BANG will meet October 7th 2014 at 7.30pm

BANG meetings have changed from monthly to less regular intervals for the time being. So if you have an issue you would like to raise, or just want to catch up with what's going on, get along to the meeting next tuesday evening.

40th Anniversary Broomhill Festival - programme and booking details!

As I know you are well aware, the 2014 Festival is imminent and will be bigger and better than ever.

The printed Programme is available at all the usual outlets, including the Library, the Churches, Williamson's, Oxfam, the Post Office, B&B Office, the banks and most other publicly accessible business and other premises. There are still some printed Programmes available for any outlets which wish to have them.

The programme can be found online at

http://fobf.org.uk/pdfs/BroomhillFestival2014.pdf

There is more information and an online booking facility at broomhillfestival.org.uk

Does Broomhill still need BANG? Come to our AGM and join the debate

BANG will hold its AGM on tuesday, 13th May at 7.30 pm. You can get full details of the meeting on our website www.broomhillonline.org.uk.

The continuing viability of BANG depends on new people coming forward to join our committee. According to our Constitution the committee is supposed to have a minimum of 10 members but this is getting harder to maintain. Joining the committee is not at all onerous and involves very little in the way of a commitment of time and energy, so if you can spare 90 minutes once each month to keep BANG alive please come forward.

We will debate whether BANG still has a role in the life of our community at the AGM. The following Motion will be proposed :

Motion to the AGM

This AGM directs the Committee to conduct a postal ballot of all registered members to determine whether the society should now be dissolved, in accordance with Clause 15 of the BANG constitution.

If the Committee for 2014-15 appointed at this AGM consists of less than 10 members (as required by the Constitution) then retiring members of the 2013-14 committee shall be requested to remain in post until this action is discharged.

Council approves Taylor Wimpey peoposals for the Tapton site

As expected the Council's planning committee approved the planning application from Taylor Wimpey for the Tapton Halls of Residence site. There was some debate on the points raised by community representatives present, in particular the design and materials and the lack of an affordable housing contribution. One small victory was that the Committee imposed an additional condition that the entire development should be built in stone, rather than a mix of stone and brick. This condition is likely to impact on the profitability of the development.

Watch this space for news.

Tapton Hall of Residence site - planning decision next tuesday 22nd April

The council's planning committee will consider the proposals from Taylor Wimpey to build a housing estate on the site of the former Tapton Hall of Residence and Experimental Gardens next tuesday. The Committee meets in the Town Hall at 2pm and the meeting is open to the public.

Despite hundreds of objections from local residents and from English Heritage, the council's planning officers have recommended that the proposals are accepted. The council has reached a financial settlement with the developer that will excuse them from making any contribution to affordable housing in the city. A section 106 contribution to provide children's play space is earmarked for use off-site, i.e. elsewhere in the city.

BANG AGM will be in May this year - May 13th

Each year BANG holds an AGM for all our members at which we appoint our committee for the year ahead and review what we've achieved over the past year.

This year, due to date clashes in April, we will be holding the AGM in May. The date will be tuesday 13th May at 7.30pm, and we will meet in the Broomhill Methodist Church as normal.

Please put this date in your diary and do come along!

Sheffield University - Seeking volunteers for a research study on valuing health

I am a PhD student at the University of Sheffield. We are looking to interview members of the general public for a study about their opinions on the value of different aspects of health. This study should help researchers better understand the value that people place on health, which allows the NHS to make better decisions about what services to provide.

Participants would take part in a group meeting with 5 to 7 other members of the general public. They will be asked to individually complete a questionnaire comparing different health conditions. They will then be asked to discuss their thoughts about the task with other participants in the group. The meeting should last about two hours in total, and refreshments will be provided. The meetings will be conducted at Regent Court near West Street at the University of Sheffield. The ethics committee of the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield has approved this study.

Participants will be reimbursed a £15 gift voucher for their time.

A copy of the information sheet can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwbbkt8cvh404wp/InfoSheet.docx

If you are interested in taking part in the study, or if you have any questions you can contact Milad Karimi at mkarimi@sheffield.ac.uk or at 0114 222 6382.

Broomhill Library Action Group considers legal action to keep our library open

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENT ON PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Yesterday the council announced its revised proposals for public libraries, following the Libraries Consultation which ended 10 January 2013. 

The original proposal for the Central Library and 11 Hub Libraries remains the same, with a further 5 "co-funded" libraries. The remaining 11 (plus Tinsley when its lease expires in 2 years) will be run as "independent" libraries with funding available for buildings, etc, for which the libraries can bid. The funding is £262,000 per year for 3 years. The council were initially looking to save just over £800,000 per year. Council library staff will no longer be employed.

This means that Broomhill library will cease to exist in its present form, but will only remain open if run by volunteers. Although Broomhill Library Action Group (BLAG) asked that independent library status be considered for Broomhill, this was only presented as a last resort, born out of a desperate attempt to keep our library open. In its present form, BLAG does not have the capability or resources to run this library without the help of the wider community.

We firmly believe that not only Broomhill, but all the libraries should be kept open as part of Sheffield City Council's statutory library provision. We have fought very hard to keep this status and we are continuing to fight against these proposals.

We are proposing a legal action against the council which we want to discuss with local people at a public meeting on Saturday 15 Feb 10.30am at Beacon Methodist Church, Fulwood Rd, Broomhill. We are the only library group in the city to be considering such legal action.

We will also be discussing the implications of the council's decision. Please come and give your opinions.

Are you the owner of an interesting building in Broomhill?

Sheffield Civic Trust is encouraging owner of interesting buildings to consider being involved in the Heritage Open Days, this year being on 11 – 14 September. This is when buildings of interest make themselves available to be visited. For private houses, I would suggest a couple of hours when visitors would be welcome, or alternately, a tour or tours at specific times.

 

The process of becoming part of the scheme is straightforward: you register on the Heritage Days website, specifying what you plan to offer. The visit has to be free, but if (for example) you wished to provide tea and coffee etc, you could charge for that.

 

You will find all the details here

 

http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/  and then click “Can I take part?”

New to Broomhill? Read all about it..

If you have recently moved to Broomhill you might like to read our leaflet for new residents, available on our website here.

Provider of student accommodation in Sheffield, Claypenny Properties have also created a useful guide to Broomhill for students new to the area. 

We're always happy to help residents navigate around local council services, point out where to report things and put you in touch with local councillors or council officers. Just ask.