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Latest news from the Sheffield Live! teams

Climate campaigners protest outside Barclays Bank

Members of Extinction Rebellion and Palestine Action held a demonstration outside Barclays Bank on Pinstone Street to protest against what they describe as climate crimes and injustices of greedy businesses. The two groups accuse the banking giant of investing heavily in fossil fuel and providing investment and loans to arms companies selling weapons and military technology to Israel that are used against unarmed Palestinians. Sheffield Live! Baillor Jalloh spoke to Steph Howlett and Randeep Samra.

Covid-19 sculpture “for the people of Sheffield”

Sheffield architect and sculptor George King spoke to Sheffield Live following the unveiling of the Covid-19 memorial sculpture in Sheffield city centre. The artist said he hoped that people would be proud of the final piece, which had been “Made in Sheffield for the people of Sheffield”. Baillor Jalloh reports.

Ecclesall road businesses seeks clarity on red routes

Business owners on Ecclesall Road are asking for assurances after being informed that proposals to introduce red routes in the area have been scrapped. There were fears Sheffield Council was seeking to introduce camera-controlled red line zones along the bus lanes on Ecclesall and Abbeydale Roads, which would prohibit parking, deliveries or restrict waiting between certain hours. Traders in the area had concerns the proposals could affect footfall to their businesses. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!

Period poverty in focus at Town Hall meeting

Sheffield Council has brought together support groups and charities across the city to discuss how to increase awareness of period poverty as part of a focus on women’s equality in the city. Sheffield Live! reporter Swahlita Collins spoke to Sheffield City Council deputy leader Julie Grocutt and Chella Quint, founder of Period Positive.

Ukrainian activists seek to raise awareness of impact of war

Ukrainian activists, Olenka Gulenok and Brie Kostrova, visited Sheffield during International Women’s Week as part of a UK tour to raise awareness about the impact of the war on women and working-class communities. Gulenok and Kostrova are from the campaign group Sozialny Rukh, a socialist movement organisation in Ukraine. They met with labour movement activists and politicians during their visit to Sheffield. Baillor Jalloh reports.

Street tree campaigners deserve apology says former councillor

Alison Teal, former Green Party councillor for Nether Edge and Sharrow who was thrown out of a full council meeting in 2017 over the street trees dispute, has called for a public apology from senior councillors who had defended the felling of street trees. Speaking to Sheffield Live! Teal said “people were really brutalised, people were physically hurt”. Teal was one of six campaigners who were arrested by police and detained for several hours for protesting against the felling of street trees across the city. The independent review into the trees dispute recommended the local authority apologise for “developing and adopting a flawed plan” to remove and replace street trees in the city. Baillor Jalloh reports.

Tree campaigners welcome independent report

Members of the Sheffield Tree Action Group have welcomed the findings of Sir Mark Lowcock’s independent report into the dispute on the felling of thousands street trees in the city. Campaigners Russell Johnson and Phillip William Yates, speaking to Sheffield Live! said they were content with the findings of the report and called for the resignation of councillors Terry Fox, leader of Sheffield Council, and Bryan Lodge who were heavily involved in the project delivery. The findings concluded the local authority should apologise for what the report described as “developing and adopting a flawed plan” to remove and replace street trees in the city. Baillor Jalloh reports.

Report highlights council failures over street trees

The independent review into the felling of Sheffield street trees, published on Monday, has described a “failure of strategic leadership” at senior levels in the city council. The report, conducted by Sir Martin Lowcock, calls on the local authority to apologise for”developing and adopting a flawed plan” to remove and replace street trees in the city. Thousands of trees were felled as part of a £2.2 billion street maintenance contract, sparking public anger and residents’ protests. Lowcock accused Sheffield council of undermining public trust and of being “economical with the truth”. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!