Month: January 2021

Information from Councillor Bryan Lodge.
Many residents in the Birley Moor Crescent area have been very concerned about the poor condition of the former Frecheville Hotel pub. The pub has been closed for some time and despite several attempts by councillors to ensure the owners of the building take more responsibility for its condition, it has been allowed to deteriorate badly.
We now have some more positive news. The council has received a planning application to demolish the building and to build 11 new two and three bedroom apartments on the land.
Further information is available through the planning portal at: https://planningapps.sheffield.gov.uk/online-applications/

Councillor Bryan Lodge with information from Sheffield City Council.
Sheffield City Council will provide thousands of additional laptops to support children who are currently having to home school, without the devices to do so.
1,000 pre-used laptops will be provided to school children of all ages and funding will be made available to purchase at least a further 5000. In addition, connectivity will be funded for children who do not have access to this at home. The investment into this project will be in the region of £1.5 million.
Working in partnership with the Laptops for Kids campaign, this project has been supported by many partners across the city and has already generated thousands of pledged devices to support children. Unfortunately, the Government’s failure to put the necessary support in place means that many children are still without laptops and unable to continue with their studies.
This announcement follows the hugely successful Digital Summit that the council hosted on Friday 22 January, which bought together over 100 individuals and businesses across a variety of sectors, including the Voluntary, Community and Faith sectors, to collectively address the digital divide across the city.
As part of the project, the council has been working with Learn Sheffield and schools across the city to identify those children and young people who do not have access to a device.
Birley Ward Councillor, Bryan Lodge said:
“It is fantastic news that the council is supporting this work. I know many individuals in the Birley ward have donated devices to ensure our young people can learn at home effectively. All three councillors from our ward attended the recent Digital Summit and of course we are now very happy to support this additional action by the council, which will help young people locally and across the city.”
If anyone has a device to donate to Laptops for Kids please use this link.
https://www.ltfk.co.uk/

Yesterday I took my mum for her COVID Vaccine at Beighton. I want to say what a safe and sleek process they have set up. I also want to thank the staff and volunteers for all they are doing. The video by Birley Health Centre which I showed my mum before the visit really helped. This is what our NHS is trained for and brilliant at – rolling out the biggest vaccination programme for decades and they are doing us proud.

This thank you also goes out to all our services from nursery and teaching staff, to care home, post office workers and public services that have kept this country running – THANK YOU EVERYONE.

Councillor Karen McGowan helped local resident with request for a tree to be planted on grass verge outside his property. The resident found a novel way to acknowledge the work Councillor McGowan had put in by placing this notice on the tree. Councillor McGowan said “It is nice to be thanked and to have your work acknowledged – it brought a smile to my face. It took nearly a year to achieve this result but we got there in the end. I’d like to thank the resident for his patience. We can not always deliver on every request but as Labour Councillors we can promise to always try out best”.

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on Wednesday January 27, 2021.
It commemorates the devastation of six million Jews killed during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of others who lost their lives under Nazi persecution and in genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Each year a theme is chosen for the day and for 2021 it is ‘Be the light in the darkness’. The theme is intended to encourage “everyone to reflect on the depths humanity can sink to, but also the ways individuals and communities resisted that darkness to ‘be the light’ before, during and after genocide.”
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the usual commemorative event held at Sheffield’s Winter Garden cannot take place. Instead, event organisers are planning to host and stream this year’s ceremony online which will be available to watch for free via Zoom from 5:45pm – 7pm on Wednesday 27 January 2021.
The vigil will feature reflections from the Lord Mayor, the Leader of the Council, Jewish Congregations and key members of the local Community.
The new format for the event has been created to help curb the spread of Coronavirus across the city whilst ensuring people can still pay their respects and participate safely from home.
Sheffield’s Town Hall clock face will also be lit up in the colour purple, the Holocaust Memorial Day branding colour, as a nod to this year’s theme.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Bob Johnson said,
“Holocaust Memorial Day provides a significant opportunity for the people of Sheffield to remember the lives and bravery of those who were persecuted in the Holocaust, and subsequent genocides, and to pay tribute to the survivors.
“It is important that we take time to remember and reflect on the events of the past, but that we also acknowledge that tragically, many people are still facing oppression and are forcibly being separated from family, friends and wider-society because of political or religious persecution and war.
“Now, it is more important than ever, that we unite to stop discrimination, hatred and the isolation of people in our society.
“With the current health crisis preventing an in-person ceremony from taking place, we have had to alter the way in which we honour Holocaust Memorial Day this year. I’m sure everyone will appreciate that due to the ongoing pandemic, an online virtual event is the safest way we can mark the occasion.
“I look forward to seeing people from all faiths and communities joining us for this commemorative service from the comfort of their homes.”
You can watch the service on this link:  Holocaust Memorial Day Vigil – Wednesday, 27th January 2021 at 5:30pm – Sheffield City Council Webcasting (public-i.tv)
The events locally are part of international Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations, details of which can be found here: https://www.hmd.org.uk/

Apologies for the length of this post, but it contains a lot of useful information and links to the latest information from South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE REDUCTIONS in response to Covid-19 crisis – from Sunday 17 January
I am writing to advise you of changes to public transport services in South Yorkshire in response following the introduction of the latest National Lockdown.
Passenger numbers continue to fall and are now between 20% and 25% of pre-COVID levels, and operators have been approached by DfT to reduce service levels to more appropriately reflect current demand and reduce the call on financial support that is required.
Following discussions with operators the following changes will be taking place.
What changes are being made to bus, tram, tram train, and train services in South Yorkshire?
Due to the current situation, operators have proposed a reduced service in response to falling passenger numbers and staff shortages due to Covid-19. Through collaboration with partners, it is hoped these changes will help to stabilise the network and ensure that customers are kept up to date with accurate information.
A summary of changes for each mode of transport is provided below:
Bus
Local bus services
A revised timetable, broadly similar to the one in operation in June last year, is being discussed with operators. The aim is to maintain network coverage with reduced service frequencies on routes. Timetables will be confirmed later this week and details circulated to stakeholders shortly. The majority of changes are planned to take effect from Sunday 24 January, although some minor changes are planned for Sunday 17 January.
All timetables will be available at www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/servicechanges ahead of the changes taking place.
School Services
We are currently seeing higher than expected numbers of school journeys being made and as such are working with each school to understand what provision is required. In general terms dedicated services will continue to operate unless the school is closed or there is no requirement for public transport. In some cases, services may switch to ’open’ services to allow adult fare payers to use the service where this better reflects the number of journeys being made.
Up to date information is available on our website at https://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/journeyplanning/school-buses
Supertram
Supertram will be making some changes to its timetables with effect from Sunday 17 January. These changes will ensure continued service reliability.
From Sunday 17 January Supertram services will operate as follows:
Blue and Yellow routes will operate a 15-minute frequency throughout the daytime Monday to Saturday, with a 20-minute frequency early morning and 30-minute frequency from 7pm.
• Purple route will continue to operate at the current frequency, although some timings may be altered
• Sunday frequencies will be every 30 minutes on all routes.
• Tram Train services will continue to operate two services per hour.
• Start and end of service times will be unchanged across all routes on all days.
The latest information and up to date timetables are available at https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/yorkshire/2020/june/st-current-timetables
Network provision will continue to be monitored to ensure provision matches demand as closely as possible. If you have any questions or require any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Train
Train operators will be reducing the number of services operated to reflect the reduced passenger demand, with some changes coming into effect from Monday 18 January.
Further information and revised timetables can be found on the operators’ websites or at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
What we want customers to do?
Do not use public transport if you or someone in your household is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 – a new continuous cough, loss of sense of taste or smell or a high temperature.
Stay at home, do not travel out of their local area and only travel if they need to for things like work, to meet caring responsibilities, for medical appointments or to buy essential goods and services.
With COVID-19 cases rising across the country, it is more important than ever for everyone to play their part so those who need to can travel safely. Please think and check before you travel and only use public transport if you have no alternative. Wear a face covering, keep your distance and wash or sanitise your hands before and after using public transport.
How is this being communicated to customers?
Operators are keeping customers up to date via their websites and social media channels.
Details regarding how and where public transport services are operating in South Yorkshire can be found at https://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/servicechanges/ via twitter at https://twitter.com/TSYalerts or by calling Traveline on 01709 515151.
How can you help?
Passengers are being urged to only use public transport if they have no alternative and check before they travel. It would be appreciated if you could please help by advising those who still need to travel by public transport to plan their journey ahead using the up to date timetables on operators’ websites or via www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/servicechanges.
Please remind customers to keep a safe distance, wash or sanitise their hands frequently and use contactless payment or mobile tickets, where possible. Please inform customers that wearing a face covering on public transport, in stations and interchanges is mandatory. If they do not wear a face covering, they will be breaking the law and could be fined.
If a customer feels they are exempt they can download and print our exemption journey assistance card, available at travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-GB/LandingPage/Journey-Assistance-Cards, which they can show the driver or conductor to let them know. These will also be available on request from the customer service desks in our interchanges.