Council calling McCabe's bluff re Don Valley?

[SwissBlade]

I can spot 2 out of 3 errors, but I can't spot the "there" and "their" mistake!

Anyway, get a life....


Edit - got all 3 now. Do I get a prize? A Gold watch? A piece of your tyre?

UTB

Ha ha sorry, just some days I need to keep you in check

You win a chance to buy me a tyre

 

[South London Blade]

The main reason Sheffield doesn't fare as well as other cities is that for the last 40 years successive governments haven't invested in any projects in addition to determining that the we need less per head than places like Brighton. Why? Simple because there aren't any votes to be bought by in a General Election....Tories will not invest as they know they will never have an MP in Sheffield and Labour knows that they will always have all the seats bar one hence we see them both turn to places like Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham who flip flop their MPs and councils on a regular basis.

hasn't Sheffield council flip-flopped between Labour and Lib-dem over the past 12-13 years?

saying that, its just one set of incompetent cunts replacing another....

 

[Bladesway]

Why have places like Liverpool sorted themselves out then? While I don't doubt there is some merit in what you say there is more to it than whether a city wins votes or not. Sheffield has a great history of crapping it up when the opportunity arises. It has had investment in the past which is why it has the tram, DVS, why it had the airport and why places like the train station were renovated. On almost every occasion it has made a complete pigs arse of it. When you look at the investment that is being made into the new Tennis/sports centre at Norton College and other sporting venues that have had massive investment into them you scratch your head and wonder why half of the city looks like the germans came back for another bash and we never cleaned up.

One thing I know historically is that Sheffield has a great fat chip on its shoulder and its always someone elses fault that it misses the boat. I think it spends too much time naval gazing and kicking and spitting about Leeds and Manchester and should perhaps concentrate on making a bit more of itself rather than berating everone else for the situation.

I have to say wherever I have lived I have never met such negative attitude to anyone who has a desire to better themselves than I did in Sheffield. Whether that be Business Link when I went to set my business up, the council when you try and talk about getting premises for your new business or the people in general who you try and employ and give work to. The company I now work for is having similar issues and people from the outside all scratch their heads and wonder why it is so hard to do work in Sheffield compared to the rest of the world. If in doubt the answer is usually no. Go to Leeds and you can pretty much guarantee a very different attitude to the same question.

 

[sitwell]

The Don valley stadium scandal really should be looked at. Brearley offered a fantastic opportunity to Sheffield and was snubbed by the council ,this should be investigated as to whether it was due the Sheffield United/pigs on the council reason as we all suspect ,or the lining of pockets ,or whatever reason. maybe the Star should investigate ... damn ,or local radio ....blast .

 

[Racy]

I supposedly live in "God's Country" but not too sure about that tbh.
However, I DO know that I come from "God's COUNTY" - no doubt.
Presume that's what ya mean lad??
Long live the socialist republic of SY....

No what I meant was within the boundaries of the City of Sheffield

 

[Racy]

There's quite a few people coming on here and giving Sheffield a good slagging off.
I'm not saying it's perfect but like most places it's suffering due to the economic down turn.
In previous posts the negatives have been described here are a few of the positives.
Probably got the most progressive Universities in the country its on fire up West St / Division St.
You go on about the Don Valley what about the Arena and the surrounding complex then theres the Meadowhall, Retail Park on Attercliffe Rd these have tidied the East End up a treat.
Ecclesall Rd has got to be one of the best nights out anywhere.
We have just completed the schools with at least a dozen secondary and numerous primaries.
I could go on but Sheffield was coming on fine until 2008 and I believe projects like sevenstones and the Moor will happen in time.

 

[bladeinspaceandtime]

There's quite a few people coming on here and giving Sheffield a good slagging off.
I'm not saying it's perfect but like most places it's suffering due to the economic down turn.
In previous posts the negatives have been described here are a few of the positives.
Probably got the most progressive Universities in the country its on fire up West St / Division St.
You go on about the Don Valley what about the Arena and the surrounding complex then theres the Meadowhall, Retail Park on Attercliffe Rd these have tidied the East End up a treat.
Ecclesall Rd has got to be one of the best nights out anywhere.
We have just completed the schools with at least a dozen secondary and numerous primaries.
I could go on but Sheffield was coming on fine until 2008 and I believe projects like sevenstones and the Moor will happen in time.

City centre has been a dump for donkeys years. It was bad 30 years ago and its got worse since! The council have hosed money up against the wall on things that only lasted a few years (Hole in the Road, Town Hall extension, Castle/Sheaf Markets....) for what benefit? How long has The Moor looked like a bomb site? The things the council have got away with are criminal.

 

[Racy]

City centre has been a dump for donkeys years. It was bad 30 years ago and its got worse since! The council have hosed money up against the wall on things that only lasted a few years (Hole in the Road, Town Hall extension, Castle/Sheaf Markets....) for what benefit? How long has The Moor looked like a bomb site? The things the council have got away with are criminal.

Can't agree with you about two of them Hole in the Rd/ Subways were great when the town centre was booming mid sixtiies to late eighties as was the markets I'll give you the Town Hall but I got six months work out of it s a bricklayer.

The new Market on the Moor has started and will be finished for the end of the summer.

 

[metalblade]

To be fair for all the failings of successive labour councils since 1979 and Maggie getting to power, Sheffield and S, Yorks as a whole has been under attack from Tory governments who know they will never have more than a few MP's in this area. S, Yorks was built on coal and steel Maggie in her wisdom thought it better to import coal from east Europe and Australia while selling off the steel industry to China and India. Even the Blair government did little for us .............. safe seats and all that. Fair to say Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool have all had more investment in road and rail links, add to that our incompetent anti - car council and there is little wonder parts of the city looks like a wasteland while Meadowhall thrives, perhaps if we spent a little less on bus lanes and speed humps the city would be on the move and still have decent roads. No wonder business finds it easier elsewhere, little wonder no investors are queuing up to invest in both football clubs despite both being supported on a par with any but the big six who always top the Premiership.

 

[alcoblade]

Why have places like Liverpool sorted themselves out then? .

You've definitely gained a better impression of Liverpool than I have. Granted, the docks are nice, and there's a few more glossy buildings. The museum is pretty impressive too (though you should read the way it almost boasts about lack of edeucation, jobs and numbers on ill health - as though it's an honour - if Sheffield folk bother you so much) . So that's 2 days a decade sorted, but as for the rest, give me Sheffield any day.

UTB

 

[alcoblade]

There's quite a few people coming on here and giving Sheffield a good slagging off.
I'm not saying it's perfect but like most places it's suffering due to the economic down turn.
In previous posts the negatives have been described here are a few of the positives.
Probably got the most progressive Universities in the country its on fire up West St / Division St.
You go on about the Don Valley what about the Arena and the surrounding complex then theres the Meadowhall, Retail Park on Attercliffe Rd these have tidied the East End up a treat.
Ecclesall Rd has got to be one of the best nights out anywhere.
We have just completed the schools with at least a dozen secondary and numerous primaries.
I could go on but Sheffield was coming on fine until 2008 and I believe projects like sevenstones and the Moor will happen in time.

All nestled on the the edge of the Peak district. You're not alone in loving the city Fella.

UTB

 

[JohnDenver]

All nestled on the the edge of the Peak district. You're not alone in loving the city Fella.

UTB

A chap I know does a bit of stand-up and one of his topics is what middle class folks say about Sheffield. Ie. it's wonderful - 5 minutes and you're out in the Peaks.... To which he responds, well why don't you all fook off and live there instead?

Gets a laugh, but I'd suggest the sentiment it relies on for its comedy isn't the best advert.

 

[alcoblade]

The Don valley stadium scandal really should be looked at. Brearley offered a fantastic opportunity to Sheffield and was snubbed by the council ,this should be investigated as to whether it was due the Sheffield United/pigs on the council reason as we all suspect ,or the lining of pockets ,or whatever reason. maybe the Star should investigate ... damn ,or local radio ....blast .

Thank god they knocked it back, even if it was for all the wrong reasons. A running track around the pitch? - Fuck that.

UTB

 

[KenMcnaughtsNuts]

sooner they knock it down the better. horrible half-baked stadium in the arse end of knowhere. knock it down before mccabe gets any funny ideas

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

............... like the clown in Doncaster

Actually, I was thinking more like Boris Johnson. The right person in the role of mayor can be a very positive influence and bring great benefits to a city

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

People don't invest in Sheffield for many reasons. Backward looking mentality of people, council compared to Leeds and Manchester. No can do mentality to be found everywhere and ubercynics who revel in their own mediocrity and blame everyone else for the city failing to capitalise on countless opportunities. The Airport is a classic example of how you can take a good idea and really fuck it up. Runway too short, facilities which made a Somalian famine camp look 5 star. Embarrasing.

Other cities (even fucking Liverpool for crying out loud) have evolved over the past 20 years or so. I came back to Sheffield this year with a new job. The lack of forward vision and direction in the place is frightening. I took a trip down the moor and was shocked at the bombsite I was presented with. I walked back toward the tram stop near ponds forge and the amount of empty retail and office space is truly scary. I'm pleased to be a visitor and not to live there.

I know people who I work with who visit who are genuinely shocked at the state of the place. You walk 250 yards from a very nice train station and it immediatly become apparent the place is struggling. Compared to other places that have been in a similar hole it has never taken upon itself to roll its sleeves up and dig itself out. The nearest place of comparison I can think of is Wolverhampton and FFS thats a god forsaken hole of a place.

There are some very nice parts to Sheffield and I love it because its the place I was born and brought up in, but the place I live now has a better vision of the future than it appears Sheffield does. Having travelled extensively around the UK there are few "big" cities that fuck up opportunity better than Sheffield does. The buck has to stop with the administrators in the coucil. As for the Don Valley Stadium. They never built it properly so it could have an additional tier put on top so its neither use nor ornament as a football ground.

Absolutely spot on! I particularly agree with the bit about coming out of the train station as I do the walk from there to one of two or three watering holes and then across the Moor and you're right, it makes down town Beirut look classy. Living in Leeds and travelling to Sheffield (my home town like yours) it saddens me to see the difference between the two cities and, yes the people are "better" in Sheffield, some of the attitudes that prevail really have held the city back and for decades.

Anyone remember when the steelworks started shutting down and the council insisting on still charging rates on the empty buildings? Some one found a loophole whereby if you took the roof of a building, you were exempt from paying rates. Hence all the buildings (especially in the East End) had their roofs removed so the drift into dereliction gathered speed and the buildings become undevelopable (is that a word?) very quickly.

 

[Darren]

"Should never have been built ,Reg had a perfectly good option for them."

Still annoys me 30 years later, United would have built a mega stadium, the council could have the World Stupid Games and it wouldn't have cost the Sheffield tax payer a penny. And all because the pigs on the council couldn't stand to have the pig snout put out of joint... United getting all the limelight we can't have that.

God. how many times do I have to say this...

Yes, the (Labour) Council rejected Brealey's plan, but he appealed to the (Tory) Secretary of State. No doubt, if at all possible he would have loved to have helped the Tory Brealey and put one over the hated socialist council (then in constant ideological conflict with the government). As it happened, the SoS rejected the plans as well.

Which shows that there was absolutely no footballing or political bias and the plans were rejected for perfectly above board reasons.

 

[Deleted member 875]

Personally I think that if the council are looking to get rid of Don Vallry then what better to do with it than turn it in to a cricket ground.

It's already got the sort of dimension that dictate it could be used for cricket, the income regular test match and international cricket would bring in would pay for its keep, and they could also continue to use it for major concerts. I also think the way things are going the counties will lose their grip on T20, and it will soon be city teams following the Australian and Indian lead, and this would be the ideal chance for Sheffield to put itself on the map.

 

[Revolution]

God. how many times do I have to say this...

Yes, the (Labour) Council rejected Brealey's plan, but he appealed to the (Tory) Secretary of State. No doubt, if at all possible he would have loved to have helped the Tory Brealey and put one over the hated socialist council (then in constant ideological conflict with the government). As it happened, the SoS rejected the plans as well.

Perhaps the SoS was also a Wednesdayite, Darren!

 

[grafikhaus]

I think Sheffield is still suffering from the follies of the Council in the '70s and 80's. While Betts and that corrupt, blind cunt Blunkett thought it was good to fly the red flag over the Town Hall, allow the IRA to march in the city centre and generally turn it into the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire, those in power have loooong memories.

Losing out to Wednesday's Sheffield's bid for the World Cup, losing out to Norwich as a City of Culture etc. etc. all these things add up. Leeds having the regional TV studios and the fact that the M1 ends at Leeds and shows no signs of moving further north also counts against us.

Then you have (some) people's delight in coming over as the archetypal thick, Yorkshire idiot (listen to Radio Sheffield) when they should realise we hang on to the southern boundry of Yorkshire by our fingertips.

As for the demise of DVS, It causes me no grief. In fact it's a precursor for the crumbling of all the Olympic 'legacy' bollocks such as velodromes etc.

 

[Darren]

Perhaps the SoS was also a Wednesdayite, Darren!

Yes, Hezza was well known as a Wednesday fan

 

[judge]

You've definitely gained a better impression of Liverpool than I have. Granted, the docks are nice, and there's a few more glossy buildings. The museum is pretty impressive too (though you should read the way it almost boasts about lack of edeucation, jobs and numbers on ill health - as though it's an honour - if Sheffield folk bother you so much) . So that's 2 days a decade sorted, but as for the rest, give me Sheffield any day.

UTB

youre both right , Liverpool has had far more money invested into it than Sheffield but is nowhere near as nice a place to live
The gap between haves and have nots is far more noticeable here

 

[Grecian2000]

post: 465213, member: 875"]Personally I think that if the council are looking to get rid of Don Vallry then what better to do with it than turn it in to a cricket ground.

It's already got the sort of dimension that dictate it could be used for cricket, the income regular test match and international cricket would bring in would pay for its keep, and they could also continue to use it for major concerts. I also think the way things are going the counties will lose their grip on T20, and it will soon be city teams following the Australian and Indian lead, and this would be the ideal chance for Sheffield to put itself on the map.

There would be no greater supporter of such an idea than myself.

However, the idea that International Cricket or a Sheffield based T20 team, would "pay for its keep" is a pipe dream. It would need several games a year and with the established crop of test venues (Lords, Oval, TB, Edgbaston, Headingley, OT) and the new venues funded by Durham, Hampshire and Glamorgan there just isn't enough International cricket to go around. A City based T20 would have to fit in with the First Class and current structure as there just aren't enough quality players to go around.
It's only chance to be viable, as a Cricket venue, would be to REPLACE Headingley as the home of YCCC and that isn't going to happen any time soon.

The question is, how do you utilise a sports venue for more than a handful of days a year? If anyone ever comes up with a suitable answer they will be richer than JK Rowling.

 

[raul]

The question is, how do you utilise a sports venue for more than a handful of days a year? If anyone ever comes up with a suitable answer they will be richer than JK Rowling.

Quidditch. Sometimes 1+1=2.

 

[Racy]

Just a point while we re on the subject on the Don Valley why do we let Sheffield Eagles use the Lane for their some of their home games?

They have 6 games from February till May and they do know how to make a mess of the pitch.
Could this factor work against us because it's difficult to play the passing game on a ploughed field.

Knowing how important the run in is for promotion whose idea was it to let them play here it can't be a money thing can it ?

Can't we pay for them to return to the Don Valley!

 

[alcoblade]

Can't we pay for them to return to the Don Valley!

Aye, as long as it's in washers.



UTB

 

[Greenwich Blade]

post: 465213, member: 875"]Personally I think that if the council are looking to get rid of Don Vallry then what better to do with it than turn it in to a cricket ground.

It's already got the sort of dimension that dictate it could be used for cricket, the income regular test match and international cricket would bring in would pay for its keep, and they could also continue to use it for major concerts. I also think the way things are going the counties will lose their grip on T20, and it will soon be city teams following the Australian and Indian lead, and this would be the ideal chance for Sheffield to put itself on the map.

Now there's a good idea, although I'm not sure about the concerts (mind you, The Oval put ELP, Frank Zappa, and Hawkwind on across two concerts in the 1970s), largely because my dad would mount a one-man protest on the grounds that the audience would be desecrating the wicket.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

There would be no greater supporter of such an idea than myself.

However, the idea that International Cricket or a Sheffield based T20 team, would "pay for its keep" is a pipe dream. It would need several games a year and with the established crop of test venues (Lords, Oval, TB, Edgbaston, Headingley, OT) and the new venues funded by Durham, Hampshire and Glamorgan there just isn't enough International cricket to go around. A City based T20 would have to fit in with the First Class and current structure as there just aren't enough quality players to go around.
It's only chance to be viable, as a Cricket venue, would be to REPLACE Headingley as the home of YCCC and that isn't going to happen any time soon.


The question is, how do you utilise a sports venue for more than a handful of days a year? If anyone ever comes up with a suitable answer they will be richer than JK Rowling.

Ah well, that dream lasted five minutes for me!

 

[BladeFisher]

Actually, I was thinking more like Boris Johnson. The right person in the role of mayor can be a very positive influence and bring great benefits to a city

Nick Clegg after he loses his seat

 

[BladeFisher]

youre both right , Liverpool has had far more money invested into it than Sheffield but is nowhere near as nice a place to live
The gap between haves and have nots is far more noticeable here

I'll be looking for Metalblade to start a collection!