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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!

Sheffield hosts climate conference

More than 20 schools from across South Yorkshire took part in the region’s first face-to-face school’s climate conference, held at Victoria Hall. The aim of the event was to engage pupils in learning about the climate crisis, possible solutions and how they can get involved. The event also included a climate related art competition. Sheffield Live! Baillor Jalloh spoke to some of the students participating and to Richard Souter, co-ordinator of the event.

Clean Air Zone goes live across Sheffield centre

Sheffield’s new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) regulations came into force on Monday 27 February, meaning drivers of the most polluting vehicles such as taxis, vans and lorries will have to pay a charge to drive into the city centre and the inner ring road. Taxis will pay £10 while buses and HGV will pay £50 per day. The local authority says the charges will rid the city off dirty commercial vehicles, partly blamed for the poor air quality in the city. Sheffield Live! reporter spoke to councillor Mazher Iqbal, co-chair of the Transport Regeneration & Climate Policy Committee of Sheffield City Council.

SWFC community facility out of action after arson attack

Sheffield Wednesday’s new community football facility, costing almost £1m, looks set to be out of use for months following a suspected arson attack last weekend. Firefighters were alerted to Jubilee Sports and Social Club after a stolen car was driven on to the middle of the astro turf pitch and set alight. The facility was opened on 3 January 2023 and was paid for by grants from the Premier League, the Football Association and the government’s Football Foundation. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have appealed for anyone with any information about the incident to report it. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor Jalloh spoke to Marcus Brameld, community programme manager, at the club.

Community repair shop opens in Burngreave

A community repair service shop has opened in Abbeyfield Park House, Burngreave, to offer low cost repairs of all sorts of broken items that might otherwise go to waste. Reyt Repairs is a social enterprise set up to support repair and re-use of broken items for just a small repair charge. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Gareth Coleman, director of Reyt Repairs.

Thousands to receive bladder cancer self-test kits

A pioneering urine screening trial, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, will provide thousands of men with bladder cancer self-test kits. Nearly 1000 people are diagnosed and over four hundred people die from bladder cancer every year in Yorkshire. 3,000 men between 65 and 80 will take part in the study across the region. The aim is to spot any concerns before they become more complicated. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to James Catto, professor at the University of Sheffield and NHS urological consultant.