Sheffield Carol Day, an event to celebrate local Sheffield carols was held in the Winter Gardens on Saturday to mark the countdown to Christmas. The event organised by local folk collective, Soundpost, included local groups performing their favourite carols and encouraged to join the singing and celebration. Sheffield Live! reporter Shamaan Freeman-Powell spoke to local singer, Gina Walter, about the history of Sheffield carols and caroling.
Hundreds of people gathered on Rustlings Road on Saturday for a rally to protest against felling of trees lining Sheffield streets. The event follows the removal of eight trees on Rustlings Road in the early hours of 17 November, where three people were arrested. The council say the trees are damaging pavements which would cost £50,000 to repair, but an independent report found no “arboricultural reason” to remove all but one of the eight trees. The event was organised by the Sheffield Tree Action Group. A council spokesperson said “”We would like to offer an apology to the people of Sheffield who were affected by the way in which we took the trees down on Thursday of last week. We are sorry for the disruption and distress caused by the work starting at 5am”. Shamaan Freeman-Powell reports for Sheffield Live!
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service held an open day event at their Eyre Street station today to raise awareness of their work and to raise funds for charity. There wash a car wash for charity donations, an exhibition of old fire service vehicles from the National Emergency Services Museum, and a demonstration on road collision safety. Shamaan Freeman-Powell reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield City Council confirmed this week that the Central Library could be replaced with a five-star hotel as part of a Chinese investment deal. The Council signed the deal with Chinese construction firm Guodong UK Ltd in July, with £220m pledged over the next three years. If plans go ahead, it would be the city’s first five-star hotel and the library would move elsewhere in the city centre while Graves A about the proposals.
International Day for the elimination of violence against women, also known as White Ribbon Day, marks the beginning of an annual 16 day international campaign against violence against women. This year South Yorkshire Police are supporting White Ribbon Day with officers and an independent sexual violence advisor available in the police mobile hub in Sheffield City Centre to provide support services and answer questions from the public. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield’s public health unit is getting behind the national HIV Awareness Week to raise awareness of the disease and the benefits of getting tested. The week long campaign which runs up to 1st December, World AIDS Day will highlight the impact of HIV on people’s lives and promote access to the screening tests available. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to Greg Fell, director of public health at Sheffield City Council.
Green party co-leader Jonathan Bartley joined anti-austerity campaigners at a rally outside Sheffield Town Hall to condemn the autumn budget statement. Meanwhile Labour have said the government was “unprepared and ill-equipped” for Brexit. In the first financial statement since the Brexit vote in July, Chancellor Philip Hammond said government borrowing will increase by £122 billion over the next six years while UK growth predictions have been severely cut. Hammond vowed to ensure the UK economy was “resilient” and unveiled a fuel duty freeze and more cash for housing, transport and digital infrastructure. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
IBF Welterweight Champion Kell Brook officially opened the renovated Wisewood Sports Centre today alongside the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Denise Fox. A year ago the centre had an uncertain future but it has benefited from a £1 million revamp by property management company, Places for People. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Kell Brook and Denise Fox at the opening.
Freda Bradshaw, the 71 year old pensioner arrested last week after protesting the felling of trees on Rustlings Road has spoken to Sheffield Live! of her frustration over the incident. Bradshaw was one of three protestors arrested and later released without charge after being held in a police cell while Amey contractors took chainsaws to the century old trees. Residents were awoken to police knocking on their doors as early as 5am to remove their vehicles from the road so work could commence. Many residents and tree campaigners have been left furious over the action by Sheffield City Council. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
Sheffield City Council has become the first employer in Yorkshire to sign up to the TUC ‘Dying to Work’ Voluntary Charter which protects the employment rights of terminally ill employees. The charter supports terminally ill employees who wish to continue work after being diagnosed with a terminal illness and protects their right to dignity and not to be stigmatised in the work place. The Council is the latest high-profile employer to sign up to the charter which was developed by the TUC following the case of Jacci Woodcook, a 58-year-old sales manager from Derbyshire, who was forced out of her job after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.