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Residents say they will only believe regeneration promise when the work starts
The residents of a rundown South Yorkshire suburb in need of significant development have said they will believe any promises of regeneration when they actually see improvements.
Sheffield City Council announced its plan to regenerate Gleadless Valley, a council estate in Sheffield, earlier this month. However, it follows years of failed promises to revitalise housing, create new apartments, and improve an area that has been in decline in recent years. And residents there do not trust the council will deliver on this new plan until they see some action.
Brendan Ellis, who runs the Gleadless Valley Film Fam, a friendly film and photography community group, says he has hope for the regeneration plans, but is hesitant to believe in it until he sees some development.
“I have hope, but I am not going to feel sure until I see some building work begin,” he tells YorkshireLive. “We get the impression that to do some of the projects, the work needs to be done to convince the external funding to come. That might be wishful thinking. I am hopeful because I live here, but until it starts, I can’t 100 per cent believe in it yet.”
Brendan and the photography group were commissioned by the council to provide some video and still shots for the regeneration plan published on Tuesday, December 2. He said this has given him a greater insight into the plans in place, which he feels are needed given the decline the area has seen in recent years.
“In recent years, it feels like it’s going down and you are starting to feel the decline,” he says. “The disrepair and empty shops and declining standards. It doesn’t feel like it’s on the up.”
That view is shared by many Gleadless Valley residents. The housing is in a poor state, many of the store fronts are closed, the historic John O Gaunt pub, which is to be demolished as part of the plan, has been vandalised and is an eyesore, while the area suffers from high crime and high deprivation levels.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s sh*t, isn’t it? I’ll believe it [the plans] when I see it.”
The frustration with a lack of investment in the area dates back to 2017, when the Gleadless Valley Masterplan was first proposed. The masterplan was a £98 million investment in repairing and regenerating broken housing, building green spaces, and improving services and facilities. It took five years for the plan to actually be published. Two years later, it was scrapped altogether, now replaced by this regeneration project.
Moreover, the funding provided has fallen substantially in that time. Just £42 million of investment has been provided or secured by the council for the regeneration plan. This covers two of the 12 aims included in the project, mainly focusing on repairing and improving the standard of homes on the estate.
Of the remaining 10 aims, eight are entirely unfunded, totalling £624.6 million. Two projects costing £19 million are partly funded. They are the building and improvement of four new parks – Newfield Green, Gaunt, Herdings Park and Hemsworth – and creating space for nature via six nature corridors and three nature areas.
The idea is to gain the trust of the residents by securing easy wins in the first stages of the development. It is hoped this will secure further investment from private developers for the larger projects. Given many have significant and, as the council itself admits, justified reticence, it seems a sensible approach.
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David Jones, a 41-year-old who lived on the estate for over a decade but has since been moved onto a different estate, says: “I won’t believe it until I see it. Until I see what’s planned in action.” David points out many of the closed shops and rundown storefronts, lamenting the lack of investment in the area. He does highlight a new knife bin, which he says has been hugely successful and is very important.
However, despite a lack of trust in investment, David missed living in Gleadless Valley. “I like it here. I know a lot of people on the estate. I didn’t want to move off here because I have got a lot of friends around here.” David now lives in Manor Castle, and he says Gleadless Valley has a much “better community feel”. He still walks over to Gleadless Valley “every day” to be a part of the community there, but like many, he is also hesitant to believe in the new plan.
“We have heard it so many times,” he says. “I heard the flats were going to be renovated. When is that going to happen?”
Reverend David Middleton, the vicar at Holy Cross Church and a member of the Gleadless Valley Regeneration Board, says he understands people’s frustrations. He says the early wins of the project will hopefully win people over.
Matt Lawton, chair of the Gleadless Valley Tenants’ and Residents’ Association and also a board member, agreed. “People in Gleadless Valley have a trust issue and are right to”, he says. “But I do think this is going to work. I’m really, really passionate about it. If you asked me whether it would work this time last year, I would have been very much the other way around.”
The area certainly has many issues to solve. Herdings and Gleadless Valley has a deprivation score double that of all of Sheffield. Its youth unemployment rate is almost three times as high as Sheffield’s, while just 18% people are degree-educated, compared to 33% for Sheffield.
Nevertheless, the council is confident this plan can work, even if it admits it will take many years and is asking residents again to be patient.
Alexis Krachai, independent chair of the Gleadless Valley Regeneration Board, says: “What sets this vision apart is not the words on a page but the collective effort and responsibility that is now driving the regeneration of Gleadless Valley forward. As independent chair of the board, I am energised by all the community voices that have helped shape the plan.
“The launch of this vision is an important milestone, but the hard work continues. There is much to do, money to be raised, but I am confident that by working together, lasting change can and must be delivered.”
Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley and board member, says: “The residents of Gleadless Valley have been waiting for years to see action on the Masterplan and today is the first day of that change. This will not be delivered overnight, but residents will start to see the much-needed change they are calling out for.
“I’m proud that this new vision has been created with residents’ voice at its heart. This will not be another plan that sits on the shelves gathering dust, I will ensure that working with the board, community groups and residents that this is delivered and residents of Gleadless Valley see the benefits.”
Cllr Tom Hunt, leader of the council, says community leaders and the council are “united in restoring pride and making long-term improvements for Gleadless Valley”.
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