1999-2009 Ten Years of the Area Panel

The Burngreave Area Panel is about to hold its last ever meeting paving the way for the arrival of Sheffield City Council’s new Community Assemblies.

With 73 public meetings since 1999, what changes has the Panel influenced and witnessed?

Regeneration for Burngreave

In January 2000, The Panel said “yes” to hosting a new government regeneration programme; and the pitch was successful which meant Burngreave hosted New Deal for Communities for the city.

What's improved since then? The gap between Burngreave students’ performance and the rest of the city has closed. Unemployment is lower in Burngreave than in other parts of the city. And reported crime rates are lower than they have been for a long time.

But we still know there are problems. Some young white students, and some dual heritage students, are still not benefiting fully from education. Unemployment and dependence on benefits is still very high. And health inequalities, including incidents of asthma, are still an issue.

Work on roads and traffic

If you’d attended the Panel meeting on March 30th, 2000 it would seem like now; at Whiteways School questions were asked about traffic congestion at Fir Vale caused by the hospital; more outside St Catherine’s school on Firshill Crescent and about joy-riding and rat running on Skinnerthorpe Road.

And in September 2000 at meeting at Fir Vale sports centre, you would have heard discussion about the traffic light phasing at the Fir Vale junction; the need for parking bays outside Owler Lane shops; and a feasibility study into blocking off Bagley Road and Skinnerthorpe Road to prevent rat running.

Houses demolished

In these ten years, flats on Woodside, Neville Drive, Earldom, Earl Marshal and Catherine Street and Road have all come down. And at present, with the agreed Masterplan, we can see the first phase of regeneration in Fir Vale on Skinnerthorpe and Bagley. The challenge we face now is how places can be improved, and how the residents who are committed to the area can stay, when the housing market is struggling and house building is virtually dormant.

A changing population

And this signals one of the major changes for Burngreave. Ten years ago, it was an area that people moved through – it was normal for a quarter of a school class to change year by year. This was in part due to having too much poor quality housing. This in turn led to empty schools. The head at Pye Bank Infants told the Panel in November 1999 that she had places for 240 children, but had only 88 on roll. Burngreave needed a more stable population.

And one way or another, that has now happened – Burngreave has taken in and settled new population groups and communities and we face the opposite problem, with some families reporting overcrowding issues. But now we we have better and bigger primary schools, with the prospect of both our secondary schools expanding in the next few years.

Active Citizens

Improving the links between the Council and the Community is where the Area Panel comes up trumps time after time. Council officers turn up to explain their latest thinking, about how problems can be tackled and things improved. And the people of Burngreave turn out and listen and think and then ask, and discuss, and offer agreement, or constructive criticism, or alternatives. That has been perhaps the greatest tribute to the work of the Area Panel – the commitment of those of you who turn up in all weathers to be “active citizens”.

Late last year, we asked those who live around Crabtree, Norwood and off Barnsley Road about about permit parking zones. 89 households replied (16% of those asked). Of these, 51% said ‘yes’ to permit parking and 42% said ‘no’; 8% didn’t offer a view either way. The outcome was reported to the Scrutiny Board in November and they recommended an experimental traffic regulation order. Following petitioning, this is now being discussed at the North & West Planning Board on 10th or 24th February at the Town Hall.