A ‘credible and affordable’ plan for rail? Or more pie in the sky?

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to this week’s Monday briefing.

“I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad.” So ranted Howard Beale in the brilliant 1976 film Network. The furious news presenter was actually talking about the state of America, but he could easily have been referring to Yorkshire’s rail network. Over the last 15 years there have been numerous plans to improve our trains, but little has come to fruition. Last week, former Sheffield MP David Blunkett outlined his Yorkshire Plan for Rail, a £14 billion, 15-year plan for investment in our region’s rail network. Can this one finally improve things where all the rest have failed? That’s our big story today.

As well as that, we have Richard Hawley’s take on the demise of The Leadmill, the start of the Pint of Science festival in Sheffield, and a lovely, quirky home in S2.

In case you missed it

For our weekend read, Victoria spoke to council insiders as the organisation braces itself for the results of an inspection into its provision for children with special needs, which we’re told is going to be pretty damning. “All hell broke loose” within the council, one source alleges, after it became clear that the authority and other partners were going to be “hammered” in the pending report. “A complex subject that you've reported on really well,” commented Tribune member Ryan, although he noted his own child with learning difficulties has so far been supported pretty well. You can read that piece here.

Earlier in the week, freelancer Maddi Fearn wrote about the local problem of parcel theft, a crime that is becoming increasingly common in a world that has embraced online shopping but which seems to be very rarely punished. You can read an excerpt of that piece below.

“In apartments, you mainly have professionals without kids or single people, so they’re less likely to be at home to collect a delivery,” explains Bouka. “When you have a family, you’re more likely to have somebody at home.” She laughs off the fact that the worst thing she has lost to the thieves is a pair of socks. But the ease with which strangers can access her building has left her feeling vulnerable: “To be honest, I am scared that I’m going to come down and there’s going to be some sort of madman. It’s the whole feeling of not being safe in a building that is your home.”

Editor’s note: Last week was our best week for member growth in a long time — over a hundred of you heeded the call to give us your support. Thank you to each and every one of you for getting behind independent local journalism. We’ve also started to make some more progress on one of our bigger investigations, with a new source coming forward.

We’re chuffed to bits, but we still need about 300 more subscribers to get us to that 3,000 target. We’re 90% of the way there! If you’ve been reading us for some time, could this be the day you take that big step and lend us your support?

The big picture: Sheeran in Sheff 🎸

On Sunday night, Ed Sheeran played a surprise three-hour-long concert just outside the Town Hall, joined by local young musicians from TRACKS, a project run by Sheffield Music School. This shot, taken from the Town Hall, was captured by Councillor Ben Miskell.

The big story: A ‘credible and affordable’ plan? Or more pie in the sky?

Top line: Former Sheffield MP Lord David Blunkett has unveiled his Yorkshire Plan for Rail, a £14 billion plan to revolutionise the region’s train services. What would it mean for Sheffield and South Yorkshire? And does it have any chance of success?

Background: In March, Lord Blunkett was asked by Yorkshire’s three metro mayors — our very own Oliver Coppard, West Yorkshire’s Tracy Brabin and North Yorkshire’s David Skaith — to carry out a major review of Yorkshire’s rail system. He didn’t faff around: two months later, the Yorkshire Plan for Rail sets out a £14 billion, 15-year plan to improve train services in the region.

What’s in the plan? The biggest change for Sheffield would be a fully electrified line to Leeds, something that was originally promised as part of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail. There would also be increased capacity at Sheffield station (created by lengthening several platforms and changes to signalling) and a new mainline station at Rotherham.

• The report states that connectivity between Leeds and Sheffield is poor when compared to city pairs with similar populations, distances between them and economic size. Travel between the cities is only one third of what we should expect when compared to other city pairs.
• Edinburgh and Glasgow, which have similar population sizes to Sheffield and Leeds, have substantially better transport links. Each year 1.6 million people travel between the two cities, while only 641,444 make a similar journey between Sheffield and Leeds.

Growth gap: The report states that our region is not meeting its growth potential and that Yorkshire’s economy is £25 billion smaller than it could be, a gap that is predicted to widen in the future. Much of that is due to our "creaking Victorian-era" rail network which is incapable of supporting a modern knowledge‑based economy. It adds that the investment was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" which could add £20bn to our economy over the next decade, help generate an extra 83,000 jobs and contribute to the building of 210,000 new homes.

How much? At £14 billion the plan certainly doesn’t come cheap. However, £14 billion was around the same figure that the Elizabeth Line in London was originally due to cost (it actually ended up costing £18 billion due to the project overrunning by four years).

• The plan says this cost should be phased, with the initial changes needing £2.4 billion of government investment between now and 2030.
• The Department for Transport said it would consider the proposals carefully, adding that it was committed to improving transport in the North.

Our take: All this obviously sounds great, but Sheffield has been burned before with exciting rail plans that have later been shelved or delayed (see HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the still non-electrified Midland Main Line). However, the three mayors clearly hope this time will be different. As the BBC’s Spencer Stokes notes, it’s probably no coincidence that the plan has been unveiled ahead of a government spending review due to take place next month. The mayors, and Yorkshire’s long suffering rail users, will be watching carefully to find out whether our hopes of a rail revolution will finally be realised.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

🎸 Local legend Richard Hawley, who as well as having a stellar solo career, also played in both the Longpigs and Pulp, has written in the Observer about what the Leadmill conceding defeat means to him. Last week, the venue announced it had exhausted all legal avenues to stop the building’s owner, Electric Group, from evicting them, describing their final court loss as “a betrayal of the cultural fabric of our city”. Hawley clearly agrees, writing: “The Leadmill is Sheffield’s Cavern. It’s our Haçienda. It’s our legendary, beautiful venue that’s been kept going by blood, sweat and tears – and by a hell of a lot of joy.”

🎛️ NME interviewed Jamie Taylor, the author of a new book celebrating an often-unsung Sheffield musical legend. Studio Electrophonique: The Sheffield Space Age, From The Human League To Pulp tells the story of mechanic Ken Patten, who built a home recording studio in his Handsworth council house, where many of the city’s soon-to-be famous acts — including The Human League and Pulp — recorded their music. Dan has also covered Patten’s amazing story in the early days of The Tribune, you can find that piece here. 

📰The journalist who exposed the Rotherham grooming scandal has died aged 60 after a short period of illness. In 2011, Andrew Norfolk wrote a series of articles in The Times about the systematic sexual abuse of young girls in the town, which prompted the inquiry that discovered around 1,400 had been exploited over 16 years. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote that he was sorry to hear of Norfolk’s death, adding: “He wasn't just an incredibly talented reporter, at The Times and elsewhere, he was driven by the desire to call our attention to injustice and protect the most vulnerable.”

This week’s weather 🌥️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, whose forecast says it will gradually turn less settled by the end of the week as pressure falls.

Monday 🌦 Cloudy start with the odd drizzly patch. Brighter later with isolated heavy afternoon showers. Light winds and highs of 17C.

Tuesday 🌦 A warm day with light winds and bright spells. The sunshine again triggers a scattering of afternoon heavy showers. Highs of 20C.

Wednesday ⛅ Good spells of warm sunshine developing and just the outside chance of a shower. Highs of 20C.

Thursday ⛅ A little fresher but generally dry with bright or sunny spells coming through. Light NNE breezes and highs of 17C.

Friday ⛅ Chance of a late shower, otherwise dry for many with bright spells once more. Winds switching to the SW overnight. Highs of 17C.

Outlook: Less settled with sunshine and scattered showers as we change to a more typical warm spring pattern.

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

The weekly Whitworth ✍️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the continuing row over Sheffield City Council’s controversial proposals to release a portion of the city’s green belt for residential development.

Home of the week 🏡

This four bedroom end terrace just off City Road is unique and characterful inside and out, and it is within walking distance of three lovely parks (Norfolk Heritage Park, Manor Fields and Skye Edge playing fields) as well as the city centre. It is on the market for £200,000.

Things to do 📆

Science 🧪 Starting on Monday is the annual Pint of Science festival, where University of Sheffield academics take their research out of the lab and into some of the best pubs, bars and creative spaces in the city. Venues this year include The Lescar, the Sheffield Tap, 99 Mary Street and the Neepsend Social Club and Canteen. Some of the sessions are already sold out but there are still a few available. Each session runs 7pm-10pm. Tickets are £5.

Learn 🧹 On Tuesday, learn about the history of witchcraft and feminism at Peddler Warehouse. Witches are now fashionable, from “WitchLit” bestsellers like The Familiars and A Discovery of Witches, to the viral phenomenon of “WitchTok”. However, beyond the trendy allure lies a powerful, political undercurrent. In this compelling talk, Dr Sharon Jagger delves into the feminist edge of contemporary witchcraft. Tickets are £16 and doors open at 7pm.

Music 🎸 To Sidney and Matilda on Wednesday come The Vaselines, the Glaswegian band made famous by Nirvana. Little known outside Scotland in the early 90s, they were thrust into the limelight after the American grunge band covered their songs Molly’s Lips, Son of a Gun and Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam. Kurt Cobain also called them his "favorite songwriters in the whole world". Doors open at 7.30pm and tickets are priced £22.