Time for a change, say Sheffield Liberal Democrats as party launches its local election manifesto

The party says its manifesto is an ambitious plan to put recovery first and make Sheffield an even better place to live, work, and study.

They would invest £150k in a taskforce to crack down on litter, fly-tipping, graffiti, and dog mess while £50,000 would be set aside for a Greener Sheffield fund so communities can invest in their environment.

There are plans to reintroduce the bring out your rubbish days, to offer more on-street recycling bins and double the number of trees being planted to 200,000 over the next 10 years.

Neighbourhood pledges include cracking down on rogue landlords and getting the housing repair service “back on track”.

There’s a promise to cut community allotment rents in half, give extra funding to lunch clubs and offer £250,000 to grassroots sports clubs to help reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.

There would be a £2m investment into district shopping centres, a doubling of the Launchpad Grants to young people starting their own businesses and new one-stop shops for business support.

On transport, they want to reinstate the free city centre bus, invest £1m in road safety and provide businesses with e-cargo bikes to reduce congestion and emissions.

Coun Shaffaq Mohammed, Lib Dem Leader, said communities would be at the heart of the Town Hall.

“We’ve had 10 years of a Labour council but things need to change and the Liberal Democrats can offer that.

“Sheffield is a great city because of the people who live here. Let’s get our councillors out of the Town Hall and into communities so everyone can be involved in making this an even better place to live.

“When it comes to the big issues facing our city over the next decade – our recovery, climate change, education, growing the economy – we know the Town Hall doesn’t and shouldn’t have all the answers.

“It’s people power that will move us forward, just like it’s people power that’s helping us through the pandemic.”

The full manifesto can be read here