One of the issues of concern ACT has identified is young drivers speeding along Abbeydale Road in the evening and parking in the bus lane with all the problems this can cause.

There is a perception that these problems have improved in recent months. But if you see any offenses then please report these to the local Police Community Support Officer, Sarah Hague. She has told us that is a pattern emerges then it may be possible to organize some targetted enforcement activities. Contact Sarah Hague on sarah.hague@southyorks.pnn.police.uk.

We can also report that the council are running a project involving both changes to the road layouts and signs and public education to improve safety on Abbeydale Road,  London Road and  Wolesey Road. We hope this will bring improvements.

Come to Mount Pleasant Park between 10am-1pm on Thursday 28 May to explore the new-improved park with a range of free activities on offer.

Click here for more details.

1. The green space next to Lowes on the Abbeydale Road

We’ve had various correspondence with Cllr Colin France updating us on issues raised during our Walkabout in January. Here’s a summary.

The council parks department manage this space and are apparently open to community involvement. We are hoping we can bring together Grow Sheffield, student volunteers and perhaps local local schools to do something with the neglected space.

2. The junction of Carterknowle Road and Abbeydale Road

The highways engineer  appreciated the problem and has investigated our concerns. Unfortunately he thinks narrowing the junction does not appear feasible without removing the central island at this location. We had suggested narrowing the kurb to make it easier for pedestrians to cross and to slow down traffic turning left from Abbeydale Road. But narrowing the kurb would mean larger vehicles would be unable to make the left turn into Carterknowle Road unless the island was removed, but removing the island would make it more difficult for pedestrians than at present even with a tightened kerb.

3. Speeding on Abbeydale Road (especially along the stretch from the Catholic church to the Picture House)

There will be a major council-led information and engineering programme starting very soon on this stretch of road. The aim is to slow down traffic and make the area safer for children.

4. Fly-tripping by Broadfield Park

The parks officers have agreed to clear this rubbish before the park re-opens.

5. The junction of Abbeydale Road and Bedale Road

The dangers to pedestrians crossing Bedale Road and the build up of traffic at this junction look likely to increase with the arrival of Tesco. The council have identified this as a priority issues for the highweays department. So something should be done soon. One to watch!

We have reluctantly decided to cancel this evening’s meeting (2 February) due to the weather and the state of the roads.

The meeting was due to follow-up last weekend’s successful ‘walkabout’ with local councillors and shop local meeting.

If you are on our email list then we will keep you informed of future plans or you can keep up to date via the website.

On Sunday 25 January we having a Walkabout of Abbeydale Road between 10am to 12noon. We will identify problems, eye-sores, positives and opportunities for action along the Abbeydale Road.

The Walkabout will be carried out in two sections, one starting at the Abbeydale Rd/Carterknowle Rd junction and one starting at the Abbeydale Road/London Rd junction. The plan is to meeting in the middle somewhere near Chippinghouse Road.

Anyone can come along. We are hoping some of the local councillors will join us.Please let neighbours, family members and friends know about it.

There will also be a follow up meeting on the 2nd February at 6pm at St Peters Hall on Empire Road to discuss the next steps.

ACT (Abbeydale Communities Together) wants to support local businesses through a ‘Shop Local’ campaign.

The most significant part of this process, however, is to consult with local retailers first to determine the best way forward.  There are a number of ways we can support local retailers – through providing a forum for retailers, advertising, promotion, and through links to training opportunities, support organisations and advice.

How can local businesses be supported?

Join us and give your views

on 5pm-6pm Sunday 25^th January 2009

at St Peters Community Hall on Empire Road

There is a strong belief that local shops are an important element of community life.  Any decline in the fortunes and eventual closure of local retailers impacts on the neighbourhood in a number of ways.  It strips an area of its identity and leaves property unattended and prey to vandals and the ravages of time.  The demoralising effect this can have on an area is significant and above all depressing.

It is therefore very essential that local traders are supported by and work with the local community and organisations to sustain a thriving and diverse neighbourhood.

The most important thing is that your views are heard.  With this in mind and with the continuing threat from national retailers, like Tesco, we would like to offer all local traders an opportunity to meet and plan for the future.

Plans for the new Broadfield Park

Work has begun to create a new children’s playground and improve the open spaces at Broadfield Road. Finnegans have already started work on the new open space and will be starting work on the new playground and other improvements in November 2008. They anticipate that all the work will be complete by March 2009. Due to the nature of the work, they warn, the site will be closed during this time.

The improvements to be delivered include:

Broadfield Road Open Space
– new children’s play area with play equipment, safety surfacing, and perimetre railings
– an upgrade of the current games area to create a multi-use area with new fencing and resurfacing
– tree planting and perimetre fencing around the whole site

Open Space Adjacent to the Office Blocks
(This land currently belongs to Finnegans but will be adopted by Sheffield City Council.)
– seating area and grassed area
– tree planting
– art feature to be developed in consultation with local people

If anyone would like any further information, please contact Kate Clark, Regeneration Officer, Sheffield Council Parks and Countryside Dept, on 0114 2736287 or 07966 371857.

After a very successful meeting a couple of weeks ago, ACTion has now decided its priorities for the forthcoming year. Specifically, these are:

- Road safety and traffic related problems
- Appearance of Abbeydale Road corridor, including litter, the identity of the area, pavements and so on
- Shop Local campaign

Over the coming months, the group will be working to achieve real improvements within these areas and at the next meeting will be deciding key actions and how to take these forward. These will include a ‘walkabout’ of Abbeydale Road to highlight key issues to send to councillors and officers at Sheffield C.C., a forum for local businesses, and securing funding for aesthetic improvements to Abbeydale Road.

But… we need your help. The more voices we have and the more hands to help out, the more chance we have of seeing change.

So, whether you can offer only a little time, or a lot of time, please join us at the next meeting of ACTion. Dates of forthcoming meetings are below.

Monday 1st December from 6pm – 8pm
Monday 5th January from 6pm-8pm
Monday 2nd February from 6pm-8pm
Monday 2nd March from 6pm – 8-pm
Monday 6th April from 6pm-8pm

All meetings held at St Peter’s Community Centre, Empire Road.

Please spread the word and we hope to see you all there.

The ACTion meeting on the 3rd November aimed to decide the priorities for the group over the coming year. In a well attended meeting, the discussion was around three categories which had been identified as being priorities for local residents: the appearance of the area, local transport and road safety, and local shopping. In a lively, positive and enlightening series of discussions, the group identified a number of problems and issues faced by local residents in each category and came up with a number of positive courses of action to take as a group to make improvements.

Many local people feel that the Abbeydale Corridor has a poor appearance compared to some other areas of Sheffield and lacks the sort of coherent identity seen elsewhere. This isn’t helped by the poor quality and mixed nature of the paving, a large amount of litter at times, graffiti and a lack of colourful planters and greenery. The group decided that a first course of action was to invite a local councillor for a walkabout with local residents to see areas for improvement in the flesh. Why not come along? Details will be advertised once it is organised. The group are also going to look at the possibility of reinforcing the identity of the area with “Welcome to Abbeydale Road” signs, and possibly using the Abbeydale Picture House as a recognisable symbol for the area. After all, Abbeydale Road is a main thoroughfare and is many people’s first impression of Sheffield. We want to put “let’s go to Abbeydale Road” on the lips of Sheffield, South Yorkshire and beyond!

Attracting people to the area would naturally be good for local shops. There is obvious concern over the impact of the new Tesco, but the group decided that the arrival of Tesco could be a catalyst for igniting interest in the great variety of shops in the area. This would be a good opportunity to begin a “shop local” campaign and so the group will be approaching local shopkeepers to get their views on the best way to get this initiative off the ground.

The safety of roads in the area concerns many local residents as well as the lack of competition for public transport. There still seems to be an issue with speeding on Abbeydale Road and so the group is going to push for greater enforcement of the speed limit, particularly at night. It was also noted that there are 20mph child safety zones on the S7 side of Chippinghouse Rd. which are not mirrored on the S8 side and so the group will press for an extension to these. A couple of junctions in the area seem to be in need of review: the no right turn from Abbeydale Road onto Sheldon Road causes a great deal of confusion because of poor signposting, and the junction off Abbeydale Road and Carterknowle Road has been the scene of two ities in the past year. The group will refer both to the Council as priorities for action. Finally, concerns over the lack of competition on local bus routes will be referred to NENG.

Existing members of ACTion are keen for others to get involved. It is your area and you can make a difference by being part of a united front on issues that are important to you. ACTion is particularly keen to hear the views of young people in the area and to get them involved in the decision making and action, so if you would like to get involved in the group, please come along to the next meeting at St Peter’s Community Centre on Empire Road on Monday 1st December from 6pm to 8pm. All are welcome and the more the merrier.

Tom Chapman