Dear readers — We’ve done a lot of rubbish stories recently (stories about rubbish that is). From our two-part Sheffcession series about the Hague family of Bradfield, to our piece about tipping at Loxley Driving Range, environmental crime has featured heavily in The Tribune of late. Now, in news that is surely related to our exemplary coverage of the issue, the government has acted. A huge illegal waste dump in Attercliffe will be cleaned up as part of the government’s new waste crime action plan. But will the Environment Agency have the teeth to go after the waste criminals who despoil our city? That’s today’s big story.
As well as that, we have a piece in The Guardian about Sheffield’s cultural renaissance, a beautiful cottage in Greenhill, and get your tickets for the very last Clams in their Eyes.
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In case you missed it
On Saturday, our regular contributor Holly Williams wrote about Living, the new play by Sheffield-born playwright Leo Butler which is currently on at the Crucible Playhouse. Lots of readers enjoyed the story but many had the same complaint: that the show’s entire run has already sold out. Thankfully, some readers did have some suggestions, including turning up on the night and asking if any spare tickets had been returned, or even asking the Crucible if the show’s run could be extended. Sheffield Theatres, it’s over to you.
On Tuesday, another regular contributor David Bocking wrote about lichens, symbiotic creatures formed by merging fungi and algae that have been around for 400 million years. The creatures, which are found on trees, rocks and even road signs, react to pollution in the atmosphere, with our cleaner air bringing back species that haven’t been seen for decades. The piece prompted member Amit V to get philosophical, describing them as an example of “the wonders of nature” and how “we are all interconnected no matter how big or small”.
On Thursday, Dan investigated the rise of Airbnbs in Sheffield, after residents on a street in Highfield reported noise nuisance, a strange man walking the streets drunk and incoherent while his two huskies roamed free, guests pouring rubbish out of their window, and a modest four bed property being let out to fourteen guests. Lots of you found the story fascinating, but the host himself was not happy with our reporting. “I don’t want no articles about me appearing in the paper,” he grumbled over the phone.
Lichens. Airbnbs. Theatre. Buses. It’s true, you never quite know what you’re going to get with the Sheffield Tribune. That’s because our mission is to write about all the interesting stuff going on in this city, whatever it may be.
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The big picture: In bloom 🌸
Cherry blossom season has now started in earnest in Sheffield. Two of the best places in the city seem to be the Peace Gardens and the South Street Park, where this wonderful shot was captured by top Sheffield snapper Emma Bothamley.
The big story: Illegal Sheffield waste dump named one of worst in country
Top line: A massive tip in Attercliffe will be cleaned up as part of a plan to tackle illegal waste dumping. Thought to contain 20,000 tonnes of rubbish, M White (Skips) Ltd on Worthing Road has been identified as one of the four worst illegal dumps in the country. It will now be cleaned up at taxpayers’ expense as part of a new waste crime action plan.
‘Huge rats’: The clean up has been a long time coming. A “restriction order” was placed on the business way back in 2023, forbidding anyone from either entering or dumping rubbish on the site. However, since then the site has just been left to fester.
- The BBC today report that neighbouring business City Wholesale say huge mounds of wood, metal and plastic were piled so high that they had "burst through" a fence dividing the businesses.
- City Wholesale owner Geoff Howarth said that the problems had just got “worse and worse over the years” and the site was now plagued by "huge rats". “The smell in the summer is awful,” he added.
Action plan: The Sheffield site is one of four “supersites” in the UK, alongside dumps in Wigan, Hyndburn in Lancashire and Kidlington, Oxfordshire. Together they contain almost 70,000 tonnes of rubbish. Under the action plan:
- The Environment Agency will be tasked with cleaning up the sites.
- “Waste criminals” will be forced to join clean-up squads and made to pay for the clearing of illegal waste sites (although not the one in Sheffield).
- The government will also give enforcement officers new “police style powers” to bring offenders to justice.
"Waste criminals have been damaging our communities, countryside, environment and economy for too long,” said Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds. “This action plan sends a clear message: dump illegally and you will face the full consequences.”
Waste management: It’s perhaps no surprise that fictional organised crime families like The Sopranos operate in the waste management business, as our piece from last year about the Sheffield-based Smoke Trail Productions proved. Investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor have spent years exposing waste crimes in the UK and internationally, including the dumping of a million tonnes of waste near Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland.
And Sheffield itself is no stranger to waste companies that break the law, as readers of our recent series on the fractious Hague family of Bradfield will know. During a court case in 2009, Martin Hague of MHH Contracting admitted to acts of “blatant dishonesty” towards the local authority and to “grossly” exceeding the amount of waste he was legally permitted to process at his tips. Concerns have also been raised about the huge levels of tipping at Loxley Driving Range, which many local suspect is actually being used as a landfill.
Our take: Sheffield has done great work on going from “grey to green”. But in some places the opposite is happening. Waste crime is a growing problem here, and the government’s new action plan is to be welcomed. But if it is to succeed, the Environment Agency needs the resources and powers to bring waste criminals to justice
Your Tribune briefing 🗞️
📰 The Guardian has published a sweeping essay about Sheffield’s “newfound confidence”, reeling off a list of the city’s achievements including being home to the UK’s biggest podcast festival, Adolescence taking home eight awards at the Emmy’s and a new weapons factory in Tinsley. Former Treasury minister Jim O’Neill recently compared the city’s buzz to how Manchester looked and felt around ten years ago, calling its turnaround “inspiring”. However, he cautioned that the city region’s economy cannot solely rely on “bombs and blockbusters” (the Guardian’s words, not his), saying “the mood can change so dramatically on these things” and that Sheffield’s success will rely on young people choosing to stay for high-paid jobs.
🤖 If you want a glimpse of a robot-filled future, head to Meersbrook. Starship Technologies, a company co-founded by an Estonian computer programmer, have introduced little six-wheeled robots to the area, capable of “delivering hot food, groceries and industrial supplies” with state-of-the-art sensors, radar and obstacle detection. The robots were first trialled in Milton Keynes, where they spent a lot of time falling off curbs and asking bewildered passersby to help get them back on smooth terrain. Now, they’re in Sheffield. If you’ve spotted a robot, or had an UberEats delivery arrive in one, let us know in the comments.
🏭 The Department for Business and Trade has published a steel strategy, aimed at reversing decades of decline to “build a revitalised and resilient steel sector that is a world leader in clean modern steel production.” The government is offering more money to existing steelmakers to the tune of about £2.5 billion, and says it wants 50% of the steel used in Britain to be domestically produced. A lofty ambition, when the proportion of steel used in Britain that is made in Britain is currently at 30%, a record low. How are they going to do it?
For a start, they’re imposing harsher trade barriers to make importing cheaper steel from Turkey and Vietnam harder, while offering a number of concessions to ease the pressures on domestic steelworks. These include lowering electricity costs in line with competitor countries to give UK steelmaking more of an advantage. Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has welcomed the reforms, saying the steel industry has long been held back by governments failing to level the playing field. “By taking long overdue trade measures to protect against cheap, subsidised foreign steel, I hope that much needed parity will finally become a reality.”
🐸 And finally, congratulations to wildlife photographer Paul Hobson, whose shot of a toad swimming on the surface of a pond in the Rivelin Valley has won first place at the British Wildlife Photography Awards. Hobson says his work takes him all over the world but Sheffield is a particular favourite for capturing wildlife.
The weekly Whitworth ✍️
Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the South Yorkshire People’s Network and our fancy new “molten orange” buses.
Home of the week 🏡
This two-bedroom cottage in Greenhill is thought to date back to the eighteenth century, and has original period features like a fireplace and wooden beams. It’s on the market for £295,000.
Things to do 📆
Talk 🛸 On Thursday at the Old Post Hall, Dr David Clarke and Andrew Robinson from Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Contemporary Legend will be hosting a talk which explores the history and the visual folklore of UFOs, UAPs and flying saucers. The free 90-minute talk accompanies the pair’s exhibition The Invasion of the Saucermen, which showcases a visual inventory of over 70 years of UFO artifacts and memorabilia. Start 7pm.
Entertainment 🎭 This Thursday, visit Alder bar in Neepsend for Plughole, Sheffield's weirdest new material night. On the night, expect anything and everything from alternative comedy, cabaret, circus, dance, burlesque, drag, improv, acrobatics, collective games and more. Hosted by Ollie and friends, Plughole will take place at the Percy Street venue on the fourth Thursday of every month. Tickets are priced £5-£20 and the doors will open at 7pm.
Music 🎤 At 8pm this Saturday at Forge Warehouse, it’s the last ever Clams in their Eyes, a wacky, surreal adaptation of hit 90s TV show Stars in their Eyes. It’s run by the lovely team behind Delicious Clam, a DIY gig venue and record label that has supported and nurtured dozens of independent artists. This year it’s Champion of Champions – expect to see the Beastie Boys face off against Prince, Robbie Williams and many more. Tickets are £30.
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