Dear readers — Forge Dam is a beloved spot for day-trips, attracting tens of thousands of visitors a year, but recently the lake is often lacking a key ingredient: water. The problem is a build-up of silt and a previous attempt to solve that hiccup sadly failed to make much of a dent. As we speak, the council is gearing up to take another stab at it. But if that doesn't work, what then? That’s today’s big story.
As well as that, we have big news from the former leader of Sheffield Labour Tom Hunt, a totally tropical tour of the Botanical Gardens, and a lovely cottage in the Rivelin Valley.
(Dis)Connect at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
In an increasingly digital world, we look for meaningful encounters with awe-inspiring art and breathtaking nature to ground us and expand our vision. This summer, get away from your screen and immerse yourself in 500 acres of gorgeous countryside at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
YSP hosts a huge range of artworks, from the well known to some of the most exciting recent work in sculpture. Discover these and more with an ever-changing programme of exhibitions and family activities. Click below to book your tickets.
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In case you missed it
For our weekend read, Victoria spent many long days in Doncaster Coroners’ Court attending the inquest of Peter Lynch, a man who briefly became a far-right cause célèbre after his death two years ago. Lynch was sent to prison for his part in the riot outside an asylum seeker hotel in August 2024, and took his own life just months later. Though he was headline news at the time, most publications seemed uninterested in reporting on the detailed examination of the events that led to his death. “Thank you for this excellently written and researched article,” wrote subscriber Dominic Watts.
On Wednesday, Mollie spoke to Sheffield not-so-grim reaper, or as he’s known to his friends, Steve Nicholson. Steve is the groundsman of the Catholic cemetery on the sloping hillside leading up from the Rivelin Valley – removing wild rose bushes that take root under people’s graves, threatening to break the stone, and tidying up verges and pathways. “Fascinating article, the type that only the Tribune covers which is why it makes such interesting reading,” said reader James Coleman.
And on Thursday, Dan waded into the sordid details of a major falling out within the local Reform UK party. In May, the party was on the up after stellar local election results left them with 13 councillors. However, the party descended into bitterness and acrimony almost immediately afterwards, with many members blaming its new leader John Hesketh and his allegedly dictatorial approach. We’re still interested in finding out more about what’s going on inside Reform UK in Sheffield. If you have any information you’d like to share, please email dan@sheffieldtribune.co.uk.
Can you help? Do you, or anyone you know, live in the south east of the city and have children that are having to travel long distances to attend sixth-form college? We are looking into a story about the current lack of sixth-forms in the south east of the city, and the circa 400 young people who are currently having to travel across the city, sometimes on two buses each way, just to do their A-Levels. If you do, email dan@sheffieldtribune.co.uk.
If you’d like to read all of these stories, you’ll need to become a paying subscriber to The Tribune. It’s just £8.95 a month and puts you in the enviable position of being the most well-informed person in your friendship group – plus, you’ll be supporting an entirely new way of doing local journalism that’s focussed on accuracy, quality and human stories.
The big picture: Celebration of life 🏃
The British Transplant Games took place in Sheffield over the last four days. Now more than 45 years old, as well as featuring 26 sports, the games are billed as a "celebration of life" with the aim of raising awareness of organ donation and supporting transplant recipients in improving their health. Pictured is the start of the Donor Run at Barker’s Pool on Saturday.
The big story: Forge Dam enters the last chance saloon
Top line: Yet more work to permanently restore water levels at Forge Dam will begin later this month. The new attempt comes after major renovation work aimed at fixing the 18th century millpond in 2021 was a huge disappointment. Will things be different this time?
Background: Forge Dam was originally built in the 18th century by Sheffield plate inventor Thomas Boulsover as a millpond to power a water-driven forge, but by the 20th century had become a boating lake. In its industrial heyday, the lake would have been dredged regularly to stop it silting up. After dredging stopped, the lake began slowly filling up with silt deposited by the Porter Brook. If left alone, eventually the lake would completely silt up.
- Around 15 years ago, the Friends of Porter Valley persuaded the council to desilt the lake, and spent 10 years raising half of the £500,000 it would cost to rejuvenate the millpond. The work commenced in 2021, and was completed in 2023.
- However, specialist environmental contractors Sanctus told The Tribune in 2023 that when the silt near the dam was removed, the ageing structure became “quite porous”, meaning the lake now drains away rapidly when it isn’t raining.
‘It’s not the way we wanted it’: When we spoke to long-standing Friends of Porter Valley chair Ann Le Sage in 2024, she admitted that work had been a huge disappointment. “I wanted people to see it right. And it’s not right,” she told us. Last year, water levels got so low that “huge beaches of mud” emerged and fish and ducklings were seen floating dead in the “stagnant, oxygen-depleted water”.
A new hope: From today, contractors Esh will be undertaking works to improve the condition of the dam wall (weather permitting, they hope to complete it by the end of August). The work should cost around £50,000, with the costs met by Sheffield council.
- The work will involve a full re-pointing of this eastern line of the dam wall as well as rebuilding of any voids within the structure.
- The goal is to address the leakage rate and thereby retain more water within the dam’s water body, especially during drier spells.
- During the work, fencing will be put up but access to Forge Dam cafe, the seating area and the other side of the lake will remain open.
Fixing a hole: Forge Dam isn't alone in having this problem. Many industrial millponds are now hundreds of years old and are now deteriorating. At Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, work has been underway since last year to fix leaks in the dam wall at a cost of £1.3 million. The work seems to be going well there and it is expected to be completed this summer. If it can be done at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, hopefully it can be done at Forge Dam.
Bottom line: It’s great there is renewed hope at Forge Dam, but if it doesn't work it’s difficult to see where we go from here. To date, £767,425 has been spent on work to fix the dam, to achieve very little. You can’t keep on throwing good money after bad, however important Forge Dam is to Sheffield's industrial heritage and the local leisure industry. With any luck, the new programme of work will be successful and the thousands of people who visit Forge Dam every year can all enjoy it like they used to. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.
Your Tribune briefing 🗞️
🗳️ Former Sheffield council leader Tom Hunt has announced he won’t be standing in the forthcoming Walkley by-election. Labour’s Hunt lost to the Greens’ Andy Davies in May’s local elections by just 73 votes, but last week Davies said he was standing down due to his “mental health and associated personal reasons”. Speculation had been high that Hunt may try to win the seat back, but he quashed those rumours on Facebook on Friday, saying that while it had been an “immense privilege” to serve Walkley, Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe for the last four years, it was now “time for someone else to represent our communities”.
🏗️ Uncertainty surrounds a Sheffield residential development after the developer behind it went bust. The 17-storey Hollis Croft building on Tenter Street in the city centre was being built by the Leeds-based Torsion Construction, who last month collapsed into administration. The receivers say they are currently looking for a new buyer and that the development is 70% complete. As well as Hollis Croft, Torsion have developments in Manchester and, in Leeds, the massive 35-storey Sky Gardens on the West Yorkshire city’s South Bank (if you want to read more about Torsion and Sky Gardens, see this excellent piece in our sister title The Exchange).
🔥 The famous Shiregreen Working Men’s Club, where the final scene of the Oscar-winning film The Full Monty was filmed in 1997, has been gutted by fire. The blaze, which is thought to have been started deliberately, began shortly before 5pm on Sunday. The venue closed in 2018, but plans to demolish it and build flats in its place were rejected in 2020 after 1,000 signed a petition to save it. Another plan to turn it into a boxing gym, cafe and community centre in 2024 was withdrawn, before the building was damaged by another fire in 2025.
The weekly Whitworth ✍️
Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the struggles of Reform UK in Sheffield to maintain a united front amid widespread infighting and division.
Home of the week 🏡
This charming three bedroom stone-built terrace on Rivelin Valley Road has loads of period features including exposed beams and stone flooring. It also has a tiered front garden with a seating terrace, and easy access to the Rivelin Valley. It is on the market for £350,000.
Things to do 📆
Plants 🌱 On Monday evening, join the Friends of The Botanical Gardens for an evening walk looking at the tropical trees and plants around the gardens. The one hour long public guided tour begins at 6pm at the entrance to the Dorothy Fox Education Centre, at the top of the slope from the Thompson Road gates, off Ecclesall Road. The tour is free but £3 cash donations are very welcome. There’s no need to book, you can just turn up on the day.
Comedy 🎤 On Wednesday, visit the Sheffield Plate foodhall in Orchard Square for a night of laughter and good food at Plateful of Laughs. Get ready to indulge in an assortment of delicious dishes while enjoying hilarious stand-up comedy performances from five talented local guest comedians, including host and promoter Daniel Inniss. Tickets are priced just £5 (and include a free alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink) and evening runs from 7.30pm-10.30pm.
Music 🎷 On Thursday, Footprints Jazz brings their brand new open jam session to Alder bar in Neepsend. This is an evening of standards and groove-based jams led by the house band that also invites all levels of musicians up to join with guitars, bass, drums and keys available on stage. Horn and wind players can bring their instruments along, and vocalists, rappers and singers are encouraged too. The evening is free and doors open at 8pm.
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