Category: Uncategorized

SCCRAG has a link to rate the quality of the management of your lease or rental building – click HERE to access.

If you want to comment to the UK Government about the quality of building management and problems you have found difficult to solve, here is the opportunity. Service charges are the fees most leaseholders pay to cover their share of maintaining their building, and are frequently the subject of controversy – for poor work, excessive charges or bad management.

The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently seeking views on what measures it should take. It says: “Consumers often have very little control over the services they receive, and limited ability to challenge agents when not of the quality they expect or deserve. Tenants and leaseholders can be exploited and subject to exorbitant charges”.

Managing agents are a person or company appointed by the owner (or someone operating on their behalf) to manage that property and their role may include for instance repairs and maintenance. Managing agents operate in both the private rented sector and the leasehold sector.

The call for evidence will last for 6 weeks from Wednesday 18 October 2017 to 29th November 2017
Here is where you can promote your views on how to improve Annual Service Charges or the management of your building – Click HERE

All the agencies working to help people get off the streets give the same advice – they recommend not giving cash to beggars; this only feeds addictions to alcohol, drugs or betting – or in some cases funds a healthy person cashing in on our generosity. No-one needs to be homeless in Sheffield if they are willing to accept the support available.

• Give food & drink & have a chat
• Donate to the agencies that support them.
• And campaign for better care for those on the streets –

Directly help the agencies supporting the street community by donating to Sheffield’s Help-us-Help campaign @ www.helpushelp.uk

VIEW OUR INFORMATION LEAFLET – Click DOWNLOAD below [embeddoc url=”http://www.sccrag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-Flyer-BEGGING-Side.pdf” viewer=”google”]

The Mental Health Act needs updating — so that it’s easier to help someone in this position. Do what you can to influence politicians to review the issues, which are causing a lot of the street community to have problems

Read below the comments of City Centre residents to see how begging impacts people:

[embeddoc url=”http://www.sccrag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/17-08-24-SCCRAG-Street-Begging-Responses-SYP.pdf” viewer=”google”]

Go to our heading “Anti-social Behaviour” to see more information.

AND – for Cold Winter Weather support: Sheffield City Council in conjunction with its accommodation partners operate a Severe Weather Emergency Protocol service known locally as Weather Watch during the winter months. In 2018 Weather Watch commences on 30th October and will run until the end of March 2019.
Evening temperatures are monitored daily and if the weather is going to drop then Weather Watch will be operating. All partners are alerted and put on standby to receive Weather Watch referrals. A Weather Watch bed space is usually a crash pad for a minimum of 2 nights and persons will be required to share with others.
If you, or someone you are aware of, may be rough sleeping during the Winter months please contact the Access Team for assessment on 0114 2736306 or the Out of Hours service on 0800 7311 689. 

Get involved with SCCRAG – Sheffield City Centre Residents Action Group – we are dealing with the agencies that help those on the streets.

SCCRAG – Your City Centre Community Association, where Community Action Counts

SCCRAG has complained long and hard about the revised traffic scheme on Glossop Road that arose from University of Sheffield enlarging its Campus by the pedestrianisation of Leavy Greave Road in summer 2016. It is misleading, dangerous, badly signed, damaging local businesses, isolating for residents and visitors and appears to operate 24/7/365 when it actually operates 16:00 to 18:30 Monday to Friday.

We are pleased to report that, at 1st August 2017 a list of proposed changes has been received from Sheffield City Council, as follows:

Work being priced:

1. Remove the current variable signs at both bus gates (three at Regent Street and two at Gell street)
2. Replace all variable signs with fixed blue roundel bus gate signs at both bus gates (three at Regent Street and two at Gell street) signs with additional sign plate below showing days / times of bus gate operation
3. Remove or cover over with grey material the green tarmac surfacing at Regent Street and Gell street bus gates
4. Remove / cover over the existing “BUS, TAXI, CYCLE ONLY” road marking.
5. Replace with current specification road marking: “BUS GATE”
6. Install evening peak hour loading restriction with appropriate signing on Regent Terrace (subject to processing the necessary traffic regulation order)
7. Provide a sign at the top of Regent St / Regent Terrace “loop” on corner of Portobello and St Georges Terrace directing “Local Traffic Only” towards Glossop Rd down Regent Terrace and “Other Traffic Ring Road” up St Georges Terrace to the ring road.
8. Replace the current “Other Traffic” sign at the Regent St bus gate with one which says” Other Traffic Ring Road”. This will be a larger sign which should be clearer to drivers.
9. Sign on Glossop Rd at Gell St bus gate which says “Ring Road Other Traffic” ( and directs traffic up Gell St towards ring road) to be removed as now redundant
10. “Other Traffic” sign (pointing down Glossop Rd towards city centre) being relocated from junction of Glossop Rd / Gell St to junction of Glossop Rd and Regent Street to direct drivers up Regent St as this si the most suitable route towards the ring road.

Most of these changes were requested by SCCRAG. Work began in January 2018 with replacement signs that now show the times of bus-gate operation and at the time of publishing work continues……

Cleaning Sheffield’s Polluted Air

Sheffield City Council is considering measures to clean up our polluted air. Council suggestions include a 20 mph speed limit inside the inner ring road and a ban on idling engines in stationary vehicles.

What suggestions do you have? SCCRAG is looking for ideas. Please let us have yours.

Living in the centre makes it obvious the air is dirty. Any light-coloured items left outside soon get a covering film of tiny black soot-like particles – we are breathing that stuff in. There is a map of the city showing pollution levels at a range of monitoring sites at https://maps.sheffield.gov.uk/LocalViewExt/Sites/DiffusionTubes/ Unfortunately many of these sites are no longer being recorded – hence the gaps when you click on some sites. Disappointing that our own council is unable to give us the data needed to know where the worst locations are.

The lower the levels of air pollution, the better the cardiovascular and respiratory health of the population, particularly for children, the elderly and those with breathing problems. By reducing air pollution, cities can reduce the burden from stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma. This lengthens all our lives and reduces NHS costs.

In 2006 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assigned a health standard for particulate matter = PM 2.5 of maximum 35 micro-grams per cubic metre (µg/m³) because levels above 35µg/m³ are associated with significantly higher health and mortality risks.

The University roundabout at Brook Hill is on this 35 limit, Abbeydale Road corridor and Netherthorpe are around 45, Duke Street and Park Square roundabout are around 50, Shoreham Street is over 50. Being inside a car is little protection from these particulates. Our main road problem is caused primarily by car, bus, truck and taxi engine emissions, in particular diesels.

SCCRAG has made air pollution one of its core issues.

Do you support the 20mph limit? And the ban on idling engines (assuming it can be enforced)

Email us with your ideas……

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Glossop Road Bus-gate – latest news at 07-08-2017:

SCCRAG has been pressing for urgent changes to the revised Glossop Road traffic scheme, resulting from pedestrianisation of Leavy Greave Road for Sheffield University campus improvement.

The effect of the green paint on the highway with ‘Buses, Trams, Bicycles Only’ written across, with no sign explaining it only operates 4pm to 6:30 Monday to Friday has been to deter people from gaining access to homes and businesses between Regent Street and the ring road at Upper Hannover Street. The impression is of a 24/7 ban on entry.

After 12 months of SCCRAG complaining about the scheme, the misleading consultation and the resulting problems, a set of revised proposals has been given to SCCRAG by the city council, which are:

1.     Remove the current variable signs at both bus gates (three at Regent Street and two at Gell street)

2.     Replace all variable signs with fixed blue roundel bus gate signs with additional sign plate below showing days / times of bus gate operation

3.     Remove or cover over with grey material the green tarmac surfacing at Regent Street and Gell street bus gates

4.     Remove / cover over the existing “BUS, TAXI, CYCLE ONLY” road marking.

5.     Replace with current specification road marking: “BUS GATE”

6.     Install evening peak hour loading  restriction with appropriate signing on Regent Terrace (subject to processing the necessary traffic regulation order)

7.     Provide a sign at the top of Regent St / Regent Terrace “loop” on corner of Portobello and St Georges Terrace directing “Local Traffic Only” towards Glossop Rd down Regent Terrace and “Other Traffic Ring Road” up St Georges Terrace to the ring road.

8.     Replace the current “Other Traffic” sign at the Regent St bus gate with one which says” Other Traffic Ring Road”. This will be a larger sign which should be clearer to drivers.

9.     Sign on Glossop Rd at Gell St bus gate which says “Ring Road Other Traffic” ( and directs traffic up Gell St towards ring road) to be removed as now redundant

10.  “Other Traffic” sign (pointing down Glossop Rd towards city centre) being relocated from junction of Glossop Rd / Gell St to junction of Glossop Rd and Regent Street to direct drivers up Regent St as this si the most suitable route towards the ring road.

If you have any comments on these proposals, please email SCCRAG to let us have them ASAP.

If you have an example of a problem experienced at the Glossop Road Bus Gate – email SCCRAG@gmail.com

SCCRAG HAS BEEN OBJECTING to Sheffield City Council on behalf of residents, local businesses and visitors about the revised traffic layout on the outward lane of Glossop Road from Regent Street (Boots Pharmacy) to the Hanover Way ring road. The new scheme is misleading, badly signed, complicated, damaging to businesses and highly inconvenient for residents and visitors. The plans were made public in May 2015 at a consultation exercise carried out to explain the revised Sheffield University Campus at Leavygreave Road.

SCCRAG believes the CONSULTATION WAS FLAWED because a vital change to move bus gate enforcement was not relayed to the public, there was a promised report back on issues raised that failed to materialise, the scheme as implemented did not follow some of the explained design and the misleading scheme is giving the impression that drivers cannot access this section of Glossop Road at all.

Why we are objecting?

THE MISLEADING DESIGN at the bus gate entrance makes it appear that the section of road is closed at all times – see photos below. The city council has refused to change this, citing Department for Transport (DfT) signs and Transport Penalty Tribunal (TPT) rulings as reasons. SCCRAG evidence suggests neither of these prevent clear signs at the gate explaining times of operation, nor do they mandate green paint on the road that gives the impression of a 24 hour ban. Sheffield City Council has been misleading in its explanations and failed to listen to the concerns of local people.

SIGNS are POOR. The scheme as implemented means that anyone needing to access this section of Glossop Road from West Street between 16:00 and 18:30, Mon-Fri has to divert via Regent Street, Portobello and Regent Terrace. This is not adequately signed and SCC refuses to make this diversion clear.

CAMERA ENFORCEMENT has been switched from Gell Street bus-gate to Regent Street bus-gate. Previously – and by custom and practice – drivers needing access during the operating times could cross the Regent Street gate (technically illegally) but in the knowledge that a penalty fine would not be issued, because that camera was not enforced. SCC was assumed to accept this principle because the Portobello diversion to avoid the non-enforced Regent Street bus gate and re-enter Glossop Road for access was never sign-posted. Crossing the Gell Street gate would however generate a penalty ticket. This meant that residents, customers and visitors could access the area from West Street without penalty as long as they did not cross the second, Gell Street, gate. And it worked!

But now this has been stopped. Camera enforcement has been reversed. Without explaining this change during consultation, crossing the Regent Street gate during operating hours generates a penalty fine. Crossing the second gate at Gell Street is illegal, but does not generate a camera-enforced penalty. Consequently access into this section of Glossop Road is now challenging, badly signed, confusing and convoluted.

What has happened to our objections?

So far, the city council officers have put up a host of reasons why they will make no changes to this flawed scheme. As stated above, SCC use of DfT and TPT rules as justification of this scheme are not true. SCC claims that the scheme is little different to the previous scheme, but that is also untrue; it has a massive impact on how the bus lane appears (as a 24/7 ban on entry) and how the access diversion is (badly) signposted. Businesses are losing customers, visitors cannot understand the access rules, residents are being penalised by time and fines due to changing the camera enforcement location.

SCCRAG has exhausted the unsatisfactory Appeals process to Sheffield City Council. The next stage is to review the legality of all aspects of the scheme to look for a legal challenge, submit an appeal to the Local Government Ombudsman, provide evidence of damage to businesses for legal claims, complain to University of Sheffield, whose consultants AECOM were involved in the scheme.

SCCRAG is coordinating these activities, which involve affected parties. If you have an example of a problem experienced due to the misleading design of Glossop Road Bus Gate – email SCCRAG@gmail.com

Bus gate at non-operational times: looks like a 24/7 access ban

The DfT sign SCCRAG wants adding to the gate, showing operating times

Bus Gate appearance when signs open during operation

SCCRAG – July 2017

Event information – TRAMLINES 2017 Music Festival – the following information has been supplied to SCCRAG by event organisers of www.tramlines.org.uk

TRAMLINES 2017 Music Festival: LOCATION CLOSURES, OPERATING TIMES, HOW TO REPORT EXCESSIVE NOISE, WEBSITE FOR TICKETS, CONTACT EMAIL

This year the Tramlines event takes place on Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd July (both Devonshire Green and the Ponderosa stage will operate on Friday night this year).

The main sites will be Ponderosa, Devonshire Green and Peace Gardens with street entertainment on Barker’s Pool. Fargate will have a food stalls and fairground rides. There will also be events in individual bars and clubs but these are run independently of Tramlines and are the responsibility of the individual premises and their licencees. For full details see www.tramlines.org.uk

For Devonshire Green residents affected by excessive noise or other disruption there is a number for a house nuisance line to monitor sound levels and accept complaints for Tramlines festival events. Outdoor music will stop at 22:00hrs if not before

The noise complaint line is 0790 489 6861 and will be in operation whilst the Devonshire Green site is open. SCCRAG suggests that residents in other areas suffering from a noise problem are recommended to report the matter to this number.

The Devonshire Green site is open Friday 5pm-10pm, Saturday 1pm-10pm, Sunday 2pm-9pm

Note: some private events will operate outside the Tramlines official events, but these should still not cause a public noise nuisance.

Devonshire Street will close for all 3 days for queuing.

Division Street will be closed on the Saturday only for safe passage of people as the city centre becomes extremely busy. It will be closed between 3pm and 11pm

Build and take down times:

Ponderosa (Main stage) – fenced site

Build begins – Sunday 16th July and site cleared Wednesday 26th July

Devonshire Green stage – fenced site

Build begins – Tuesday 18th July and site cleared Tuesday 25th July

Peace Gardens Stage

Build begins – Friday 21st July and site cleared Monday 25th July

Event operating times

Ponderosa:

Friday – Gates 5.00pm, Stage 6.00pm – 10.00pm

Saturday – Gates 1.00pm, Stage 2.00pm – 10.00pm

Sunday – Gates 2.00pm, Stage 3.00pm – 9.00pm

Devonshire Green:

Friday – Gates 5.00pm, Stage 6.00pm – 10.00pm

Saturday – Gates 1.00pm, Stage 2.00pm – 10.00pm

Sunday – Gates 2.00pm, Stage 3.00pm – 9.00pm

Peace Gardens:

Saturday – 12.00noon – 9.00pm

Sunday – 12.00noon – 9.00pm

Barkers Pool – family activities (NB – no stage)

Saturday – 12.30pm – 7.00pm

Sunday – 12.30pm – 5.00 pm

Road closures:

To improve safety at the event and for other users of the city centre over the Tramlines weekend Devonshire Street and Division Street will be closed to traffic with Rockingham Street and Carver Street maintained as crossovers.

Access to private car parks and parking spaces, and drop offs to properties on streets leading onto Devonshire Street and Division St will be maintained. There will be no crossovers or access to Devonshire and Division St from these side roads.

Closure from 10am on Friday 21st July to 11.59pm on Sunday 23rd July

·             Devonshire Street from Fitzwilliam St junction to junction with Eldon Street

Please note – Access to businesses for deliveries mornings until 12 noon

Closure on Friday 21st July from 3.00pm to 11.00pm

·             Eldon St from junction with West Street (access only) – complete closure below Eldon Court

·             Devonshire St

Closures on Saturday 22nd July from 3.00pm to 11.00pm

·             Eldon St from junction with West Street (access only) – complete closure below Eldon Court

·             Devonshire Street, Division St, Cambridge St and Cross Burgess St (exit from John Lewis car park will be towards Barkers Pool only)

Closures on Sunday 26th July from 11.00am to 11.00pm

·             Eldon St from junction with West Street (access only) – complete closure below Eldon Court

·             Devonshire St

There is also a provision to close Leopold St (from its junction with West St and Surrey St from its junction with Norfolk St (at the rear of the Town Hall). Access to Mercure Hotel and the Central Library end of Surrey St will be maintained.

This will only be used in an emergency if the Peace Gardens/Pinstone St area becomes very overcrowded. This is not expected to be used but if it becomes necessary the closure points will be stewarded and managed.

For further event information including programme and performers please visit www.tramlines.org.uk.

For any queries not answered above please contact the Major Events Team via email to events@sheffield.gov.uk or on 0114 273 6681

Diane Jarvis BID presentation-June 2017

A Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP) gives councils like Sheffield the ability to say “No” to a new licensed business or to lay down conditions, such as opening times, minimum price, banning single can sales and high strengths of alcohol available. It is usually applied to licensed premises in locations where there are demonstrated to be anti-social problems caused by excessive alcohol availability – hence the name “Cumulative Impact” – ie: already enough alcohol available, the cumulative impact of which is causing local anti-social problems. 

On 2nd June 2017 SCCRAG submitted its report to the city council review panel on why central Sheffield, and in particular West Street and the surrounding area, needs a Cumulative Impact policy. The report explains problems of anti-social behaviour caused by cheap, strong alcohol, psychotic drugs and in some cases mental health issues. These impact adversely on local businesses, visitors and residents. Those involved in anti-social behaviour in the area carry with them an open can of strong alcohol all of the time. The London Borough of Islington recently issued a document involving University of Sheffield researchers among others, which found that reducing the overnight opening of off-licences by using the availability of a CIP did reduce the levels of anti-social behavior.

See below for the SCCRAG report………….

[embeddoc url=”http://www.sccrag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/17-06-02-Why-SCCRAG-seeks-a-Cumulative-Impact-Policy.pdf” viewer=”google”]

An article in Sheffield Telegraph by SCCRAG Chair Peter Sephton, April 20, 2017:

SCCRAG represents people living in the city centre, so air quality is a priority. My three-year-old grand-daughter suffers breathing problems and when Sheffield’s air pollution is bad, her attacks are frightening.

A recent investigation by the Guardian revealed hundreds of thousands of children exposed to illegal levels of diesel pollution near schools and nurseries. Admissions to hospital rise on high-pollution days. Premature deaths in the elderly and the sick increase due to diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Latterly diesel engines were encouraged as cleaner than petrol, but both types of engines emit particulates and harmful gases. Partic­ulates get into our bodies, lungs, bloodstream and from recent studies, probably have relevance to cancer and de­mentia. Within urban areas, the pollutant contributions from road transport are par­ticularly high and in London can reach 8o per cent. Shef­field has blackspots where pollutant levels have hardly changed over 10 years.

We all need to do some­thing and the first challenge is public information. Where are the places we should try not to drive? How clean is the air around each school? Can we display local pollution levels, like a roadside moni­tor? London sets the pace – its 2020 Ultra Low Emission Zone is a central area within which all vehicles will meet strict standards or pay a daily charge to travel.

How can Sheffield encourage changes? How do we reduce emissions from cars, taxis, buses and trucks?

Stagecoach introduced some hybrid buses. What progress on pressing others to go all-hybrid? Let’s offer free parking for electric cars, encourage charging stations and fix a maximum parking rate of £1 for hybrids.

Work with operators, suppliers and car distributors to agree deals. Sadly Sheffield’s recent Go Low Ultra Cities Scheme bid for £10 million failed because it ‘lacked ambition on delivery’. Ten cities received a share of £14m to fund electric taxi charging points. West Yorkshire got £2 million but frustratingly Sheffield did not even submit a bid. Our city once led in cleaning the air. Let’s devise a strong plan, seek government funds and make ourselves much healthier.

Steve was unable to be our guest speaker at the meeting on 9/5/17 and instead sent colleagues Claire Bower and Craig Harper from Sheffield Licensing Department. You can view or download the slides they presented below: [embeddoc url=”http://www.sccrag.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/17-05-09-Licensing-Presentation-to-SCCRAG.ppt” viewer=”microsoft”].