A blue corridor in the heart of the city

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

Sheffield is famously a city of five rivers, but its relationship with them hasn’t always been easy. During the industrial revolution, they were used as the city’s waste disposal system and became foul, disease-spreading places as a result. The problem got so bad that, when the rivers were covered up in the late nineteenth century, no one minded very much. But times have changed. As our rivers have become cleaner, there has been a move to see them once more as the natural assets they are. Now, a group of Sheffield river campaigners are hoping to persuade the city’s decision makers to finish the job. That’s our big story today.

As well as that, we have a former public toilet for sale in Millhouses, two Britpop legends come to Sheffield City Hall, and a flat above a shop in Fulwood.

In case you missed it

This weekend, The Tribune celebrated Mother’s Day by covering Mums United, a charity that aims to stop children being sucked into gangs. Founder Sahira Irshad was inspired by problems she noticed in her own South Asian community in Sharrow and Nether Edge, although the charity now seeks to support all of Sheffield’s young people from its base on the Wicker. Unusually for an anti-knife crime charity, a “pivotal” part of the work Mums United does involves promoting “positive parenting practices”. You can read that piece here.

Earlier in the week, Victoria suggested in her writer’s edition that Sheffield needs its own version of Leeds’ Otley Run, the famous 17-pint pub crawl favoured by students in fancy dress. Reader Rob Primhak pointed out that the city’s students once had a somewhat similar tradition — the “Pyjama Jump” — although it was reportedly squashed out of existence by the universities due to a “huge spike in unwanted pregnancies and STIs in the following month or two”. 

For our second members edition, Dan uncovered an allegedly toxic culture at the Nuclear AMRC (or Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) that may have helped bring about its downfall. The former CEO who was often the subject of complaints, Andrew Storer, has since gone on to found a private company specialising in nuclear innovation, which one reader pointed out makes multiple references to “building on” work done by his former employer. “I have no idea whether they've actually taken any IP or CRM data,” they wrote, “but it does have a strong feeling of Storer profiting personally from the many millions of pounds invested in the centre.” Certainly, his new company seems to have poached the Nuclear AMRC’s graphic designer…

The family festival coming to Derbyshire that celebrates everything outdoors

From today's sponsor: Bearded Theory – a four day camping festival – is returning at the end of May with incredible music and lots of outdoor family activities. Headliners this year include Iggy Pop, Manic Street Preachers and Paul Heaton. Plus, with a sauna box, real ale pubs on site, cinema nights, silent disco, and comedy, there's masses to keep you entertained. There's also an award-winning children’s village and a Festival School on the Friday (allowing parents to get approved absence from school via pre-enrolment). It's taking place at Catton Park, just 90 minutes' drive from Sheffield.

See the full line-up and book your tickets here.

The big picture: Blooming marvellous 🌸

Some of the blossom around Sheffield is stunning at the moment. Nowhere more so than in the Peace Gardens, where Sheffield photographer Emma Bothamley got this brilliant shot.

The big story: A blue corridor in the heart of the city

Top line: Later this month, river campaigners will unveil a bold vision for a new city centre neighbourhood connected by its river. The Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust hopes to persuade Sheffield Council to turn the Lower Porter Brook into an attraction, similar to the upper part of the river in Endcliffe Park. 

Hidden rivers: Sheffield is famously a city of five rivers, but its relationship with them hasn’t always been easy. The upper part of the Porter Brook was once dominated by industry, but over the past 100 years has become the River Parkway envisaged by the city’s first development plan of 1924. In contrast, the lower part of the river has remained until very recently an almost invisible stream, flowing in narrow channels behind houses and factories and in many places running underground. It's unrecognisable as the same river that flows through Endcliffe Park.

Sheffield riverside: Along the Lower Porter – from Sheffield Station to the inner ring road at St Marys Gate – an almost continuous succession of sites and buildings are available for redevelopment. Several sites (such as Persistence Works, the Matilda Street Pocket Park, Speedwell Works and the new Platform_ apartments) have already provided some public access and improvements to the river channel, but these are yet to be joined up and waymarked.

• At both ends of this river corridor, SCC and Homes England have identified large “Priority Areas” for the development of new residential neighbourhoods — namely City Gateway (around the Station) and Moorfoot. Both offer substantial opportunities for river restoration and public access and have strong place-making potential.​
• Between these two locations, most of the remaining missing links lie within sites also available for redevelopment, including one in SCC ownership (AVEC on Matilda Street) and others at Sylvester Gardens and Decathlon. If they were all joined up, the trust says it could create a new city centre neighbourhood connected by its river.

The benefits: The mental health benefits of living near water are well documented, but the trust says their plans would tick a lot of boxes for the council as well. Firstly, it would reduce flood risk by making more “room for the river” during extreme weather events, and would also help reverse the loss of biodiversity by allowing animals to make their way up the river unimpeded. For the increasing number of people who are living in the city centre (predicted to be 35,000 by 2030), it would give them much needed access to nature and provide a new ​active travel route away from hazardous roads and polluted air. And finally, having a new inner city river would also burnish Sheffield’s reputation as the Outdoor City.

Our take: Creating a new city centre river parkway is certainly a bold idea, but the trust believe it can be done. Over the last 30 years, the Five Weirs Walk between Meadowhall and the city centre was transformed from an overgrown and impenetrable mess into a walking and cycling route which is used by thousands of people every week. That vision is well on the way to being completed on the River Don, where it is hoped that one day soon people will be able to walk from the city centre to the Peak District just by following the river. Why not the Porter Brook too?

In April, the Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust will be hosting a series of walks for local policy makers to explain their vision. If you want to take part contact info@sheafportertrust.org.

The weekly Whitworth ✏️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on our story about workplace toxicity and bullying at the University of Sheffield’s Nuclear AMRC.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

🚽 A former public toilet in Millhouses is being sold as a £70,000 “townhouse” on Facebook marketplace, with the advert noting it could also be used as an office or shop. While we can’t help but view this as a depressing sign of the times, the BBC points out that quite a few former toilet blocks up and down the country have been given a new lease of life, though usually with a far more thorough renovation, including Public in the city centre and Latte Caffe on Abbeydale Road. Latte Caffe owner Amjid Hafiz says he thinks his building’s unusual history is a “positive thing,” since it demonstrates even small spaces can be put to positive use. 

🕊️ A statue of Picasso will be unveiled in Weston Park next month, marking the 75th anniversary of the artist visiting Sheffield for the World Peace Congress in 1950. The sculpture, created by artist Anthony Padgett, shows Picasso as a young boy holding a dove and is intended as both a “tribute to peace” and a symbol of gratitude for the Basque children who were given sanctuary in South Yorkshire during the Spanish Civil War. The statue is being unveiled at noon on 12th April and will coincide with a temporary exhibition at the Weston Park Museum. 

🌍 A new independent radio and TV station, based in Sheffield and catering to the UK’s African diaspora, is launching tomorrow. African Voices Platform began in 2018 as a show on Sheffield Live TV, with its first episode discussing Donald Trump’s offensive comments about Haiti, and has since broadcast every Wednesday evening to more than 30,000 households across South Yorkshire. Managing director Tchiyiwe Chihana told Now Then: “We started to realise there was actually a real gap in information around Sheffield, not just for communities of African heritage, but for service providers as well, to engage better with the community and vice versa."

This week’s weather 🌥️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say this week will be dry and often sunny with cool breezes developing from the east. Warm days and chilly nights.

Monday ⛅ Dry and warm with sunny spells and light southeasterly winds. Highs of 17°C with a chance of a light frost overnight.

Tuesday 🌤 Dry and largely sunny with easterly winds becoming more keen. Highs of 16°C with another chilly night following.

Wednesday 🌤 Similarly dry and sunny with keen easterly winds. Highs around 16°C with the chance of a light frost in sheltered spots overnight.

Thursday 🌤 Long spells of warm sunshine and moderate easterly winds continuing. Highs of 18°C with a cool night.

Friday 🌤 More sunshine with a continued easterly wind taking the edge off a bit. Highs around 16°C. Chilly overnight.

Weekend: Still fine and settled into the weekend but feeling a bit cooler too. The night's stay chilly with a frost risk.

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

Home of the week

“Rent a flat above a shop, cut your hair and get a job.” So sang Pulp on Common People. However, rather than renting, maybe you could buy? We’ve actually had this flat in home of the week before, but it’s up for sale again and has lost none of its charm. Yes, it is above a shop, but that shop is in desirable Fulwood, and the two-bedroom apartment has a large roof terrace and stunning views over the Mayfield Valley. It is on the market for £153,000.

Things to do 

Music 🎸 Cool Britannia comes to Sheffield City Hall on Tuesday as Ocean Colour Scene and Kula Shaker turn back the clock to the 90s Britpop era. While not as popular as Oasis or Blur, OCS produced several of the era’s defining tunes, including The Day We Caught the Train and The Riverboat Song. The psychedelia-influenced Kula Shaker had a handful of hits, including Tattva and Hey Dude. Doors open at 6.30pm and tickets are priced from £55.

Art 🖼️ Mystery Languages Part II at Bloc Projects is a collaboration in artwork, performance and writing between Sheffield artists Norman Anderson, Alison Churchill and Ranaa Farooq, and Cambridgeshire-based writer Rafael Cruz. Longer term readers may remember that we spoke to Alison Churchill for our piece about Sheffield rivers back in 2023. The exhibition starts on Wednesday and ends on Saturday, and the gallery is open daily from 11am-4pm.

Games 🎮 On from now until 13 April at the National Videogames Museum is Multiplayer Madness. Challenge friends and family to battles, races and head to heads while reliving the magic of sitting together in the museum’s new social spaces. Classic games include Tekken, Mario Kart, LEGO Rock Band and many more. Tickets are priced £14 (£11 for under 18s and under-5s are free). Multiplayer Madness will be back on at the NVM from 17-21 April.