Coppard goes for growth

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

Last Thursday, the great and good of South Yorkshire’s business community got together at the swanky Radisson Hotel. There was one big topic: economic growth. Mayor Oliver Coppard, who convened the meeting, was there to launch part one of his new plan, which is designed to create exactly that. But what’s in the plan, and does he have the answer to the many problems plaguing our local economy?

As well as that, a Sheffield neighbourhood blighted by anti-social behaviour thinks it has found a solution, the Sensoria festival of music and film begins on Thursday, and a unique 1910 cottage comes on the market in Handsworth.

In case you missed it

On Wednesday, Dan took a tour of some of Sheffield’s best modernist architecture with Helen Angell from the Modernist Society. As well as fulfilling a personal dream of his and finally using the University of Sheffield's Arts Tower's famous Paternoster lift (and living to tell the tale) he also visited Western Bank Library, described by architecture critic Nikolaus Pevsner as “the best modern building in Sheffield”.

And on Friday we revealed just who put up dozens of Union flags and St George’s crosses on lampposts in the sleepy western Sheffield suburb of Walkley. The flags led to angry street arguments and the police being called out on two separate occasions. 

Then at the weekend Mollie and Victoria spoke to residents at Hyde Park Terrace, who have voted to close down one of the North’s last tenant management co-operatives after decades of interpersonal tension and disputes with the landlord, Sanctuary Housing, pushed its members to breaking point. 

The big picture: Let’s dance 💃

More than 1,000 Morris dancers and musicians came to Sheffield on Saturday for the Morris Federation's annual Day of Dance. On the day, 38 Morris teams performed at 10 locations around the city centre. Pictured are Wigan's Rumworth Morris dancing in Orchard Square.

The big story: Coppard goes for growth

Top line: Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, believes there are signs our economy is heading in the right direction. But with headwinds facing the economy and government, how realistic is it to be optimistic?

What is the plan? The government has asked all mayors to produce “Local Growth Plans”. On Thursday, the Mayor’s team published the vision (“step one”). Coppard rejected the suggestion that South Yorkshire has dragged its feet (other mayors have already published full plans), saying his team were doing it “in the right way, not the fastest way”.

What’s in the plan? The vision looks to 2035 (“A bigger, better economy”) and has four missions, though doesn’t yet drill into individual actions (that’s waiting on “step two”). It does identify the four bits of South Yorkshire where they want to focus on getting business growing, including the city centre and Doncaster airport.

Flying low: Speaking of the airport, we asked Coppard about the recent downgrade in its anticipated economic benefits. He admitted that the “cost-benefit ratio” of the project was “closer to two to one or three to one, than nine to one, which is what we thought before” but insisted this was a conservative estimate and that it would still deliver much more benefit than it would cost. He did nonetheless acknowledge that “some of the reason why we have taken that decision is because that's what people wanted us to do” — noting its importance to local pride in Doncaster.

(Sidebar: If you fancy reading about the latest online beef over the airport between Coppard and his eternal arch-nemesis, former Tory MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher, then the Doncaster Free Press has the write up.)

The bad news: The plan also sets out in unsparing detail the issues holding our economy back. Our businesses don’t spend much on research and development and there aren’t enough “tradeable” jobs producing things that can be sold outside the region. When we asked whether his plan could break the doom loop, Coppard said he wasn’t promising to fix everything in the next decade, but that it would put us in a “much better place”.

And the good news: Whisper it, but there are some tentative signs that things are going in the right direction. Rotherham was talked up a lot at the event, where the statistics show economic productivity has grown more quickly than almost anywhere else in the country, almost certainly due to the high-end companies at the AMRC (it’s still below national average, but by a lot less than it was). Coppard also claimed that the “investment zone”, announced by the government two years ago, was already bringing in ten pounds of private investment for every one pound spent.

Blockers: But when it comes to working with the government, there’s already been one big setback: the DfT's decision in July (for the hundredth time) to delay the electrification of the midland mainline to London. Coppard told us he was unhappy about that and expressed frustration about the government's delays in signing off on Northern Powerhouse Rail. He told us that securing better train links to Leeds was a key priority for him, and he would keep “banging the drum” to get funding to extend the SuperTram.

Mood music: The atmosphere among business attendees was cautiously positive. One told The Tribune they’d been at similar events over the years, but this one felt different, with more focus and energy behind proceedings.

Labour pains: But this optimism can’t help but be overshadowed by the souring in national feeling towards the party Coppard is a member of, and the government with which he will have to do business. In a frank admission, Coppard told us that “the government haven't done the job I wanted them to do or [what] loads of people who voted for them wanted them to do”. (Coppard was also happy to confirm he has no ambitions to lead the party “for the foreseeable future…”)

Our take: The evidence that South Yorkshire’s growth is picking up is still fairly thin, though the news about the AMRC in Rotherham is encouraging, and points to where growth is likely to be found. However, in Manchester, where they are further into their journey of devolution, there’s now concrete evidence that economic productivity is really picking up. If Coppard can pull off the same trick here — and it’s a big “if” — then his time as Mayor will have been well spent. The fact that South Yorkshire’s local authority leaders are now happy to be seen in a room together will give business some confidence, but we need the next part of the plan to set out a clear direction.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

🌳 Last year The Tribune reported on the long-standing issue of serious anti-social behaviour near the South Street Amphitheatre. Residents at Park Hill flats and in Norfolk Park say they are regularly plagued by loud music, speeding cars, drug use and litter on South Street, the road that overlooks the amphitheatre. Now, a group of Park Hill residents believe they have a solution. They say the Skyeline Pocket Park would both stop cars congregating at the top of South Street and provide a new green play area for people to enjoy.

The plans are being supported by Manor Castle councillors Laura Moynahan and Elle Dodd, and Sheffield council deputy leader Ben Miskell, but would need to secure funding from the council to become a reality. However, as a first step, the group is calling for the area to be secured with concrete roadblocks to stop cars congregating in the area. During this time the area would be monitored by the council, police and local residents to see what effect the changes have, both on anti-social behaviour and the amount of people using the space.

The proposals have been designed by The Friends of Skyline Pocket Park, a new group made up of five residents from Park Hill flats. To find out more, visit the Instagram page.

🏗️ The long-awaited public hearings on the amended Local Plan begin today. To recap: Sheffield council submitted its Local Plan to the government in 2023, outlining where it wanted to build 34,680 by 2039. However, earlier this year, government planning inspectors informed the council this wasn’t enough. The council have always hoped to build the extra homes they need on brownfield land, but after the enforced rethink, they are now proposing to release 3.6% of the city’s Green Belt. The areas most affected are Grenoside, Chapeltown, Handsworth and Lodge Moor, where campaigns have been set up to fight the plan. Our piece from earlier this year is here.

The first session of hearings will begin today at Sheffield Town Hall and will continue until Thursday 2 October. More hearings will take place at the Showroom Workstation and Howden House in mid-October, before a third and final week of hearings takes place in November, if required. All hearings are open for anyone to attend, subject to room capacity, and will also be streamed live on the council’s YouTube channel. For more information, see this page on the Sheffield council website.

🧹 Patricia Crowther, who was reportedly the world’s oldest witch, has died, aged 97. Patricia, who lived on City Road in Sheffield, was initiated into the Wiccan religion in 1960 by Gerald Gardner, the man credited with developing the practice, and went on to establish the Sheffield Coven with her husband Arthur. In the 1970s the couple presented a series on BBC Radio Sheffield entitled “A Spell of Witchcraft", which can still be found on YouTube. Patricia introduces the first of the series’ six episodes by saying: “'Witchcraft' simply means the craft of the wise people — nothing sensational or horrific in that."

🥵 No sooner had one new sauna announced it is going to open in Sheffield, it already has some competition. Last week we brought you the news that Güs sauna and ice bath was to open this winter on Cambridge Street. Now, the WARMTH community sauna has opened at Nomad Maison near the Wicker. As well as a Finnish-style horsebox sauna, they also have a cold plunge. It seems saunas are the new padel courts (incidentally a business the Güs gang previously tried their hands at).

The weekly Whitworth ✍️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the beauty — or otherwise — of brutalism.

Home of the week 🏡

Darley Cottage is a unique two-bedroom detached home in Handsworth which was built in 1910. The property also has a top floor room that could be converted into a third bedroom, a huge conservatory, a large rear garden and off-road parking. It is on the market for £235,000.

Things to do 📆

Sport 🎱 On Wednesday, join “bard of snooker” David Hendon at Sheffield's Central Library for a free talk about Pots of Gold: A History of Snooker, his new book about the history of the game. Snooker is a British success story — it began as a working-class game and grew into a multi-million pound professional sport, exported to the world. The book shows how the fortunes of snooker have mirrored wider changes in British society. Doors open at 5.30pm.

Ideas 💡 On Thursday at the Showroom join Wordlife for an exciting in conversation event with Keir Milburn about his new book Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future. The book argues capitalism has created a world of “bullshit abundance”, where we have too much of what we don’t need and too little of what we do. The alternative, Milburn says, is democratically planned production. Tickets are priced £5 and doors open at 7pm.

Festival 🎛️ Starting on Thursday is the wonderful Sensoria festival. Now in its 18th year, the festival presents a unique mix of live performances, film screenings, installations, and exhibitions plus music and film industry activity at venues across Sheffield. Highlights this year include international artist Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and local talent Emergence Collective, both showcasing new work. The festival runs until Sunday. For the full line up, click here.