Index for News in 2008

News in 2008
December 2008
	Greens promote festive buses Green Party councillors have been out promoting bus services which will be running for the first time for 15 years on Boxing Day and New Year's Day at a reduced, flat-rate fare of £1.
	Greens get Sheffield into fast track mortgage scheme Sheffield City Council has passed a Green Party amendment at their full council meeting (Dec 3) to ask to be included in the Government's £200 million Mortgage Rescue scheme.
	Greens slam waste strategy The Green Party will strongly criticise a report passed by the Council last month on their waste strategy in the Full Council meeting today (Dec 3).
	Cold weather advice The Green Party are calling on the Council to promote home insulation as well as asking the government for a fairer way of giving out Cold Weather Payments.
	Free school meals for all The Green Party will be asking the Council to push the Government to provide free school meals for every child in a motion to Full Council on Wednesday (Dec 3rd).
November 2008
	Public meeting to oppose privatisation and PFI's A public meeting on the effects of the credit crunch and privatisation on the local economy, will be held on Thursday Nov 20th at the Quaker Meeting House.
	Lib Dems block Green moves for cheaper fares The new Liberal Democrat administration rejected a Green Party proposal for a feasibility study into providing a maximum weekend fare of £1 on Sheffield's public transport.
	Greens relaunch Waste Strategy The Green Party has relaunched its own waste strategy ahead of the Lib Dem’s consultation on waste management. The Greens explain how to reduce the city's carbon footprint.
	Lib Dems push through Library Cuts At a public meeting on Thursday 6th Nov, Lib Dem Councillors for Broomhill and Nether Edge pushed through a proposal to cut library hours at Broomhill and Highfield Libraries
	Greens oppose Corporate Plan Green Councillor Bernard Little. Speech to support Green amendment to Council Corporate Plan. 2008-201 which sets out a strategy that ensures the well-being of all its citizens.
October 2008
	Greens urge support for Sustainable Communities Sheffield Green Party will be supporting a workshop about how to make use of the new Sustainable Communities Act and is being run Sheffield's Unlock Democracy Group.
	Support Keep Trade Local The Federation of small businesses is campaigning to save independant shops and pubs. They are mounting an exhibition at Castle Markets, Friday 10th October.
	£500 billion to create jobs, not bail out banks Sheffield Green Party are pressing for a "Green New Deal", investing in jobs that will benefit us all in the future. If we're bailing out banks, are they going to be run responsibly?
	2 Green speakers at Human Rights demo Two Green Party speakers spoke at the demonstration for Human Rights in Sheffield on Saturday 4th October. Councillor Jillian Creasy and Graham Wroe.
	Greens oppose PFI deal Green Councillors will oppose the council's planned Highways Private Finance Initiative (PFI), by voting against acceptance of a report to the Council meeting on 1st October.
	Greens oppose library cuts Central ward councillors are opposing cuts to opening hours at Highfield and Broomhill Libraries. The reduction in services was proposed by the Lib Dems.
September 2008
	Greens welcome all party working on Post Offices and its delight at Cllr Paul Scriven’s announcement, made in the Star on Sat 13th Sept, that the Lib Dems will not boycott the Save Our Post Offices rally next Saturday
	Greens jubilant at release of Kingsnorth 6 who scaled Kingsnorth power station to protest about Government energy policy. Sheffield City Council expressed its support for the Climate Camp during the summer.
	Free Annociate Campaign Annociate was arrested at 6.15am on Friday morning and taken to Dungavel Detention Centre in Scotland.
	Greens call for "Right to Rent" Sheffield Green Party members will be calling for Right to Rent for home-owners threatened with repossession at the party's Autumn conference in London this weekend.
	Council should opt in to Sustainable Communities Act The Greens have called on Sheffield City Council to opt into the Sustainable Communities Act, which comes into force next month.
	Greens demand more reduce, reuse and recycle The Green Party have called on the Council to push Veolia, the private company who incinerate our waste, to spen more of their profits on the "3 Rs" - reduction, re-use, recycling.
August 2008
	Greens say NRQ rethink is needed Work on the New Retail Quarter has been put back to August 2009. The Green Party believes Hammersons, the chosen developers, are worried about the changing economic climate..
	Loan sharks thrive in Sheffield as credit crunch hits poor This is a summary of a talk given to Sheffield Green Party by Alexa Walker of the Citizens Advice Bureau in July who talks about increasing rises of debts.
	Post Office campaign hits the streets SCAPOC joined with sub postmasters and angry residents at stalls with petitions and letters on Saturday. 100 people signed the petition at Derbyshire Lane PO in just 90 minutes
	16 Sheffield Post Offices to close-SCAPOC reaction Local communities will be damaged across the city. It concerns me to see branches in places like Norfolk Park, Grimesthorpe, Firth Park, Wincobank and Southey on the list.
	Post Office closures announcement due Tuesday SCAPOC campaign will focus on saving branches but will also press Sheffield City Council to take over the services of branches that will close
	Greens lead Council support for Climate Camp Sheffield City Council voted in last week’s Full Council meeting to send a message of support to the Climate Camp at the site of the Kingsnorth Power Station in Kent.
July 2008
	New Green Councillor makes maiden speech on wind Last week EDF, announced another 17% rise in electricity prices.That’s £85 per year on the average bill...Prices have nearly doubled since 2003.
	New campaign group fights Post Office closures Post Office campaigners tell City Council leaders to "Put your money where your mouth is". Sheffield Communities Against Post Office Closures present 4,000 petition signatures...
	Green blow in wind farm fight Sheffield Green Party will force a vote in Full Council next week over the Westwood Park wind farm proposals.They are putting forward a motion backing the Cabinet report of Feb 13th
	Greens support strike Sheffield Greens support the two-day strike by local council workers over their 2.45% pay offer given Food prices are up 14%, fuel prices 30% and household bills up 4.3%
	Independence campaigner visits Sheffield Benny Wenda, Leader of the Free West Papua campaign, spoke at the Sheffield Green Fair last weekend. Benny was imprisoned and threatened with death in his home country.
June 2008
	Oh no, not more car parks! To make a provision for another two multi-story car parks providing 2,225 car park spaces in Sheffield City centre shows that Sheffield is far from being the green city it claims.
	Greens say no to importing waste Sheffield Greens have come out against an application by Veolia to import 75,000 tons of domestic waste from nearby towns to feed the incinerator.
	Greens call for action to stop flooding One year on from the floods that devastated communities in South Yorkshire, the Green Party has called for radical action to prevent them from happening again.
	Plastic Bag Amnesty This bag amnesty will help raise awareness and encourage people to carry a reusable bag and say no thanks when offered a plastic carrier bag.
	Support Post Offices .The Green Party is calling for the Council to give more support to Post Offices threatened with closure in a motion to be put to Full Council on June 4th.
May 2008
	Greens call for energy rethink In response to the news of record fuel prices, Councillor Bernard Little said, "High oil prices are here to stay as demand for oil outstrips supply.
	Greens abstain on leadership vote The people of Sheffield have voted the Lib Dems into power and we respect that decision. We will continue to vote on an issue basis and work with whoever supports our policies.
	Greens back Gay Rights event Sheffield Green Party is supporting the International Day Against Homophobia event which is taking place on Saturday (17th May 2008) at Barkers Pool, Sheffield City Centre.
	Greens slam debt advice cuts Bernard Little has condemned Government plans to cut vital debt advice services. The Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) which helps to fund these services has been reduced by£14 million
	Greens slam lack of flood money Last year's flooding was part of a global trend and the Green Party has criticised the Government for failing to secure the resources to pay for impact of climate change.
	Survey: Thank you for voting Green The election has been and gone, and we'd be very grateful if you would please take a few moments to respond to this survey and give us some feedback on why you vote green
	Greens score hatrick in Central ward The Green Party is today celebrating the election of their third Councillor, Rob Murphy, in Central Ward, further strengthening their position in Sheffield Town Hall.
April 2008
	Green's Call for Bus Service Improvements The Green Party have called for improvements to the number 22 bus service after a survey found that most passengers thought it was expensive and many also found it unreliable
	Time to vote Green The Greens launched their local election campaign on Saturday (April 12th) on London Rd, where a pedestrian crossing is to be installed later this year.
	Call for affordable, sustainable timber framed houses Green Councillor Bernard Little has visited a timber frame factory of Oakworth Homes Ltd in search of good quality, affordable housing that is easy to heat.
	Greens poised to make more gains .Sheffield Green Party have secured a better recycling service in Central ward, where half a dozen new bring banks for glass, cans and tins are to be installed.
	Greens boost recycling in Central ward .Sheffield Green Party have secured a better recycling service in Central ward, where half a dozen new bring banks for glass, cans and tins are to be installed.
	Residents in West One saved from more late night noise An application from Bar 23 in West One Plaza to extend its opening hours from 11.30pm to midnight was refused by City Centre, South and East Planning Board on Monday 31st March.
March 2008
	Don't surrender control to private contractors The Green Party has stated that it will not allow private contractors to exploit the public sector.They draw links between the Highways PFI and the 35-year waste management contract
	Greens say don't waste money on nuclear power Sheffield Green Party is urging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to invest in "safe, renewable energy" instead of nuclear power as he prepares to meet the French president Nicholas Sarkozy
	Greens get more social support into city plans Supported housing schemes that act as a stepping stone to independent living help vulnerable tenants to cope with renting a home
	Greens call for good eggs for Easter .Figures showing that one in three children living in inner city Sheffield live in households that are dependent on state benefits is not the full story.
February 2008
	Greens support Fair Trade Oil The Green Party is supporting Fairtrade Fortnight by promoting a talk by a Palestinian farmer Taysir Albasi, whose cooperative, Al-Zaytouna, sells organic fair trade olive oil
	Greens support the "Keep our NHS public" campaign The Greens have come out in support of a campaign to stop the NHS replacing traditional GP surgeries with huge "polyclinics".
	Call to end child poverty .Figures showing that one in three children living in inner city Sheffield live in households that are dependent on state benefits is not the full story.
	Greens win concessions in budget deal Our main concern about the budget was that it should not involve any cuts to services. Thanks to the balance of power, we have been able to get a greener budget for Sheffield.
	"Don't Sell Baron Street Garden" say Residents Residents living near Baron Street came out in force on Sunday to show they want to preserve a small green space near their homes.
January 2008
	Green Party call to protect Moor Market Green Party councillors have called on the Council to make a clear commitment to include both an Indoor and an Outdoor Market in the redeveloped Moor area of the City centre.
	Council Tenants Lettings Policy is unfair say Greens The Greens have criticised a report on the Council's lettings policy, which went before Cabinet yesterday (30th January), for not being fair or transparent.
	Green Reaction to Masterplan Greens criticise the city’s Economic Masterplan for focussing on building offices, apartments and shops instead of exploiting the city’s technical and engineering expertise.
	Green's Flood Warning Cllr Bernard Little said that last year's floods were part of the trend predicted and added that we need to spend money on prevention not repeat the mistakes of the past.
	Green statement on Nuclear power go ahead We need massive investment now in energy conservation and renewable energy to tackle climate change and provide a secure energy source.
	Greens call to cap on Hackney cab numbers At the Full Council Council meeting on Wednesday 9th Green Party Councillors will be voting for a cap on Hackney Carriage numbers in Sheffield.
	Call to investment in energy saving "Simply telling consumers to switch supplier is not the answer. Reducing energy use and investing in energy conservation is the best way of cutting fuel bills" says Cllr Bernard Little
	Wicker Tesco Jillian Creasy, Green Party Cllr for Central ward, which includes the city centre, said: "Once again, we are being told that a large new supermarket will create jobs and help regeneration.