Tree planting charity, Trees for Cities, has said it is suspending all funding, support, and activity in Sheffield due to concerns with the council’s tree felling programme. The UK charity works internationally to promote greener cities and has planted more than 25,000 trees in Sheffield over the last ten years. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
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The ‘Let’s Talk about Sex’ festival features musical, film screenings, discussions and cabaret, with the public invited to join the conversation. Theatre Delicatessen promises a fun and safe environment in which embarrassment can be put to one side and everyone will be talking about sex. Highlights include ‘Buzz the Musical’, a history of the vibrator, and a new version of The Vagina Monologues, presented by Shefest. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
A groundbreaking Sheffield social enterprise is providing snooker coaching and competitions for young people with physical and learning disabilities. The Stephen Harrison Snooker Academy was set up by founder Stephen Harrison, in memory of his father Ray Harrison who was the 1985 Paraplegic World Snooker Champion, winning a gold medal. The Academy has shown that snooker can help children with numeracy and literacy including using specialised snooker balls with numbers and letters printed on them as a new interactive method of learning. Ut can also help with concentration, dexterity and hand/eye coordination. The Academy will be staging the National Junior Disability Snooker Championship on 23 April 2017 at the Green Room Snooker Centre, High Green. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to Academy founder Stephen Harrison and some of the players.
NHS workers, campaigners and union representatives travelled to London to join a protest march against austerity measures in the health service. Organisers said that “at least 250,000” people took part in the Save Our NHS march, which began in Tavistock Square and ended in Westminster. Protesters sought to draw attention to plans which could see cut see cut backs in nearly two thirds of hospital services in England. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Dinnington residents are appealing to South Yorkshire Police to reopen the local police station on Laughton Road in Dinnington. The appeal comes after recent high profile cases in the area including the Leone Weeks murder and the ‘killer clown’ attacks. The station has been closed to the public for nearly 15 years and the building is planned to be sold off but resident Tim Wells has gathered over 800 signatures on a petition to reopen the building. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Campaigners who oppose the closure of The Hurlfield View care home for people with dementia have been protesting outside the Town Hall. Last month they presented a 10,000 signature petition to Sheffield City Council. The Council have said they are “one hundred percent confident” there will sufficient pre-bookable respite and day care activities in place from April 2017. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
Charges against nine campaigners, including a Green Party councillor, arrested over a tree-felling protest have been dropped. Alison Teal, councillor for Nether-Edge and Sharrow, was with six others arrested on suspicion of preventing workmen from chopping down a tree on Chippinghouse Road on 6 February. The protestors were arrested under Section 241 of the Trade Union amd :Labour Relations Act 1982 and charged with preventing lawful work. The charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service who said there was “insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction”. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
To celebrate World Book Day 2017, children from Concord Junior School came face-to-face with Oona the Elephant at Meadowhall shopping centre. Oona is the main character in Michael Morpurgo’s Running Wild which runs at the Lyceum Theatre later this month. It is the story of a boy who is saved from a tsunami by the elephant and who then has to survive in the jungle. The life sized elephant puppet is operated by four actors who took her on a stroll through the shopping centre before meeting the school children. The encounter is part of an ongoing partnership between Meadowhall and Sheffield Theatres to bring theatre and cultural education to children in the S9 neighbourhood. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Community parks and play facilities are set to benefit from £1.5m funding by Sheffield City Council over the next three years. A recent parliamentary inquiry highlighted a countrywide crisis in community parks, with declining facilities and under-investment. The majority of the funding will come from the city’s public health budget, with a focus on reducing gaps in health-related deprivation across the city. It is also expected to lead to the creation of new jobs. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor Jalloh spoke to councillor Mary Lea, cabinet member for culture, parks and leisure.
In support of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Sheffield Hallam University student Jessica Mell has spoken of her own personal struggle with food and how she addressed the problem. Jessica is studying Nutrition and Public Health at Sheffield Hallam University and is also President of the Mental Health Society at Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!