Archives - Letters during 2009

Letters in 2009

December 2009
	Future generations wont thank us for nuclear legacy The Green Party recognises an urgent need for job creation in the recession and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre will provide skilled jobs for Rotherham ...
November 2009
	How to save lives, money, jobs and the planet. What will you do to reduce the energy bill in your home as winter takes hold? Gas and electricity charges have risen over 60% in real terms since 2000.
	Sheffielders against the threat of Pivatisation .It was great to be part of the gathering of Residents Against Station Closures (RASC) before the station barriers planning application was thrown out..
	No parking must be enforced at bus stops Geraldine O'Connor rightly points out that Green Party policy favours pedestrians and public transport users ("Why no interest in illegal parking?" 19th Nov)
	Nuclear Power-bad news for democracy .The Government has announced plans for 10 new nuclear power stations. This is bad news for democracy and the environment.
	The UK has the best wind resource in Europe. .Sheffield Green Party is supporting the wind farm planning application for Sheephouse Heights, north west of Stocksbridge.
October 2009
	Make fuel poverty a priority .The report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change last week estimated that 4.6 million people are in fuel poverty, almost doubled from 2006.
	Bring the Troops home Campaigners from across the country, including from South Yorkshire, and serving soldiers joined the recent anti-war protest in London.
	Greens welcome Cambridge Review .The recent Cambridge Review of Primary Education funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation should be warmly welcomed
	Overclaiming expenses should be criminal offence .The requirement for Nick Clegg to repay £910 claimed for gardening costs reminds us that all the Westminster parties have been implicated in the expenses scandal.
September 2009
	Money needed to make pay fair should come from the salaries at the top of the scale. The City Council's pay and grading process begs the question of how we value different kinds of work
August 2009
	Poor staff health and high sickness levels in the NHS The NHS Health and Wellbeing report highlights poor staff health and high sickness levels . Clearly patients should come into an environment that leads by example ...
	Victory in Banner Cross Last Monday Banner Cross saw a real victory in the refusal of the supermarket application for the Gilders site.
	Libdems mislead public over green consultation Coun Shaffaq Mohammed's letter (Star, 13 August) implies that the Green Party hasn't consulted Broomhill residents about the proposed new hospital car park. Actually we have.
	Defend the Green Belt .What is the justification for building 25,000 new homes when the population in areas like Rawmarsh has suffered decline not expansion ?
	Sunbed danger .I have a lot of sympathy for the views of Patricia Reeves whose daughter died from cancer after using sunbeds (Star 3 August).
	Nuclear Power is not the key to our energy future Peter Mandelson's Sheffield visit promoting the nuclear industry (Star 28 July) underlined the government's failure to support renewable energy..
July 2009
	Bring the troops home It has taken a massively increased death toll to wake people up to the equipment failings that have exposed our troops to unnecessary risk...
	Positive experience of Abbeydale Grange ....a tremendously positive experience of Abbeydale Grange School. It is one of the few schools that occasionally accepts children who have come to the end of the line...
	Lib Dem decision on closure of Abbeydale Grange .The Lib Dem cabinet decision to "consult to closure of Abbeydale Grange" is a huge blow to children, parents and teachers in this city.
June 2009
	Abbeydale Grange needs more time to improve We believe that Abbeydale Grange School should be given more time to improve and that options other than a “hard federation” should be explored.
	Council officers prevent warm homes The maisonettes on the Hanover and Lansdowne Estates, built in the 1960s and 70s, sorely need renovation.
	We need rapid action to minimise flooding risk Sheffield has suffered two major flooding incidents in a matter of days. The 2007 floods brought a huge human and financial cost, and many homes have now had to mop up again.
	Danny Piermattei's MBE well deserved Danny Piermattei's MBE for his work with Action for Stannington is well deserved. His organisation promotes simple, common sense, community actions
	Council don't get how to tackle Climate Change Sheffield's 'Carbon Reduction Framework' exposes the administration's lack of understanding about how to tackle climate change. It contains no renewable energy targets.
May 2009
	East Midlands Trains block bridge . East Midlands Trains have produced an unsubstantiated claim that 10% of passengers have been "caught" using the Sheffield Station footbridge without a ticket.
	Jobs, Housing, Poverty, Education, Climate A lot of people are unhappy with the major political parties. Many will choose to use their vote in the European elections as a protest.
	Stop the barriers East Midlands Trains have won an award. I would like to nominate them for their "Non contribution to integrated transport systems and public safety"
	Cllr Scriven: show leadership over Post Offices Council leader Paul Scriven is correct in saying that I, voted for the Council's proposals to re-open two of the 15 closed PO's and to support mobile POs
	BNP says "Holocaust was not all bad" Marlene Guest, Rotherham BNP leader, said in the Star on May 14th "Some of these people who are objecting should come to one of our meetings and listen before they object."
	Stop discrimination against working mothers An anonymous writer identified the numerous ways people won't appear in in increasingly meaningless unemployment statistics
April 2009
	Roads PFI scheme is a huge rip off The Council's £676 million project to improve roads and pavements using a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is one huge rip-off for tax payers.
	Freecycle splits in two The Freecycle group is successful. It has recently split into two groups to meet the demand from local people. One will serve north and west Sheffield, and the other the south and east.
	Tesco at Commonside What a pity councillors on the City Centre and East Planning Board supported the application for Tescos on Abbeydale Road against the expressed wishes of local people?
	Remembering Hillsborough Hillsborough is remembered in Liverpool but in Sheffield we tend to forget about it. There needs to be an memorial inside the Hillsborough football ground.
March 2009
	Satellite Dish Provisions There is no human right to watch the TV channel of your choice, but if the Council provides satellites for one group of tenants, why not for all? Cllr Jillian Creasy presents the facts.
	Lowest paid workers should not lose out With draconian pay cuts that the City Council are trying to impose on workers, Sheffield Green Party are very concerned that the lowest paid council workers seem set to lose out.
	Keep the ticket prices down With the recession biting more artists need to be telling their managers and agents to put the fans first. Keep the ticket prices down says Eamonn Ward.
	Travel to match/prayer plans A few months ago, I was in a meeting at the Madina Mosque where we discussed how to overcome anxieties of non-Moslem neighbours.
February 2009
	Noise objectors aren't killjoys Steve Davis (letters 20 February) paints objectors to extended opening hours on Ecclesall Road as killjoys. In fact, people object for a number of good reasons.
	The right to a good nights sleep The Campaign to Protect Rural England is right to object to the Peel application for night time cargo flights at Robin Hood airport.
	Stop nuisance cold calls and junk mail "Confused, Sheffield S8" (Letters 31 January) will be pleased to know the vast majority of cold calls can be stopped by registering with the Telephone Preference Service.
January 2009
	Green New Deal to combat climate change Nature published evidence this month showing the Antarctic, the only region about which there was still some scientific debate, is warming as fast as the rest of the planet.
	Council shouldn't risk £6million on Highways PFI I'm glad the Star is prepared to raise the issue of PFI deals in the credit crunch). I gave a speech to a Full Council Meeting in September of last year giving similar warnings
	Boring politicians Jeremy Biggin probably has the sympathy of most Star readers when he says he is bored of politicians, (Letters 1/1/09). The current disinterest in politics is a big problem....