Residents Reject Council's Crystal Peaks plans
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RESIDENTS REJECT COUNCIL’S CRYSTAL PEAK PLANS Local residents unanimously rejected the Liberal Democrats’ proposals to force through the sale of playing fields in order to build offices at Crystal Peaks at the South-East Area Assembly last night. Clive Betts MP (Sheffield Attercliffe) said: “This is the second large public meeting at which local people have unanimously rejected the Liberal Democrats’ proposals to force through – without any consultation - the sale of playing fields in order to build offices at Crystal Peaks. When are they going to get the message? We now need...
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Betts supports British Legion manifesto
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BETTS SUPPORTS BRITISH LEGION MANIFESTO Clive Betts MP (Sheffield Attercliffe) has signed up in support of the Royal British Legion ‘Do your bit’ manifesto. Clive Betts said: “The British Legion does great work for our Armed Forces: our serving personnel, our veterans and their families. I think it is very important that – with all that experience – the Legion should set out its aims and ambitions for serving personnel and veterans. I’m pleased to say that significant progress is being made on the vast majority of issues...
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Betts welcomes business growth cash
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BETTS WELCOMES BUSINESS GROWTH CASH Clive Betts MP (Sheffield Attercliffe) today welcomed the government’s announcement of an extra £50m funding for the Local Authority Business Growth Incentives (LABGI) scheme, which is given to councils for promoting economic growth. Clive Betts said: “Since 2005/6, the government has given more than £1bn through this scheme to local councils to promote local economic initiatives, particularly to help small and new businesses. In Sheffield, this grant has been used to fund the running costs of Creative Sheffield - the company set up by the Council...
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Sheffield Students runners up in Science and Engineering Competition
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Sheffield school students named runners-up in the National Science & Engineering Competition at The Big Bang Fair Rachael Drabble, Imogen Stennett and Nicol Ward, students at Handsworth Grange Community Sports College in Sheffield, have been named the runners-up in the junior age group in the Engineering & Technology Team Category of this year’s annual National Science & Engineering Competition presented at The Big Bang in Manchester. These awards celebrate the hard work and achievements of young people across the whole of the UK. Rachael, Imogen and Nicol’s project looked at using solar power to power a...
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Clive Betts MP gets on board with Guide Dogs’ Talking Buses campaign Sheffield Attercliffe MP calls for buses and coaches to have audible as well as visual announcements about next stop and final destination Sheffield Attercliffe MP Clive Betts has pledged their support for Guide Dogs’ ‘Talking Buses’ campaign, at an event held by the charity to raise awareness of how Talking Buses – which clearly announce the next stop and final destination – make bus travel easier and safer for passengers. Guide Dogs has found that many disabled and elderly people cannot...
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SHEFFIELD ATTERCLIFFE MP HIT THE GROUND RUNNING FOR SPORT RELIEF Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield Attercliffe, teamed up with a bevy of MPs and Members of the House of Lords to complete a Westminster Mile for Sport Relief on Wednesday 10th March. More than 30 Parliamentarians, including Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe, swapped their suits for shorts, trainers and Sport Relief Socks to test their sporting prowess in St James’s Park. They were joined by former England Rugby player Kyran Bracken who helped spur them on to the finishing line. The MPs and...
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I’m no stranger to dangerous dogs. Years of door-knocking and leaflet-delivering have exposed me to a huge variety of dogs – most friendly, but a significant minority which make you concerned for your health and safety. In my experience, it’s not the biggest or the loudest barkers which have necessarily provided the biggest threat to me. It’s those small quiet ones which hide behind the front door and then, just as you push the leaflet through the letter-box, leap to bite the ends of your fingers. The good news for me...
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Things have got better, despite the media
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My local newspaper carried a shock, horror headline last week “Schools repair bill nears £96 million”. Only when you read the article did you find out that that was £66 million lower than just 5 years ago and that another £38 million would be knocked off the bill by the refurbishment of secondary schools already underway. Here again, we had the media turning a really good story in to bad news. Why do they seem so determined to deny any achievement and to run our country down? As it happens, at the...
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Protection of Polar Bears
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Clive Betts MP today (28th January 2010) signed Early Day Motion (EDM) 682, in the House of Commons, which calls on the government to support increased protection for polar bears. Not only is the survival of the polar bear threatened due to the loss of suitable habitat through climate change, but it is also in danger from the international commercial trade in polar bear products. Although it is currently listed in Appendix II under CITES, polar bear parts and products can still be legally traded internationally. More than 25,000 polar bear specimens and products (polar bear...
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Over the last week, I’ve been inundated with representations from a wide range of local community groups who are astounded and appalled by a decision of the City Council to make big cuts in the small budget which supports partnership working between the council, local organisations and businesses to improve our local environment. This is the budget which has supported local volunteers in developing Shire Brook Valley Nature Reserve, Birley Spa, Beighton Marsh, Beighton Orchard, Crystal Peaks Meadow, Bridle Stile and, just now, transforming the scrub land at Owlthorpe into flower meadows, and which supported local people in...
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Clive Betts, Local Labour MP for the Sheffield Attercliffe Constituency has today committed to: Promote the interests of Britain’s pub goers Champion well-run community pubs Support the rebalancing alcohol taxation to support beer and pubs Press for reform of beer tie to deliver a fair deal for consumers Support the role of well-run pubs as solutions to alcohol misuse These commitments are based on a campaign being run by CAMRA, The Campaign for Real Ale which is asking all Prospective Parliamentary Candidates whether they are willing to speak up for Beer Drinkers and Pub...
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Back in 2002, my old friend and colleague David Blunkett – then Home Secretary – steered the Proceeds of Crime Act through Parliament. The Act means that criminals can have their illegal earnings and possessions -including cash, property, cars or anything else of value - taken away. Through the courts, a judge can make an order, which states the total value of a person’s crimes must be paid back, using their assets. And, once they have been convicted of a crime, using the order, police and partners can ensure that criminals do not benefit from their assets once...
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Higher Education is tremendously important to both our society and our economy. Investment in higher education has gone up by 25% since 1997 and investment in research has almost doubled over the same period. There are more people going to university than at any time in our history and UK universities carry out some of the world’s leading research. We therefore have a sector which is far better funded and of higher quality than the one the new Government inherited in 1997 and one which offers opportunity to far more people. It is against...
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Without any consultation with local people, the Liberal Democrat Cabinet of the City Council has agreed to sell local playing fields to allow the expansion of Crystal Peaks. The proposed new development, to the west of the existing shopping centre, would include more shops, but also a large office complex on the existing football pitches. Further, there are no firm plans to replace these playing fields, which have been used at least since the 1950s, in an area which already has a shortage of facilities. The proposal to build on the playing fields is totally...
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You may not know much about Michael Ashcroft. He made his initial fortune in the 1970s from cleaning companies, when the then Conservative government forced compulsory competitive tendering on cleaning services in the National Health Service, other government departments and local councils. Wages and conditions of service – like holidays and sick-pay – for already low-paid staff were slashed further. The income he received from that provided the basis for his international businesses operations, which he based in Belize, a well-known tax haven. His fortune is now estimated at £1,100m. In his 2005 autobiography,...
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Last week, the government confirmed that changes to the planning rules in April will give councils more powers to manage the development of Houses in Multiple Occupation and high concentrations of shared rented homes which, when poorly managed, can change the balance and nature of local communities. Over the last few years, we have seen local communities working with their local council and police, and using new powers, to tackle problems in their areas. That has undoubtedly led to the massive reductions in crime we have seen since 1997 – crime overall has been cut by 36% -...
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Waverley link road opposition meeting
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WAVERLEY LINK ROAD OPPOSITION MEETING Local opposition to proposals for the Waverley link road continues at a public meeting on: Thursday January 28 at: 7.30 pm at: Woodhouse Mill Working Men’s Club. The meeting has been arranged by Clive Betts MP and local Councillors Ray Satur, Marjorie Barker and Mick Rooney. Clive Betts explained: “Despite the recent decisions of Sheffield and Rotherham Councils about the Waverley development, it is inevitable that the proposals will have to be considered by the Secretary of State. The development proposals are by no means done...
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MOSBOROUGH POST OFFICE – CASH MACHINE
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I’m delighted that Mosborough Post Office is going to get a no-fee cash machine soon. Local Sub Postmaster Matt Buccieri got in touch with me in August asking if I would give him some support in trying to persuade the Bank of Ireland – the Post Office’s partner in this service – that what was needed was an external, rather than internal, cash machine which could then be accessed by local people for 24 hours a day, rather than just when the Post Office was open. Planning permission is on its way, and with any...
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Sheffield City Council recently decided in principle to agree to a large westward extension to the Crystal Peaks shopping centre. It took this decision without any consultation with or the involvement of local residents. To say the least, local Councillor David Barker and I are pretty annoyed about this lack of consultation. We’re not the only ones. We received a copy of a petition from local residents which set out their concerns about the proposals. As a result of this, I wrote to both the City Council and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. I’ve...
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SALE OR NO SALE? Boxing Day this year will fall on a Sunday. ‘So what?’ you might ask. Well, in 1994, Parliament agreed the Sunday Trading Act which now determines the right of shops in England and Wales to trade on a Sunday. The law allows shops to open on Sunday, but restricts opening times of larger stores - those over 280 m2 (or 3,014 sq ft in old money) - to a maximum of six hours. In 2004, Parliament agreed the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 to prevent larger shops from opening on...
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