable forestry and agricultural economy that would
prevent the result of heavy rainfall suddenly entering our
rivers and streams. The flooding highlights how essential
our green-spaces, wildlife habitats and woodland are in
cushioning us from flooding and that nature conservation
needs proper long term government investment.

We are demanding more and more of our drains-by  tarmacking
vast areas of our city, building more roads and paving
over front gardens we are increasing the run off and making
matters worse when the bad weather strikes. We need to
reverse the trend, encouraging people to remove the hard
surfaces and replace with grass and gardens. The Decent
Homes programme should be ensuring that existing homes are
watertight and upgraded so that they can face the challenge
of more extreme weather.New buildings should all be equipped
with green roof's that will help soak up the rain as well
as encourage wildlife.Systems to collect rainwater to flush
toilets and water gardens should also be commonplace.

The City not only needs to set stringent targets to reduce
our greenhouse gas emissions, but we also need to change
our spending priorities to prepare for the even worse
weather that is on the way.

Ownership found!

It seems that the City Council does indeed now own the land bordered by Granville Road, Fitzwalter Road and Claywood Road. The Duke of Norfolk's estate sold it to them at the end of March this year. Hopefully Green Estates will soon be able to organise a clean up, now this has been established.

Who owns this triangle of wooded land?

The small triangle of land surrounded by Granville Road, Fitzwalter Road and Claywood Road has recently suffered from fly tipping. Some concerned residents have also noticed used syringes amongst the litter, police no parking signs and bags full of rubbish. I wrote to Nick Robinson, who looks after the Duke of Norfolk's estate, to ask if it would be possible for him to organise a clean up. He tells me the land was sold to the Council. So I wrote to Green Estates and they tell me that the land does still belong to the Duke of Norfolk's estate! Apparently Sheffield City Council are regularly sending him enforcement notices. I will write back to Mr Robinson again and see if he has changed his mind!