Food banks in Sheffield are struggling to respond to demand which has inceased rapidly as a result of the cost of living crisis. Sheffield S6 Food Bank has been supporting around 1200 people a week this year, compared to 150 people a week in March 2020. The charity says they have to rely on those who can to donate money so they can purchase additional food to help the growing number of those struggling. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Alison Wise.
The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation has pledged support to Ukrainians in Sheffield including a children’s choir that is preparing to perform in the city centre during the Christmas festivities. Some of the funding will go towards equipment and costumes for the children who attend a Ukrainian Saturday school. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Julie Voisey, chair of the Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation.
Communities across Yorkshire at risk of flooding are being offered a series of workshops to help them prepare better, as part of Flood Action Week. With climate change leading to increased flood risk across the country, the workshops are intended to raise awareness of flood risks and flood warning systems, and to support preparedness among at risk households and communities. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Graham Lindsey, flood resilience team leader at the Environment Agency.
A global paint and coating company has unveiled a major expansion of its Sheffield production facility in Chapeltown, expected to create more than 20 new jobs in the area. Sherwin-Williams has invested £10m to expand the factory and boost production. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor Jallo spoke to Mathew Long, senior area director for Sherwin-Williams and Sheffield Lord Mayor Sioned-Mair Richards who attended the unveiling.
Fourteen year old Isabelle Pollard from Wales High School and 17 year old Oenone Wirth from Silverdale High School are among 15 winners of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. The prestigious international poetry competition judged over 13,500 poems submitted by over 6,000 young poets aged 11 to 17. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor Jalloh spoke to Isabelle Pollard.
Construction works have begun on Rotherham’s flagship leisure destination and regeneration project at Forge Island. The waterside scheme is planned to include a boutique cinema, hotel and restaurants alongside an attractive public square and a new pedestrian bridge connecting the development to the wider town centre. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor Jalloh spoke to Rotherham Council leader Chris Read and site manager Nigel Perkin.
Poet and performance artist Danae Wellington has spoken of her delight at being crowned Sheffield’s new poet laureate. Tchiyiwe Chihana reports for Sheffield Live!
Two full coaches of Sheffield anti-austerity campaigners joined the national demonstration in London on Saturday calling for a general election. The “Drive out the Tories” protest was organised by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity, a grass root organisation campaigning against cuts and hardship. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor spoke to campaigners Carrie Hedderwick, Ebru Garbutt and Rachel Bradley.
Sheffield Theatres, which manages the Crucible, the Playhouse and the Lyceum, is set to receive £3.9m in funding from Arts Council England for the three years from April 2023. The news comes as the Arts Council increases its commitment to funding arts organisation in the North of England. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Robert Hastie, artistic director for Sheffield Theatres.
Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust have called for the deliberate burning of moorland vegetation to be banned following a spate of fires in the last few weeks. Upland peat bog, which covers much of the High Peak moorland, is an important carbon sink, countering climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere. Globally, peat habitats store 30 per cent of all soil carbon. Deliberate burning of peatland vegetation is carried out on some grouse estates to encourage the fresh shoots on which grouse feed but it can also cause the peat to dry out, resulting in oxidation and loss of stored carbon to the atmosphere. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Ian Cracknell, advocacy officer for Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust.