Nothing has changed

It reminded me of some of the stories that have been sent to The Star over the last few months, if not years, concerning the redevelopment that should be taking place now.

It just goes to show nothing has changed since 1988.

MD

S10

How are we better off?

Re the letter from BC, Sheffield, it is not the EU that is responsible for the people having to use food banks, it is this Tory government that is to blame.

This government has reduced the income tax for people with a take home pay of £50,000 per annum from paying 50 pence in the pound to 45 pence in the pound.

So get in touch with your MP and insist that people with take home pay of over £200,000 per annum pay a compulsory philanthropic amount of 80 pence in the pound.

This would certainly be sufficient to pay for care in the community.

Ron Hardy

Chapeltown, S35

Festooned countryside

Thank God MP Anne Main has highlighted the lunacy of dog muck, (I am not genteel enough to use the word poo), being put into black plastic bags and then jettisoned in the undergrowth or festooned on branches as a tribute to the pagan deity Faeces.

Nowhere do I notice this more than on Wadsley Common.

But what is the answer?

Train your pets to go beforehand, use high-visibility poo bags?

Here in Loxley Bottoms we have examples of it being dropped on pavements or in the road.

In the H&S trade we used to employ chemical agents that would turn such unappealing residues into detoxed pizza toppings.

Inventors get patenting – there is an issue someone has to faece up to and make money.

Ron Clayton

The Kennel, S6

Not planning for tomorrow

If my memory serves me well first Sheffield was twinned with Anshan in Liaoning province in China, then Sheffield United acquired Chinese football team Chengdu Blades.

Now in Sheffield we have Chinatown built by Chinese money, there are proposals to turn the library into a hotel and the Town Hall is going to be turned into a changing room for the Chengdu team.

What this tells us is the amount of brain power in our council that have not planned for tomorrow.

In fact they have not planned for today as they stumble from site to site day by day.

F Hardy

by email

I’ve ruffled a few feathers

It would appear, judging from Councillor Peter Price’s response, (Letters March 8), that I have managed to ruffle a few of his feathers with one of my recent tree letters in which, according to him, I made ‘hysterical attacks’ on Sheffield City Council cabinet members for their handling of the tree issue.

I am certainly not alone in condemning the council for their shameful actions so might I suggest to Coun Price and his colleagues that if they wish to regain the public’s respect and avoid negative comments then they should try engaging more with Sheffield residents and start listening to their views.

Councillor Price maintains they listen to all views and ‘reach rational decisions’ regarding our highway trees. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the case of the Rustlings Road trees 59 out of 65 households wanted to keep their trees but their wishes were overruled.

Sheffield City Council ignored the findings of the Independent Tree Panel whose report regarding the Rustlings Road trees was only released 30 minutes before felling began.

The ITP’s recommendations were that seven out of the eight trees scheduled for felling could be saved but this was ignored. In the ITP survey of 32 streets it was stated that 91 per cent of healthy trees could be saved but are to be felled.

Many of the healthy specimens across the city are around 100 years old but can easily live for 250 to 450 years.

Renowned international arboricultural expert Jeremy Barrell said after inspecting both the felled and threatened Sheffield trees: “I’ve looked at every tree and none of them need to be felled.”

Trees for Cities, a tree charity, have said they will stop working with SCC until felling is suspended.

So, Councillor Price, is this what you call ‘listening’ or are you saying all these people are wrong and that their sensible opinions should be totally disregarded?

If Labour is so proud of its tree-planting record then why are healthy trees being felled that have many more years of life left in them?

I can recall some years ago SCC giving their assurance that they would never fell healthy trees.

I am not just concerned about Victorian trees in our leafy suburbs, as he suggests, but want to see healthy trees of all ages protected across the city and trees planted in areas that don’t have any.

Many trees are being planted but they will never grow to the same canopy size or compensate for all the large-crown trees we have lost.

The truth is that the tree issue has badly damaged the council’s reputation with their bombastic ‘We know best’ attitude and they are blatantly hostile to those who question council policy and are prepared to make a stand against actions which are detrimental to our city and the environment.

Thanks to Sheffield City Council’s incompetence and the wretched contractors Amey we are losing a precious part of our city’s heritage and I have reached the conclusion they are not willing to listen to any reasonable, well-balanced argument and will never admit they have made the wrong decision.

Susan Richardson

Westminster Crescent, Lodge Moor, Sheffield, S10

Bring back good old days

I was born and raised in Firth Park. Folks had nowt but had respect for each other.

We kept our streets clean and tidy.

Why is it so neglected? There’s no pride in our once lovely shopping centre.

Bring back the good old days.

Annie Parkin MBE

by email

Space in the Town Hall

I wonder why Howden House was needed when there is plenty of space in the Town hall to house the library.

They could have made better use of the Town hall and used the cost of Howden to build more council houses.

EB Warris

by email