Dangers of these area budget cuts
LAST week I attended the first meeting of the new North East Sheffield Community Assembly, and heard that the budget for the area will be £468,000, a cut of 35% from the budgets of the former Area Panels.
These cuts will impact on some of Sheffield's poorest communities, with health, jobs and education problems. They will reduce activities for young people and the elderly. My particular concern is with parks and open spaces. We need attractive, safe green space, where people can walk, run, and mountain bike or just relax and chat. This can have a big effect on peoples health and well-being. Many of us will remember the state Sheffield parks got into in the cuts of the 80s. It took years to recover from those cuts.
Parkwood Springs is just one example of where money is needed. It is a wonderful area of countryside in the city. We need the council to set a date for closing the landfill site, and we need work to start on master-planning for what happens after that date.
But already gradual improvements over the last few years have meant that more and more people are visiting it and enjoying the amazing views and wildlife. We need these improvements to be maintained and built on. We need activities such as the annual Beacons Event, so that more people discover the area.
The danger is that budget cuts will set groups and areas against each other. That must not happen. We need funding for what is needed for local communities and the city as a whole.
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
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Wind direction: North east
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