Page Hall in Sheffield has its problems - but there are plenty of reasons why you should move there

​​​​​The suburb’s reputation for crime and disorder weighs heavily at the start of a stroll down Page Hall Road.

The litter is astonishing - and unsettling - and loud cars with loud music add to the unease.

It's bustling, with lots of people out, including children. But among them are three youths in black face-masks outside a shop and, further on, a trio of men, holding open cans and bags of beer.

It makes approaching a big group on the pavement - a signature feature of Page Hall - a tad intimidating.

And yet nothing happens.

Up ahead a solitary woman emerges from a shop, apparently unconcerned.

In fact, after more than 30 years in Page Hall, Cathy Cain makes a decent case for why you might want to live there.

She said: “I like living in a multi-cultural area. It’s great for shopping, you can get anything you want. I don’t feel unsafe and never have.

“I’m absolutely fine with people in the street. If it was abroad you wouldn’t question it.

“I would recommend Page Hall and property is cheap. Don’t believe the hype.”

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Page Hall is particularly known for its eastern European community who like to gather outside. Cathy said some also like to sing and will burst into song in the street.

She added: “It’s just a different culture.”

But she admits the area has its problems, calling it ‘under-resourced and overcrowded’.

She added: “It’s a bit of a dump. It’s a very neglected area. It’s always blamed on one community. But I would blame the council, they control the resources.”

Shopkeepers also need to take responsibility, she adds.

“You never see anyone sweeping up.”

Shopkeeper Azad Hussinpour, moved his family up from London five months ago because it was too expensive.

He said: “Families come out into the streeet. It’s just like home in Kurdistan."

Shakil Yasin, of Fresh Food Bazar, on Owler Lane, said there had been ‘no issues and no crime’ in his shop in his two years there, and he swept outside each day.

He has lived in Page Hall for 12 years and is saving to buy a house.

He added: “The community is friendly, personally, it’s okay.”

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But Yasmen Rubina, who has an Asian womenswear shop, believes it is ‘very dangerous’ and people are ‘drunk most of the time’ and ‘don’t care about the street’.

Firvale Community Centre had a summer campaign to try to inspire people to clean up, she adds.

But if it worked, it’s been undone pretty quickly.

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Shopkeeper Amjad Yasin, who has lived in Page Hall since he was six, is also downbeat.

He says there’s ‘litter everywhere and dead rats’ and if it doesn’t rain for a couple of days it smells.

He said: “The council has tried a few things but they’ve not worked.”

He also paints a picture of deteriorating community relations, adding: “I wouldn’t walk down Page Hall Road.”

Last year, police sergeant Tony Cartlidge told The Star: “If you walk through Page Hall at 1am you’re as safe as anywhere in the city."

He added: "Criminality in Page Hall is actually very low compared to most places in Sheffield."

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