Agenda and minutes

1.1

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Marianne Elliot and Sophie Thornton.

2.1

No items were identified where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.

3.1

There were no declarations of interest.

4.1

The minutes of the meeting of the South Local Area Committee held on 12^th January, 2023, were approved as a correct record.

5.1

Question from Dr. Simon Duffy

Would the LAC agree to set up a working group - which would include interested citizens - to explore how we might empower the many different neighbourhoods within the area and to follow the path taken by Frome and other places - radically reducing loneliness and increasing wellbeing?

In response, Councillor Steve Ayris thanked Dr. Duffy for his question and said that he had held discussions on this matter with the Co-Chair of the Adult Health and Social Care Policy Committee and that whilst it was felt that the South LAC should consider this, he was not sure of the best way forward with it.  Councillor Ayris said that contact should be made with Council Officers and felt that the issue could be included within the community plan.

Diane Owens, South LAC Manager, said that she thought this might link with some existing work in the city around cohesion and collaboration and that she had shared the question with some colleagues from the council and VAS (Voluntary Action Sheffield) who are doing work in this area. Diane said a member of the Team would speak to Mr Duffy after the meeting and that she would obviously take a steer from the committee in terms of following this up.

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones said that unfortunately we were at the end of the municipal year but felt that the matter would fit well with priorities in the Community Plan.

Councillor Sue Auckland asked whether the Chair could put the matter on the agenda for the first public meeting of the new municipal year or for future discussion by the committee.

Councillor Nighat Basharat felt that something needed to be done and tackling loneliness was about working with communities.  She said that since covid, there were still many people who did not have the confidence to go out in public.  Councillor Basharat said that it was good to hear that this was being addressed in Frome and other places.

5.2

Questions from Russell Johnson

1.  Are the Elected Members here aware that Sheffield City Council is using part of the old nurseries land at Graves Park as a Waste Transfer Depot?

It is likely that the required registration for this use is not in place. Would Members, particularly Councillor Johnson who serves on the relevant Sub-Committee, please concisely comment?

Furthermore, an FOI response from Sheffield City Council stated that the area is not designated as a depot.  If that is the case, the observed and photographed activities at the site appear to be inappropriate.

More broadly, are South LAC Councillors content with the Sheffield City Council Trustees’ oversight of the Charitable Trust with regard to Graves and many other parks?

Should the Sub-Committee consider co-opting people who have the necessary knowledge and who have the Park’s interests at heart? 

In response, Councillor Ian Auckland said that the area in Graves Park was a depot and was referred to as a depot.  He said the park  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1

The Local Area Committee received a presentation from Dan Wilkinson, Information Officer, Business Sheffield. He gave a brief update stating that the Economic Recovery Fund was there to help build the foundations for economic renewal across Sheffield by investing in communities and high streets, building resilience to the cost-of-living crisis and future economic challenges, making high streets and local centres feel safe and welcoming and to encourage residents and visitors to spend time and shop there.  He said that it was hoped that the fund would encourage businesses and groups to work together on ideas to improve their high streets and bring new energy to those that are already in place.  Dan Wilkinson said that the fund would support high street businesses to work with their communities and the infrastructure would continue to thrive once projects were completed.  He said there were two types of funds available, firstly the District Centre Fund which was up to £200,000 for a large project or up to £50,000 for a small project and secondly, the Flexible Fund for new, innovative ideas that benefit local businesses up to £50,000.  He said the focus was on collaboration and working together for the benefit the business sector broadly not individual businesses and the deadline for applications was 30^th April 2023.  He said that scoring for the grants would take place in May, with contracts being agreed in June and July 2023.  The aim would then be for projects to start during August 2023 for completion by the end of September 2024.  Dan Wilkinson stated that more information could be found via www.sheffield.gov.uk/business/covid-19-economic-recovery-fund.  In response to a question, Dan Wilkinson was funded through the City Council.

6.2

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones thanked Dan Wilkinson for his presentation.

7.1

The Local Area Committee received a presentation from Diane Owens, South Local Area Committee Manager, outlining the Community Plan.  Ms Owens gave a brief update following on from the information she had provided at the meeting of the LAC held in January, and highlighted the six key themes of the Plan.  She provided more detail around the work that had been carried out to the clearing up of The Lumb in Gleadless Valley, the speed indication devices that had been installed, and said that the Committee would be looking at the data received regarding speeding in those areas and potentially identifying other areas for the devices to be installed.  She also provided an update on the Neighbourhood Action Groups that had been set up in the South LAC area following the £30k allocated by the South LAC.  She said there had been a boost in youth activities in the area, and referred to the Youth Conference held in November, and that the feedback from that would be fed into work around the Economic Recovery Fund.  She highlighted the work that had been carried out using the Ward Pots and the Community Infrastructure Levy.  She referred to the priorities approved at the January meeting for the purchase of two portable CCTV cameras, funding allocated for community capacity building and also for street art projects and where they would be located.  She said that over the next couple of months, the Team along with Members, would be working to support voluntary, community and faith sector, local communities and businesses by looking at projects and how to get projects off the ground and would also be looking at the online engagement platform and how this could be best used to engage with local communities, and finally the King Charles III’s Coronation, each LAC had been allocated £5,000 so that they could offer grants to help support local community organisations and residents for celebrations over bank holiday weekend.

7.2

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones thanked Diane Owens for her presentation and asked those present if there were any questions regarding the Community Plan. 

A member of the public said that the Community Plan had talked about engaging with local communities and he raised a question regarding parking outside Greenhill school.  He asked whether, as a community, have can we push forward to tackle the issue. It was not about the lack of parking spaces for safe parking.

Councillor Clement-Jones said he met at the Greenhill Historical Society the previous week and a similar issue was raised  He said that at the LAC Chairs Committee earlier in the day, there had been a presentation from Highways Services and the outcome from this was that a much better way to tackle problems around parking would be at grass roots level, for communities to raise issues and get things done at a more local level.  He said that he had asked about School Streets Projects and around the A61 corridor and that he wanted the South LAC to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.1

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones thanked everyone for their attendance.  He said the next meeting would be sometime in June/July, yet to be confirmed.