From the Banger
April 2005

The 2005 BANG Annual General Meeting

This year’s AGM will be held at 7.30 pm on Monday 9 May in the Coach House at Westbourne School.
Nominations are invited for Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Committee members. Nominations, each with the names of proposer and seconder, may be made in advance of the meeting by post or email to the Hon. Sec. (H. Ritchie, 267 8004, bang.ritchie@virgin.net.) or at the meeting.

The first meeting of the Committee after the AGM will be at 8.00 pm on Thursdsay 2nd June at 27A Westbourne Road.

All welcome!

September 2004

BANG COMMITTEE MEETINGS Next meeting 9 September, 19 Lawson Road at 8.00 p.m. All welcome.
Hon. Secretary, H. Ritchie, 267 8004,
bang.ritchie@virgin.net. Chair, Beverley Warne 266 3028.

Subscriptions for this year are due! If you still have not paid - £1(single) or £2 (couples), please send your subscription to Secretary.

March 2004

The Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 29 April at 7.30 p.m. in the Coach House, Ashdell House, Westbourne School. BANG still needs more committee members and distributors for the Banger. Contact Secretary on 267 8004.

BANG COMMITTEE MEETINGS Next meeting 1 April, 19 Lawson Road at 8.00 p m. All welcome.

Secretary: bang.ritchie@virgin.net; Chair, 266 3028

Dec. 2003

BANG COMMITTEE MEETINGS Next meetings, Wednesday 28 January in The Broomhill Methodist Church, the follow-up meeting on HMO's; Thursday 4 March,14 Watson Road; Thursday 1 April,19 Lawson Road. All welcome.

Oct. 2003

BANG COMMITTEE MEETINGS: Next meetings at 8 p.m. 2 October 48 Tapton Mount, Beverley Warne; 12 November Open Meeting, Broomhill Methodist Church; 4 December. 45 Spooner Road, Sally Durham. All welcome. Secretary: 267 8004, bang.ritchie@virgin.net; Chair: 266 3028;

May 2003

The AGM was held on 12 May 2003 with some twenty members attending.

The Minutes of 2002 AGM were accepted and signed as a true record.

Under Matters Arising it was noted that Fly posting had been the subject of an Area Panel meeting the previous week. For the City Council a solicitor and the head of Streetforce explained how difficult it was to bring a prosecution and suggested that local residents should keep tearing them down. Broomhill residents and members of the community made it clear to the Area Panel that this was far from satisfactory. The Broomhill Forum would be taking the matter further. On this and on other related matters the Broomhill Forum will be making presentations to the Area Panel. On the vexed issue of the massive Millennium banner, the chair explained that it would go to magistrates' court this month.

In her Report the Chair gave a brief but incisive survey of what had been a busy but not a difficult year, in which much constructive work had been done. Re planning applications, BANG has been seeking out and objecting to undesirable applications in and around the conservation area. The greatest of BANG'S successes in this sphere proved to be BANG'S objection to the repeated applications to build a huge block of flats on the green space at 16/18 Manchester Road. When BANG'S original objections were successful and the application was rejected the developers appealed and BANG and local residents again took concerted action. It has just been announced that the appeal has been rejected and this vital piece of green space has been saved. Another appeal is pending as the pub called The Place is still trying to have outside chairs and tables although this is completely contrary to the original understanding. There is to be an informal hearing. Local residents are keeping their fingers crossed. The application for the conversion of 46 Westbourne Road to an HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupancy) for 9 people was finally, thanks to the efforts of 2 BANG members in particular, restricted to 6 people. A minor victory in the continuing battle against the plague of HMO's Watson Road residents similarly staved off an application for an extension to a house. These cases show that BANG through its members does have some say in what goes on in the community and its reshaping; we can all take part. Where BANG is most effective is through its collective experience to help immediate neighbours to write their own letters and make their own case. At the 2002 AGM the question of local residents' relations with the Sheffield High School had been raised and it was reported that a regular liaison meeting between the School and neighbours from nearby streets has tangibly improved co-operation and communication. The Chair, in her 2003 survey reported that the experiment of holding BANG committee meetings at the Methodist Church rather than in people's homes had improved attendance. It was consequently now proposed to have such occasional open meetings, e.g., on the maintenance of Broomhill's trees, and on green/open spaces in Broomhill. Re working with the Council, committee members have strengthened their links with planning officers, highway engineers, area co-ordinators and councillors and BANG members have been heavily involved in the Broomhill Forum's development of a Vision for Broomhill, with well-attended meetings resulting in good publicity in the Sheffield Telegraph, and the emergence of constructive action plans for progressing on THREE fronts (1) Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs); (2) Traffic and Safety; (3) Environment. Committee members had a useful meeting with Richard Allan MP about HMOs and the Housing Bill, building on contacts with the Leeds HMO pressure group. Environmental issues have been less strongly pursued than traffic, but would be targeted in a meeting with council officers in the summer. Re BANG's effectiveness,the Chair stressed that more committee members, bringing new ideas and energy, were needed, and, in fact, at the AGM three new committee members were appointed. The work of the committee needs to be shared out and new active members such as these are welcome. Re the upcoming year, the need to work up a response to the University's proposed sell-off of student accommodation was noted. The Chair concluded her annual report by thanking the committee members and BANGER distributors for their contributions.

Comments from members: Re University accommodation, it was suggested that BANG should make presentations to the Broomhill Forum meeting with the University, to avoid duplication of effort. Other issues raised included possible new attempts to sell off the Stephenson Hall tennis courts and the possible disposal of the Oakholme Road student houses

Local history group: It was reported that the accounts were healthy thanks to the steady sales of Eva Wilkinson's books; the slight drop on the year was accounted for by the contribution to the Botanical Gardens. In the matter of Broomhill books it was noted that the residents of Southbourne Road were about to produce a book with each resident writing about themselves, their house, or Broomhill. Copies will be distributed to every house on the road and will be available for sale at the Broomhill Festival. Meanwhile John Cornwell is doing a book on King Edward VII School. The sad death last June of David Roberts was reported, who had chaired the group from 1988 to 2000 and stepped in as BANG chair in an hour of need. David Roberts had made a significant contribution to BANG over many years.

Election of officers: Officers and members were elected.

Next meetings at 8 p.m. on Thursday 5 June at 19 Lawson Road and Thursday 3 July at 30 Southbourne Road.

March 2003

Annual General Meeting: The AGM will be held on Monday 12 May at 7.30 pm in the Coach House, Ashdell House, Westbourne School. BANG still needs more committee members and distributors for the Banger. Contact Secretary (Tel. 267 8004).
BANG committee meeting: Next meeting at 8 p.m. on Thursday 3 April at 48 Tapton Mount Close.

December 2002

There will be no January meeting.

Next BANG committee meeting on Thursday 6 February 2003 at at 8.00 p.m., 27a Westbourne Road. All welcome. Ring 267 8004,

September 2002

Wednesday 18 September: BANG committee, 8.00 pm in Room 1 in the Broomhill Methodist Church - please note change of venue.

Ring 267 8004,

April 2002

13 May: BANG AGM, 7.30 pm, Coach House, Westbourne School

23 May: BANG committee, 8.00 pm, Ring 268 3441

May 2000

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 5 May in Westbourne School. The Chairman reported on the events of the year for BANG. One major item for discussion concerned the question of membership. As this was a constitutional matter it was referred to a later committee meeting. Three new members were welcomed to the committee. After discussion of matters arising, reports followed from the Treasurer and the Local History Group Secretary.

Broomhill Forum,17 May 2000

A major item was the discussion of Area Panels. The panel for the Broomhill area covers Broomhill/Sharrow/Nether Edge. So far Area Panels have been ineffectual; however, Sheffield Council has gone over to a cabinet system and all committees have been axed. Accordingly Area Panels in future will have more decision-making powers and have access to financial support. BANG, with the Forum, will wish to be strongly represented on the Area Panel. On previous occasions Council Officers have been invited to Forum meetings. On this occasion the Enforcement Officer who was invited, informed the Forum on regulations and policy in regard to food outlets, restaurants, takeaways etc. AISQ on the agenda was the matter of graffiti and fly-posting. The Chairman invited all Broomhill residents:

to "adopt a lamp-post" and tear down all offending fly-posters, now stuck up with dangerous plastic strips. The problem of noise and disturbance caused by those returning from clubs in the early morning now seems to have been solved, thanks to efforts of BANG committee members.

Planning Applications

BANG members who have been in Oakholme Road recently will have seen that Crosby Homes have started building luxury homes next to Betjeman Gardens. For a long time now, however, there has been silence regarding further plans to build on the green spaces of Crewe Hall and the tennis courts of Stephenson Hall. The application for an Espresso Bar at 259 Fulwood Road was turned down. Since then the application for the use of the building at 98 Whitham Road (Wollerton's) as a Cyber Cafe has been accepted. One matter causing concern is the damage being done to housing stock in areas such as Broomhill by the rapid growth in the number of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). The effect of high concentrations of HMOs on community relations and services has been noted and in cities like Leeds legislation is being sought empowering local authority planning departments to restrict the conversion of existing family homes into HMOs.

Rutland Park and the Girls Day School Trust

The Girls Day School Trust has applied for removal of restrictions on the use of the High School's new sports hall preventing non-school use of the hall. To secure permission for its construction in 1997 the Trust undertook that no such use would be made. However, within months of its completion, Champs began operating holiday and weekend camps for children, using the new hall and featuring this in its publicity. Council Officers moved to enforce the restrictions, leading to the Trust's application to have these removed. 20 letters of objection and a petition with signatures from 28 of the 33 households on Rutland Park secured a clear recommendation from Council Officers to refuse the application. Traffic and parking pressures having further increased since 1997, Officers determined that there were no grounds for lifting the restrictions. At the City Centre and West planning board at its meeting on 5th June, the Chair sought a 'compromise' solution by asking the Trust to undertake to pay the cost of a residents' parking scheme for Rutland Park, meanwhile deferring a decision to a further meeting of the board on 26th June. The Broomhill councillors agree with residents that this is no solution, for three specific reasons: (1) a single-street residents' parking scheme would not reduce traffic volumes and would be unenforceable; (2) the proposal runs contrary to the Council's commitment to a strategic approach to parking problems over a wider area, and would merely displace parking pressures to nearby streets; (3) it is not feasible to deliver commitment to a residents' parking scheme in the 3-week deferral period. Rutland Park residents were well-received by the local MP, who advised them to reject the compromise as ill-conceived and inappropriate. Broomhill residents wishing further information should contact the Secretary for further details.

June 1999

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 30 April 1999 in Westbourne School. The Chairman reported on an eventful year for BANG. After discussion of the matters arising, further reports followed from the Treasurer and the Local History Group Secretary. Under Election of Officers, the Chairman and Vice-Chair were elected.

Broomhill Forum, 19 May 1999

The first major item on the agenda was the presentation of the Crime Report. The total number of crimes reported was 105, broken down in the usual way as Burglary Dwellings, Burglary Sheds/Garages/Offices, Theft from the Person, Theft from Motor Vehicles, Theft of Motor Vehicles etc. The figures for 'J' District , April to April, showed a reduction of crime of 6%. The breakdown of offences street by street evoked most interest from residents present. Not announced at this meeting was the fact that the Home Office has directed monies to various districts in Sheffield of which Broomhill will be one, for a Burglary Prevention Project. A report was given on the University applications to sell off lands round its halls of residence in order to build luxury homes and flats Concern at this massive residential development in Broomhill had led to a wave objections from local residents, local councillors, university students and staff, Birkdale School and many other bodies. Also discussed was the continuing problem of noise and disturbance caused by those returning from clubs in the early morning. Birkdale School had also made an official complaint with the University for criminal damage caused to its premises. The meeting closed with the expression of warmest thanks to the member who had founded the Broomhill Forum. The future chairman of the Forum was discussed.

June 1998

Annual General Meeting

More than fifty members attended the 25th AGM held on Friday, 1 May 1998 in Westbourne Preparatory School. The Chairman gave a brief review of the aims and achievements of BANG since its formation. The main aims of conserving the area and creating a balanced community are still being actively pursued, as are those of improving pedestrian and parking facilities. The creation of a Broomhill Conservation Area and an Area of Special Interest for the Moor Oaks Road, Marlborough Road "triangle" has been one of the main achievements, as have been the pedestrian crossings and provision of the car park and play space area on Parkers Lane. The installation of many more litter bins and their regular emptying and the daily sweeping of the shopping area have also helped to preserve the environment. The formation of the Broomhill Forum and of Sheffield University's Community Forum have provided means of regular communication with the University and with council departments.

A sum was donated to the Botanical Gardens to aid them in raising "matched funding" towards its restoration by both BANG and the Local History Group.

Officers and committee members were elected. Existing Local History officers and committee members were re-elected.

Subscriptions for the current year remain at £1 for individuals and £2 for families. If you have not yet paid your subscription please send it to the Treasurer.

A committee member presented an analysis of the 28 replies received to the questionnaire. On the whole people appeared to be satisfied with the activities of the BANG Committee and no clear picture emerged to guide the new Committee. In the discussion that ensued the need to keep Broomhill together as a community was stressed, as was the difficulty in reconciling the large student presence with the needs of the "permanent" residents. There was a plea for liaison between different groups.

A brief account from the police, emphasised that, apart from car crime around the Hallamshire Hospital area, Broomhill is a comparatively low crime area.

 

May 1997

24th Annual General Meeting - 25 April 1997

The AGM, held in Westbourne Preparatory School, was attended by only eighteen members, out of a membership of 334!. The Chairman, before starting her review of the past year, expressed our thanks to a member who has had to resign from the Committee due to family and work commitments. She also thanked those members who distribute the "BANGER" and asked for more volunteers to help in the distribution. Westbourne School was also thanked for not only allowing us to hold the AGM in their buildings, but also providing refreshments after the meeting. The work of monitoring planning applications, alerting those who might be affected by them and writing letters opposing those applications which we think will adversely affect the neighbourhood has continued throughout the year. Most of this time-consuming work has been done by the Secretary. It is a vital part of our activities. Our shopping centre continues to change and it seems that every shop that becomes vacant is the subject of a planning application for a fast food outlet. We lost the only remaining butcher in Broomhill with the closure of Bowyers last summer - the shop had been a butcher ever since it was built in 1840! Permission has just been granted for it to become a cafe, hot-food takeaway and a deli. We are fortunate in still having some "real" shops and it is very important that we support these, including the non-food shops, on a regular basis if we are to retain a viable shopping centre. BANG sponsored three flower tubs near the benches outside the Abbey Glen shop last summer, but this was the only initiative achieved in our proposed "greening" of the shopping centre. We would like to record our thanks to the Fox & Duck for keeping our watering can and supplying us with water. The additional litter bins provided by the Council and Sheffield University have contributed to keeping the area tidy, but as with planning applications, this is a matter that requires constant vigilance. BANG was involved in last year's Broomhill Festival which has had some success in re-establishing itself as a community event. There is scope for further expansion but this requires not only ideas but people willing to carry them out, and volunteers are always in short supply. This has been a year of consolidation in terms of our relationship and communication with the universities, Police, our Councillors and various Council Departments. The Broomhill Forum provides an arena for discussion for all interested parties. Sheffield University's Hot Line seems to have met a need for a channel for complaints, especially about rowdy late night behaviour. The issue which is uppermost with the Committee at present is the problem of traffic and parking. We have very few residents' parking schemes and very little acknowledgment, by the Council departments concerned, that there is a problem. We are hoping to set up a working party to collect information and ideas, propose solutions and set about getting them implemented. Your input to this project over the coming year will be very welcome. There is still much to do and we need new members to join the Committee and ideas to make Broomhill a lively as well as a pleasant place to live and work. It is essential that a new secretary is found for 1998 since otherwise BANG will cease to exist. This would be ironic at a time when we have more members than ever.

Officers and committee members were elected for the coming year.

May 1995

Annual General Meeting, 28 April 1995

The AGM, held in Westbourne School was attended by 26 people. Under "Matters Arising from the Minutes of the 21st AGM" a lively discussion took place on whether BANG should sponsor another litter bin in Broomhill, since it had a healthy balance of some £700. Since the cost of a litter bin is now £350 it was felt that it would be unwise to spend half our balance on one litter bin. The money may well be needed on taking legal advice and for campaigns connected with planning applications. The Chairman in her review of the past year, started by saying that in hindsight, her remark last year that "fortunately there are no major battles to be fought at present so that BANG can concentrate on its Neighbourhood activities," was asking for trouble. The most significant event of the past year has been the application by Sheffield University to build additional accommodation for students in the grounds of Crewe Hall, Halifax Hall and Tapton Hall of Residence. After much press publicity and a prolonged campaign by BANG, the University held an Open Forum in Earnshaw Hall on 31st August. This well attended meeting was useful in showing the University that residents cared deeply about Broomhill and were concerned that the increasing imbalance in student numbers (over 6,000 students to some 2,800 "permanent" residents) was eroding the quality of life, both for the residents and for the students. It was stressed that we are not against students and that we in fact welcome them, although the minority that cause damage and create noise and litter are an increasing problem. When the planning applications were heard, the University was granted the application for a 114 study/bedroom annexe to Halifax Hall but refused permission for the Crewe Hall annex of 21 flats and the Tapton Hall extension for 132 study bedrooms.

An application to build an 85 bed nursing home in Melbourne Avenue was withdrawn, modified and again withdrawn. The Broomhill public houses are expanding with applications from the Nottingham House, from the York - to take over the premises currently occupied by the greengrocer Knight, and from the Grindstone. Applications for T/A Depot Stores (261-263 Fulwood Road) and the Sandwich Shop at 13 Crookes Road to become hot food takeaways have been refused, but that for Porter Prints (205 Whitham Road) has not yet been decided. The application for the disused public toilets opposite the Hallamshire Hospital to become a takeaway and tea garden was granted. The situation concerning the building of the new Methodist Church and the associated housing is more hopeful since means have been found of raising the money for starting the building of the church before selling the Carver Street premises. Raising the required finance for the housing is at present being considered by the Housing Association. Hopefully, building will start early next year.

Officers and committee members were elected for the coming year.

May 1994

Annual General Meeting, 29 April 1994

The AGM was attended by about fifty members, nearly a quarter of our current members. Since this was a special occasion the Chairman started by giving a brief resume of the reasons why BANG had been formed and of the early battles that had been fought and won. These included the proposed University takeover of the Moor Oaks Road, Marlborough Rd, Elmore Road And Highnam Crescent Road area, the building of a multi-storey car park for the Hallamshire Hospital on the sites of 8 to 14 Beech Hill Road, better pedestrian crossings and traffic regulation in the Broomhill shopping precinct, the creation of Victoria Park and many others. Fortunately there are no major battles to be fought at present so that BANG can concentrate on its Neighbourhood activities. The most significant event of the past year has been the saving of Broomhill School. If it had closed then Broomhill would have had very little future as a family suburb. On a more frivolous note the BANG sponsored litter bin has finally been installed, as was reported in the last BANGER. A resolution was in fact passed that we should sponsor a second bin as the finances are in a healthy state. A resolution was also passed that BANG will oppose the possible closure of the Accident and Emergency Department at the Hallamshire Hospital.

Officers and committee members were elected for the coming year.

May 1993

Annual General Meeting, 28 April 1993

The AGM was attended by some 30 members. The Chairman's report stressed the fact that because of the recession, there were fewer planning applications for the committee to consider. The BANG-sponsored litter bin should at long last appear on Whitham Road, near the car park, in the next week or so. Two of the present committee members expressed their wish not to be re-nominated and were thanked for their long years of service.

The discussion centred on the need for improved pedestrian crossing facilities at Crookes Junction and at the Newbould Lane - Glossop Road crossroads, and on the flouting of no entry signs by cars. The points raised were dealt with by our community constable, who also dealt with crime in the area and the inevitable nuisance caused by a small minority of the large number of students living in Broomhill or in the immediate neighbourhood. BANG would like to thank Westbourne Preparatory School for not only making the school hall available for the AGM, but for also providing tea and biscuits after the meeting.

Officers and committee members were elected for the coming year.

May 1992

Annual General Meeting, 5 May 1992

The AGM was attended by some 30 members. The discussion following the formal part of the meeting and a break for refreshments was inevitably centred on the perennial topics of litter and parking. Our community constable gave a brief account of his duties and of how he is trying to reconcile the difficulties arising from the large concentration of students in the area.

Officers and committee members were elected for the coming year.

May 1991

Annual General Meeting, 1 May 1991

Some 40 people attended the meeting and a lively discussion of various topics, mostly to do with litter, was sandwiched between the official business and the talk on the history of Broomhill.

Officers and committee members were elected for the coming year.

May 1990

Annual General Meeting, 8 May 1990

More than twenty people attended the meeting and a lively discussion of various topics affecting Broomhill, from traffic to the old water course, followed the official business of the meeting.

Officers and committee members were elected for the coming year.

The Banger

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The Banger

AGM records

Conservation Area

Development issues

Planning Applications

New housing

Pubs & Restaurants

Schools

Policing and Crime

Traffic problems

Litter

Events

FORUM

Local History

SEARCH

Return to top of Page

 

 

The Banger

AGM records

Conservation Area

Development issues

Planning Applications

New housing

Pubs & Restaurants

Schools

Policing and Crime

Traffic problems

Litter

Events

FORUM

Local History

SEARCH

Return to top of Page

 

 

The Banger

AGM records

Conservation Area

Development issues

Planning Applications

New housing

Pubs & Restaurants

Schools

Policing and Crime

Traffic problems

Litter

Events

FORUM

Local History

SEARCH

Return to top of Page

 

 

The Banger

AGM records

Conservation Area

Development issues

Planning Applications

New housing

Pubs & Restaurants

Schools

Policing and Crime

Traffic problems

Litter

Events

FORUM

Local History

SEARCH

Return to top of Page

 

 

The Banger

AGM records

Conservation Area

Development issues

Planning Applications

New housing

Pubs & Restaurants

Schools

Policing and Crime

Traffic problems

Litter

Events

FORUM

Local History

SEARCH

Return to top of Page

 

 

The Banger

AGM records

Conservation Area

Development issues

Planning Applications

New housing

Pubs & Restaurants

Schools

Policing and Crime

Traffic problems

Litter

Events

FORUM

Local History

SEARCH

Return to top of Page

 

 

The Banger

AGM records

Conservation Area

Development issues

Planning Applications

New housing

Pubs & Restaurants

Schools

Policing and Crime

Traffic problems

Litter

Events

FORUM

Local History

SEARCH

Return to top of Page

 

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