Excellent article, especially useful for people to understand the tensions within groups commonly lumped together by the media and others purely for their own convenience. In the same way, ethnic minority groups are frequently assumed to have the same needs and values as each other when in fact they often have very different issues to deal with. Worth exploring how other groups feel about being lumped together!
What a total mess by the Council. The issue of additional sites for gipsy travellers has long been contentious, so to not make it clear in the Plan is crazy and shows a total lack of understanding of the cultural backgrounds and differences between these ‘communities’. For Councillors to manipulate the situation for political ends is cynical, I hope the Travelling Showpeople don’t suffer any further problems as a result.
There is a difficulty for people on the side lines to be able to distinguish the different types of social groups, that are just lumped together as people who live in caravans and travel around. In the USA there is a sub-culture of "dirtbag climbers" who live in small vans and travel around to climb in different areas. Alex Honnold was was in that category for many years.
Where it goes wrong are the examples of ant-social behaviour. Going back 20 years there was a bulldozed site of a Newton Chambers factory in Chapeltown, awaiting development for housing, which it is now. One summer a group of Irish travellers, traders in furniture, just drove onto the site. The land owners had to take legal action to move them on, and when they left they left behind an array of three piece suites and other junk, and somebody had to employed for two weeks to clear up the mess. This creates the public perception that "travellers" take from society and give nothing back
I have never heard of or can concieve of the need for a specific site for travelling showfolk in the city.The travelling showfolk site in Hillsborough Park is always immaculate-of course it would be-they are business people.This sounds like a cock up on the part of the council.
It’s a damning indictment of Sheffield politics that obvious prejudice was the thing that almost derailed the progress of the new Local Plan. Not, say, the outright refusal of our politicians to meaningfully respond to the housing crisis that continues to have horrific social and economic consequences for our city and country.
As implied, it’s relevant to the Local Plan, which is a key part of the background context to the story. I have criticised our politicians because a number of them chose to use thinly-veiled prejudice as a reason to disrupt the Plan (that prejudice being the main subject of this article), when there are other extremely serious and actually valid reasons to object to the Plan (for instance the housing crisis), hence the relevance.
Excellent article, especially useful for people to understand the tensions within groups commonly lumped together by the media and others purely for their own convenience. In the same way, ethnic minority groups are frequently assumed to have the same needs and values as each other when in fact they often have very different issues to deal with. Worth exploring how other groups feel about being lumped together!
What a total mess by the Council. The issue of additional sites for gipsy travellers has long been contentious, so to not make it clear in the Plan is crazy and shows a total lack of understanding of the cultural backgrounds and differences between these ‘communities’. For Councillors to manipulate the situation for political ends is cynical, I hope the Travelling Showpeople don’t suffer any further problems as a result.
Excellent article brought out things that the Star and others have not and gives you a far better understanding of the issues around the site.
There is a difficulty for people on the side lines to be able to distinguish the different types of social groups, that are just lumped together as people who live in caravans and travel around. In the USA there is a sub-culture of "dirtbag climbers" who live in small vans and travel around to climb in different areas. Alex Honnold was was in that category for many years.
Where it goes wrong are the examples of ant-social behaviour. Going back 20 years there was a bulldozed site of a Newton Chambers factory in Chapeltown, awaiting development for housing, which it is now. One summer a group of Irish travellers, traders in furniture, just drove onto the site. The land owners had to take legal action to move them on, and when they left they left behind an array of three piece suites and other junk, and somebody had to employed for two weeks to clear up the mess. This creates the public perception that "travellers" take from society and give nothing back
With you now Charles-I gather the plan has been a long time in the gestation.
I have never heard of or can concieve of the need for a specific site for travelling showfolk in the city.The travelling showfolk site in Hillsborough Park is always immaculate-of course it would be-they are business people.This sounds like a cock up on the part of the council.
It’s a damning indictment of Sheffield politics that obvious prejudice was the thing that almost derailed the progress of the new Local Plan. Not, say, the outright refusal of our politicians to meaningfully respond to the housing crisis that continues to have horrific social and economic consequences for our city and country.
I don't see that the housing crisis has any relevance to this particular situation.
As implied, it’s relevant to the Local Plan, which is a key part of the background context to the story. I have criticised our politicians because a number of them chose to use thinly-veiled prejudice as a reason to disrupt the Plan (that prejudice being the main subject of this article), when there are other extremely serious and actually valid reasons to object to the Plan (for instance the housing crisis), hence the relevance.