Agenda item

9.1

Following the breakout session, one person from each group was asked to feedback their groups thoughts. A summary of the feedback presented was as follows:

Healthy Communities

• Long term plans rather than short term
• What is going to happen with the feedback?
• More green spaces were needed, or needed to be better used
• The design of green spaces was important, especially within the central area, to encourage people to be active and take ownership of the spaces around them
• Access to green spaces for all communities

Education

• Role models that were relatable and represented young peoples’ aspirations were important
• Links to universities and businesses, and an understanding of barriers in the community when applying to universities or apprenticeships
• Provide the necessary support for preparing CV’s and university/job applications
• More accessibility and support into employment and education for those with criminal records
• Need to connect children and young people to the services provided by the Council

Safer Communities

• It was important to have a sense of belonging within communities
• A lack of communication between South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield City Council and not working effectively together
• A sense of familiarity within an area helps to make people feel safer. Less of a sense of belonging when people move to a new area
• Different housing providers operated differently within communities, and people didn’t always know who to contact
• People using communities as ‘cut-throughs’
• How we can positively engage communities to make a difference, particularly around engaging young people in schools
• Education around ‘stop and search’ and other police powers
• Two-way communication between police and local people

Business, Employment and Skills

• More support was needed for people arriving into the city
• Support was needed to help young people from different backgrounds and communities when applying for apprenticeships, and to help them understand different businesses

Our Communities

• When asked what they love about where they live, participants noted community, ISRAAC Centre, neighbours, gardens, friendly people and festivals
• Suggested improvements for the local area included dealing with Council backlogs and not just short-term fixes, poorer areas being neglected, ignoring litter
• Concerns could be addressed by public ownership of priorities, investing in what works in the area, better communication between the Council and residents to help resolve issues, an understanding of investment opportunities and bringing Council services together

Culture

• Sharing stories of culture, heritage and history was important
• Culture gave people a sense of belonging and structure
• Culture is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of activities, such as sport, heritage and arts, that people can choose to take part in, and can improve the quality of their lives. Access to activities is not equal and the reasons for this needs to be understood and addressed systematically across the city
• This is my culture and I don’t want someone else dictating my life story
• Culture is about birth right and your community and it is important to preserve. Culture should not be ‘watered down’. The system is set up to deny us our culture, often from a young age. We need to let people hold onto their culture while we learn to integrate

City Goals

• Important to ensure we reach out to as many groups across the city as possible
• Importance of green assets and recognising the inequalities around access to our green assets.
• Thinking about how we reduce disparities between communities within the City Goals process
• Transport and mobility for all, so that everyone can get around city, and reducing disparities in terms of active travel

9.2

Councillor Brian Holmes, Chair of the Committee, thanked participants for sharing their views and stories, and advised that all feedback would be noted, shared and followed up with the appropriate services and partner organisations.