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Contact East LAC

East LAC: you said, we did

In 2021, we conducted a Local Area Committee Community Survey, which received over 1,300 responses from residents across East Sheffield. 

From your feedback, we identified 6 key priorities that matter most to our communities:

  • health and wellbeing
  • transport and highways
  • children and young people
  • community and neighbourhoods
  • environment
  • community safety and crime

Since 2021, we’ve been actively working on these priorities to ensure that your concerns shape our actions. We’ve made significant progress on a wide range of projects, and the impact is already being felt in local communities. 

Below, you’ll find just a small fraction of the work we’ve done so far to support these priorities.

Health and wellbeing: supporting Welcome Spaces

Welcome Spaces provide warm, safe places where residents can find support, meet others and get help with challenges like the cost of living crisis.

Helping Welcome Spaces stay open

One of the biggest ways we help Welcome Spaces is by making sure they have the support they need to keep running. Many of these spaces are run by small community groups, and sometimes they struggle to find funding, volunteers or resources. We work with them to:

  • build partnerships with local organisations
  • improve their funding opportunities
  • offer training to help them support more people for longer

A great example of this is when we stepped in to save a Welcome Place that was about to close. It was the only community space in the area that provided help to local people, so we brought in funding support, training and expert advice to keep it running. Now, instead of closing, it’s growing - helping even more people every day.

Helping with the cost of living

With energy bills, food prices, and everyday costs rising, many families are struggling to make ends meet. That’s why we’ve made sure Welcome Spaces are ready to provide cost of living support.

One big success was our Warmer Winter Road Show, which brought experts in fuel poverty to local communities. These events helped people learn how to save energy, reduce bills and get emergency support if they were struggling to heat their homes. We also made sure that Welcome Spaces had access to food support, debt advice and grants to help families who needed urgent help.

Promoting health and wellbeing

We also believe that Welcome Spaces should be more than just places for emergency help They should also help people stay healthy and happy. That’s why we’ve worked with community groups to bring in mental health support, fitness activities and social events to help people feel more connected.

Many Welcome Spaces now host coffee mornings, where people can meet new friends and find support. Others run exercise sessions and wellbeing workshops to help people stay active and improve their mental health. 

These activities have been a huge success, bringing communities together and making sure people don’t feel isolated.

Welcome Spaces have become so much more than warm buildings. They are places where people can find help, make friends and improve their lives. 

We’ll keep working hard to support them so they can keep making a difference in our communities.

Transport and highways 

This priority centres on reducing speeding and enhancing road safety, including better parking management and improving travel options to support a healthier lifestyle.

East LAC operates Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) to promote speed awareness by alerting drivers who exceed safe speed limits and encouraging them to slow down. These signs are mounted on light poles across the different wards on a rotating basis and collect valuable traffic data. This data helps authorities make informed decisions to improve road safety and traffic management. If you have concerns about speeding in a particular street or area, please contact us to see if a VAS sign can be installed there.

We’re committed to promoting sustainable travel and are working with the transport team to introduce cycle hangars in the area. If you’re interested in having a cycle hangar near you, please register your interest.

Request a space in a cycle hangar (Have Your Say Sheffield)

Children and young people 

Richmond is funding Sheffield’s first ParkPlay, a fun, free outdoor activity programme for children and families.

Richmond LAC is using its funding to introduce Sheffield’s first Park Play in Hollinsend Park. We’re very excited to see this unfold. Since April 2021, there have been 5,000 ParkPlays in the UK but this will be Sheffield’s first.

Community and neighbourhoods 

New Community Development Workers 

Using Manor Castle’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), we used a portion of the budget to fund a Community Development Worker specifically for the Lower Manor Area of the ward. The project is funded by the East LAC, but the post is employed by MAREC, is full time and 2 people, Catherine and Julie, are doing a job share.

Catherine and Julie are in post for 2 years and aim to connect with local people in Lower Manor, build relationships with local groups, businesses and schools. They’re also planning numerous projects for the area. 

They’re working closely with:

  • East LAC
  • councillors
  • local housing associations
  • other local partners

Manor Bonfire Night

At a meeting in June 2023, it was raised that the Manor fields bonfire was going to be cancelled due to staffing issues. The East LAC stepped in and raised £20,000 from different local organisations so the event could go ahead, and we could employ professionals to take pressure off local volunteers. We recognised how vital this free event is to our local communities and wanted to do everything we could to make sure it went ahead!

We worked with local organisations Green Estate, MASKK and Manor Castle Development Trust to plan the event. We contributed funds from the Manor Castle and Park and Arbourthorne Ward Pots. The event was amazing, and the feedback we received from local residents was great.

The below organisations contributed funds towards the event:

  • Sheffield City Council ASB team
  • Sheffield City Council Youth Services
  • South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit
  • ACIS Housing
  • South Yorkshire Housing Association
  • Places for People
  • Great Places
  • Sanctuary Housing
  • Sheffield Housing Company
  • Meadowhall
  • Britcon

Environment 

Environmental Stewardship

Restoring the Richmond fishponds

The Richmond fishponds have long been a cherished part of the community, with many locals reminiscing about pond dipping, relaxing in the peaceful surroundings, and watching local wildlife. However, over time, the pond – situated at the corner of Richmond Road and Hastillar Road South – has become clogged with silt and reeds, and unfortunately, has also accumulated litter. This has left many residents saddened, as they wish to see it restored to its former beauty for both the community and local wildlife.

To address this, Richmond Councillors within the East LAC have allocated funding from the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy to clear the pond of silt and reeds. Additionally, a group of passionate local residents are forming Lovely Fishponds, a community group dedicated to maintaining and improving the site. 

If you are interested in joining or would like to stay informed about volunteering opportunities, please get in touch with lovelyfishponds@gmail.com.

Community safety and crime 

The East LAC have supported the annual Darnall lantern parade. The event offers a positive community celebration during the dark nights period over Halloween and Bonfire night. We also support community youth activities via the Ward Pot grants with diversionary activities at this time and work with partners to limit anti-social behaviour during this period.