Burngreave community organisations, residents and businesses organised a festival to celebrate the diversity of the neighbourhood and what it has to offer. The “community unity” event came together in response to recent outbreaks of violent crime that have impacted on community life. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to local residents enjoying the celebrations at Ellesmere Green.
Primary and secondary schools in Darnall came together for an annual sports day at the City Athletics Stadium on Woodburn Road. The community event, open to parents and children, aimed to promote children’s engagement in sport and exercise. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Nicola Hopkin, PE teacher at Sheffield Park Academy.
Fine weather brought huge crowds to the annual Stannington Carnival, a community-led celebration which has been a summer fixture for over 20 years. With music including Stannington Mixed Choir, Stannington Brass Band and the Old Friends Folk Bank, the traditional village carnival provided a diversity of family entertainment from the Scrufts Fun Dog Show to street dance performance, archery and face painting. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Chilypep, the Sheffield-based charity working with children and young people, have been awarded a three year Big Lottery grant to bring communities together in the north of Sheffield. The project called Respect and Understanding Builds Inclusive Communities (RUBIC) will support young leaders to act as community anchors and help resolve tensions between different community groups. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillor Jalloh spoke to Lesley Pollard, managing director of Chilypep.
A working livery school in Norton is home to six Shetland ponies being trained as therapy ponies to help children and vulnerable adults. Smile at Lightwood is an initiative of the Lightwood Livery at Mansion House Farm, Norton. Six miniature Shetland ponies came to live at the farm in late 2014 and have since been training for careers in pony parties and as therapy ponies helping young people, the elderly and vulnerable adults, at the farm and in the local community. 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.
Ochre Dike Playing Fields in Waterthorpe has been granted official recognition through the Fields in Trust scheme which protects designated open spaces against commercial development. Located near Crystal Peaks shopping complex, the playing fields are an important green space for those who live, work and study in the area and have been the focus of a campaign by local councillors and residents for the site to stay in public use. Fields in Trust status protects a diversity of open spaces across the UK from sports pitches to children’s playgrounds, bicycle trails to country parks. Ochre Dike Playing Field was formally accepted in 2015 and has now been presented with the official designation plaque at a special ceremony. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
The Building Bridges project of Rotherham United Community Sports Trust is set to benefit from Safer Rotherham Partnership support, to bring together young people from different faiths and backgrounds. The funding is part of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s assistance to promote safer communities. Using film and arts, the project will give insight into what it is like to be growing up in Rotherham in 2016, including issues of vulnerability, racism, pride and self-identity. Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, was at Wingfield Academy to hear and speak to young children about community cohesion. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
The Gardeners Rest in Neepsend could become Sheffield first community-owned pub following a successful crowdfunding campaign by the newly formed Gardeners Rest Community Society. When the owners of the Gardeners Rest pub, Eddie Munnelly and Pat Wilson, announced their intention to sell up for a quieter life on a narrow boat, pub regulars grouped together to try to raise the necessary funds to take the pub into community ownership. The Gardeners Rest Community Society intend to maintain the pub and to develop it as a community hub supporting local businesses, artists and community groups. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Walkley Library, which was saved from closure in 2014 after a community campaign, is celebrating two years of running independently as a community library with the support of local volunteers. At an open event to celebrate the achievement members of the public were invited to take part in activities aimed at showing the range of services on offer and to contribute to a survey on further improvements. Shamaan Freeman Powell reports for Sheffield Live!