SHEFFIELD City Council is supposed to be in existence to help the people of this city...not rip them off. But that's the clearest conclusion over extended negotiations for land needed for the Inner Relief Road.
One businessman was offered a paltry £10,000 for a piece of land which was later valued at £240,000. Outrag-eously, town hall officials rejected this figure, even though it had been suggested by their own surveyor.
Instead, and at some added expen
se, they sought to challenge this suggestion at a tribunal.
The outcome? The tribunal ruled that even this figure was too low and it was ruled that the value of the land should be bumped up to £330,000. Now the taxpayers are picking up the extra cost - once the city council has stopped dragging its heels and has done the honourable thing and paid up.
This is no way to deal with the public. It is arrogant and intransigent, using the town hall's muscle to beat down the very people who pay their taxes to support that organisation.
We believe some kind of investigation is needed into this fiasco, not simply because of the vast extra costs the taxpayers have been lumbered with as a consequence but because the relationship between officials and public needs to be established and some must be reminded who is serving whom.
Lessons in life are passed onWELL done to Sheffield's City School which has picked up a prize in the Care4Air awards, which are presented to individuals and businesses who do their bit for the environment.
The school has introduced a wide range of energy-saving measures to help cut down on its carbon footprint, including recycling schemes, car sharing and the installation of a wind turbine and woodchip boiler.
Its green credentials were beyond question even before the award but it's encouraging to see the school's efforts recognised in this way - particularly as they are passing on lifestyle lessons to its pupils which will serve them well through the rest of their lives.
What do you think? Add your comments below.
READ MOREMain news indexYour letters.
FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 393 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
