Agenda item

Park Hill Redevelopment

It was moved by Councillor Penny Baker, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, that this Council:-

(a)       notes with concern reports in The Sheffield Star newspaper on 3rd January 2014 that the Council intends to spend another £1 million in the Park Hill area;

(b)       recalls the concern of the Main Opposition Group when the Council revealed its intention to spend £2.5 million of taxpayers’ money at Park Hill in 2011;

(c)        furthermore, highlights that this latest announcement follows the allocation of £381,000 to the Park Hill Green Links project;

(d)       struggles to understand how members of the ruling group can continue to make the erroneous claim that there is no money available for vital services, when funds continue to be poured into these kinds of pet projects; and

(e)       calls on the Administration to reassess its priorities and use funds earmarked for the Park Hill area to keep open treasured local libraries.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Harry Harpham, seconded by Councillor Pat Midgley, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the substitution of the following words therefor:-

(a)      regrets the continued smoke and mirrors of the main opposition group who continue to make erroneous claims about the Park Hill project;

(b)      reiterates the numerous previous motions that have been passed by the Council stating for the record that not a penny of the funds described by the main opposition group will be spent on the refurbishment of the Park Hill flats and regrets that the main opposition group are continuing to imply that the Council has allocated Council resources for the Park Hill redevelopment when in fact this is not the case;

(c)       for the avoidance of doubt, re-iterates that:

(i)      there are additional costs relating to the Park Hill site which until this Government came to power were paid for by a Government grant;

(ii)     these costs include looking after the empty flat blocks, providing security where the blocks are still lived in, funding Police Community Support Officer patrols and rehousing local residents; and

(iii)    the Coalition Government has now completely ended the Housing Market Renewal Grant that previously paid for these costs and the Council has been left to pick up the £2.4m bill;

(d)      further believes that there is no question about whether or not these costs should be funded and firmly believes that it is the right thing to do to ensure that the local residents are safe;

(e)      also notes that it is the Council’s statutory duty to provide home loss payments to residents who are moving home; 

(f)       further reiterates its opposition to the irresponsible decision of the Government to end the Housing Market Renewal Grant, leaving local taxpayers to pick up the bill for costs that were previously funded by the Government;

(g)      confirms that the Green Links project is not part of the Park Hill development, and that it will improve links between Norfolk Park all the way down to the Canal Basin and is funded from the New Homes Bonus (NHB) which is specifically designed for regeneration projects and not to fund services such as libraries;

(h)      further confirms that this is an initiative under the City Centre Breathing Spaces strategy signed off by Councillor Penny Baker when she was Cabinet Member and continues the implementation of the Sheaf Valley Park Master Plan which links Norfolk Park to Victoria Quays which has been supported by public consultation and local friends groups and was also signed off by the previous Administration;

(i)        notes that the present Administration’s use of the NHB has been held up as best practice by the Audit Commission; and

(j)        believes that it is outrageous that when Council services are at serious risk from the Government, the main opposition group continue to support slashing Council budgets in the north and 400 libraries have shut nationwide with 1000 predicted by 2016, and believes that all the main opposition group are interested in doing is trying to mislead local people in a desperate attempt to deflect the responsibility from the Deputy Prime Minister.

On being put to the vote the amendment was carried.

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

(a)      regrets the continued smoke and mirrors of the main opposition group who continue to make erroneous claims about the Park Hill project;

(b)      reiterates the numerous previous motions that have been passed by the Council stating for the record that not a penny of the funds described by the main opposition group will be spent on the refurbishment of the Park Hill flats and regrets that the main opposition group are continuing to imply that the Council has allocated Council resources for the Park Hill redevelopment when in fact this is not the case;

(c)       for the avoidance of doubt, re-iterates that:

(i)      there are additional costs relating to the Park Hill site which until this Government came to power were paid for by a Government grant;

(ii)     these costs include looking after the empty flat blocks, providing security where the blocks are still lived in, funding Police Community Support Officer patrols and rehousing local residents; and

(iii)    the Coalition Government has now completely ended the Housing Market Renewal Grant that previously paid for these costs and the Council has been left to pick up the £2.4m bill;

(d)      further believes that there is no question about whether or not these costs should be funded and firmly believes that it is the right thing to do to ensure that the local residents are safe;

(e)      also notes that it is the Council’s statutory duty to provide home loss payments to residents who are moving home; 

(f)       further reiterates its opposition to the irresponsible decision of the Government to end the Housing Market Renewal Grant, leaving local taxpayers to pick up the bill for costs that were previously funded by the Government;

(g)      confirms that the Green Links project is not part of the Park Hill development, and that it will improve links between Norfolk Park all the way down to the Canal Basin and is funded from the New Homes Bonus (NHB) which is specifically designed for regeneration projects and not to fund services such as libraries;

(h)      further confirms that this is an initiative under the City Centre Breathing Spaces strategy signed off by Councillor Penny Baker when she was Cabinet Member and continues the implementation of the Sheaf Valley Park Master Plan which links Norfolk Park to Victoria Quays which has been supported by public consultation and local friends groups and was also signed off by the previous Administration;

(i)        notes that the present Administration’s use of the NHB has been held up as best practice by the Audit Commission; and

(j)        believes that it is outrageous that when Council services are at serious risk from the Government, the main opposition group continue to support slashing Council budgets in the north and 400 libraries have shut nationwide with 1000 predicted by 2016, and believes that all the main opposition group are interested in doing is trying to mislead local people in a desperate attempt to deflect the responsibility from the Deputy Prime Minister.

(Note: Councillors Robert Murphy and Jillian Creasy voted for Paragraphs (a) to (i)   and abstained on Paragraph (j) of the Substantive Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)