Councillors were pleased to once again to support Charnock Hall Primary School with their Christmas celebrations and fundraising event on 13 December. Councillor Karen McGowan said “the Christmas fair was really well attended, it’s great to see so many children and their families support this community event”. The Birley Ward Labour Party made a £50 donation to the school funds. Councillor Denise Fox said “it was a great night and it was good to see community groups such as Friends of Charnock recreation Ground also there”. Well done to everyone involved.
In a Rush to Clear Litter!
A local resident raised concerns about the litter and general debris that is accumulating in the car park of the former Frecheville pub. He contacted his local councillors as he felt that the problem was likely to encourage further fly tipping if it wasn’t dealt with. “There is a piece of legislation, the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, that gives local authorities powers to ensure land owners tackle litter and fly tipping on their land if it is becoming a blight” commented Cllr Lodge “I raised this with the SE Community Assembly team who passed this site on to Tommy Rush, the assembly’s Environment Protection Officer. I’m pleased that Tommy has made contact with the current owners who have pledged to conduct a clean up”. The clean up is anticipated to be done around the 18th December.
If you are aware of similar problems then please pass them on to your local councillors.
Grateful Thanks!
Cllr Bryan Lodge was pleased recently when he received a telephone call from a very grateful resident of Charnock who wished to thank her Birley Councillors for helping resolve her heating problem. In early October, the lady’s fire was reported as not working and a repair ordered. When the engineer called, it was realised that the fire was obsolete and beyond repair. The fire was removed and a large, empty hole was left behind. Due to a communications problem, it appears that a replacement fire wasn’t ordered and inspite of a number of calls, the resident was no further forward as we progressed in to November. In desperation, the lady contacted her councillors. “We managed to quickly establish the facts and arrange for a new fire and surround to be installed. An email confirmation from Sheffield Home was received that said the job had been completed and so we closed the contact. It was really pleasing to get a call from our constituent to thank us for everything we had done to resolve her problem” said Cllr Bryan Lodge “I generally think that people contact councillors when they’ve exhausted the usual options and seem to be getting nowhere so it’s always a great feeling when we get a good result. This was made all the better when this lady took the time to call and pass on her thanks.”
Your councillors are always happy to assist if you are experiencing problems with council services. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch, our details can be found on the links to the left.
Sheffield Lib Dems Retract Weekly Bin Collection Pledge
Sheffield Lib Dems made a great song and dance about alternate week bin collections upon their introduction, which is unsurprising since they haven’t got much else to talk about (unless you count their remorseless attacks on public services as part of the Coalition – wonder why they’d want to avoid that subject?). According to Lib Dem Councillor Anders Hanson, fortnightly bin collections were something to be fought tooth and nail: indeed, he promised to ‘mercilessly attack’ the Council for moving to fortnightly collections
But not only are Sheffield Lib Dems now dropping their opposition to alternate week collections… they’re doing it on the quiet! Last week, without publicity they submitted a motion to December’s Full Council meeting saying: “it would now be extremely difficult to revert back to weekly black bin collections”. In other words, Sheffield Lib Dems’ thundering opposition to fortnightly collections has ended with a whimper; they won’t include funding for weekly collections in their proposed budget for next year.
But this flip-flopping isn’t new. Earlier this year the hapless Mr. Hanson let the cat out of the bag with his comments in some obscure publication called Lib Dem Voice: “I think it has now become almost impossible politically to introduce new fortnightly bin collections as both the opposition and the press will mercilessly attack anyone who does it. … However most people are happy with fortnightly collections when they get used to it.”
So it’s clear that Sheffield Lib Dems have been publically campaigning against fortnightly collections while admitting in their barely read in-house magazine that that the public have no problem with them! The only conclusion to draw from this is that their opposition was nothing more than cynical political opportunism, intended to distract Sheffielders from the damage their Tory and Lib Dem colleagues in Westminster are doing to our city.
An exasperated Councillor Jack Scott, cabinet member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene said:
“The Lib Dems are the only party to break their promises even when they’re in opposition. It now looks like they have finally accepted that we had no other option but to move to alternate week collection due to the massive cuts Nick Clegg and the Tory Government are imposing on the council.
“Their campaign against alternate week collections has been merciless and politically motivated, people can see through that. The Lib Dems should apologise to the people of Sheffield for making false promises yet again, they have a lot of questions to answer
“With further cuts coming from their Autumn Statement it’s about time the Lib Dems started campaigning against the cuts that will affect the people of Sheffield. It is wrong that they continue stand up for their government’s decisions instead of standing up for Sheffield.”
Mindless Vandalism at Frecheville Pond
After celebrating the completition of the works to improve the pond, Birley Councillors and members of the Friends group were deeply saddened by recent mindless vandalism that has seen bins ripped up and a recycling bin pushed in to the pond. Cllr Bryan Lodge said “It’s such a shame when all this hard work is spoilt by idiots who have no respect for the pond or the local community. I really hope that these hooligans can be found and would urge anyone who has any information on who is responsible to report it to the police. This can be done through 101 or through any of your local councillors if you feel more comfortable using that route” He added “We can’t let this sort of behaviour ruin local facilities – please, if you know who is responsible, pass it on to the police”
Christmas Comes Early in Hackenthorpe
Last Satur
day saw Christmas celebrations arrive early in Hackenthorpe when the Community Centre held their christmas Fair. On the first Saturday of the month, your Labour Councillors hold a surgery in the centre during the coffee morning but this month was a little special. ” The coffee mornings are always well attended but there were many more people around this month” said Cllr Karen McGowan. The centre was trimmed up and festive music was playing throughout. ” All three of us enjoy coming to the coffee mornings as there’s always a good atmosphere. With the carol singing and decorations, it had a real Christmasy feel. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves” added Cllr Bryan Lodge. The centre had a number of stalls along with refreshments, with the ladies in the kitchen doing a roaring trade in bacon sandwiches and hot drinks. ” Next time you’re around the shops on the first Saturday of the month, why not call in for a drink and a chat? We’d love to see you” said Cllr Denise Fox