Bike parking finally comes to city centre

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.

They say the best things come to those who wait. Well, if that’s true, Sheffield city centre’s new secure bike parking hub should be very good indeed. The idea was first mooted back in 2016, back when The Tribune was just a glint in Dan’s eye. The project has since been delayed by its original location being demolished for the Heart of the City development, and major changes to fire regulations that came in the wake of the Grenfell fire. But finally, we’re on the home stretch. Will the hub be the thing that gets Sheffield cycling? That’s our big story today.

As well as that, the Guardian marks the 40th anniversary of Sheffield being blown up on television, and the Nether Edge Festival continues. 

Catch up

As rumours swirl that the eye-catching former pop museum (more recently Sheffield Hallam’s SU) might not be long for this world, Dan devoted our weekend read to understanding why this ambitious project went so tragically wrong. Is ossifying something as nebulous as pop music into a museum exhibit inherently a fool’s errand? Or is there an alternate reality where the museum joined the local pantheon of cultural heavyweights? You can read that piece here.

Last week, our thousands of paying subscribers received two extra editions of The Tribune. For the first, Holly Williams took a dip in the great outdoors with one of Britain’s best swimmers, Amber Keegan, only a few months after she successfully traversed the English Channel. “I enjoyed this article because it was the kind of thing I might not ordinarily have read,” wrote member Robin Hughes. “I'm glad I did.” In the second, Victoria shared one of the best feel-good stories of the year so far: the unexpected return of Mr Sheffield. A private investigator had previously told The Tribune there was no chance this stolen pony would return home and, after 13 months, even his devastated owner was beginning to lose hope. You can read an extract of that piece below.

The anonymous call came in the early hours of Thursday morning. Whoever was on the phone knew where Mr Sheffield was, even sending a video to prove it, and they wanted that £20,000 reward — and then some. Lisa won’t reveal how much the family paid but tells me it’s “by far” the highest ransom she’s seen exchanged for an animal in her eight years running the charity. In fact, despite reuniting nearly 3,000 animals and owners, she’s only ever seen around 20 instances where money exchanged hands. “It took them the best part of 24 hours to raise it. They sold vehicles; the whole family did. They would have sold the clothes off their backs.”

Editor’s note: We’re now halfway through September and pleased to report that 31 people have become paying subscribers of The Tribune since this month began, including a dozen who signed up to read Dan’s fascinating piece on the slow death of Ecclesall Road. Frankly, we’re ecstatic every time even one person signs up — Dan has suggested getting a bell in our new office that we can ring for each new member — but we’d love to entice even more of you in the last two weeks before October. If you’ve been dithering, you can join using the button below. Alternatively, let us know what kind of stories you’d like to see by emailing editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk.

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The big picture: Board meeting 🛹

The eighth Castlegate Festival took place at the weekend, celebrating the heritage, arts and music of Sheffield's historic birthplace. As part of the festival, Skateboard GB held the annual Marioland skate event on Exchange Street. Many thanks to filmmaker and photographer Tim Walker for letting us use this picture of his 12-year-old son Wilf pulling off an impressive trick.

The big story: Bike parking finally comes to city centre 🚲

Top line: The idea was first talked about eight years ago, but Sheffield city centre is finally going to get a bike storage hub. The project has been beset by delays but The Tribune has learned that it is going to be opening in October. It’s a huge step forward for active travel in the city.

Secure bike parking has been needed in Sheffield city centre for years. The new bike hub will be situated within walking distance of the new Heart of the City developments, in a former retail unit on the ground floor of the Telephone House/NCP car park building on Charter Square.

• The hub has cost around £330,000 and will have a capacity for around 200 bikes, including e-bikes and cargo bikes, along with changing facilities.
• It will be operated by Russell’s Bike Shed, who until recently operated the bike hub at Sheffield railway station and still runs the one at Meadowhall.

Wheels on fire? Many of the delays to the project have been unavoidable, but some in the Sheffield cycling community have blamed poor leadership from recent council administrations. However, the most recent delays have been caused by the rapid rise in popularity of e-bikes. These bikes carry batteries which can catch fire if they are damaged or improperly used. As a result, the bike hub must be closely managed and has had extra fire safety measures fitted.

Russell Cutts of Russell’s Bike Shed told The Tribune that overcoming all the hurdles over the last few years had been “really hard work” but that the hub was now “very close” to being finished. 

• Parking your bike at the hub will cost a flat rate of £5 a month and the facility will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• While the bike hub only has space for 200 bikes at the moment, there is scope to expand it to 300 if demand is there.
• Cutts hopes that further facilities at Dore and Totley and Darnall stations, or places like the hospitals, will be created in time.

Councillor Ben Miskell, chair of the transport, regeneration and climate policy committee, confirmed they were in the “final stages” of completing work on the bike hub and said they were “really looking forward” to seeing it being used by cyclists. He added that he hoped the hub would become a “key destination for those who will be adopting an active travel lifestyle by leaving their cars at home and cycling into the city centre.” And Dexter Johnstone of Cycle Sheffield said he was glad the issues that have delayed the bike hub have been resolved and that it was “great news” it would finally be opening. “It is really important that Sheffield has a secure cycle store for people to use in the city centre as concerns about theft and vandalism of bikes put a lot of people off cycling into town,” he said.

Bottom line: Many in the Sheffield cycling community have been pulling their hair out waiting for the bike hub, but it’s still very welcome news nevertheless. However, while the bike hub is a necessary part of a functioning cycle network, it is not sufficient. Sheffield City Council’s “Connecting Sheffield” masterplan is still only partially complete and there is still a long way to go to join up all the disparate elements of our active travel infrastructure into a coherent whole.

The weekly Whitworth ✏️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on this week’s big story.

This week’s weather 🌦️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say high pressure ensures a largely dry and fine week ahead with sunny spells.

Monday ☀ Long spells of sunshine and temperatures responding well after a cool start. Light north-easterly winds and highs of 18°C.

Tuesday ☀ Another day of fine, dry and sunny weather with light winds from the east-northeast. Highs of 19°C with low cloud extending inland overnight.

Wednesday ⛅ Low cloud thins and breaks up during the morning to allow spells of pleasantly warm sunshine to develop. Northeasterly breezes and highs of 19°C.

Thursday ⛅  Again, low cloud may bring a grey start but sunny spells should gradually win out with a dry day expected. Highs of 19°C with moderate NE breezes.

Friday 🌦 While many places will stay dry, there's the risk of scattered afternoon showers developing, with bright spells otherwise. Highs of 18°C.

Weekend: Not a lot of change into the weekend with winds still from a northeasterly direction and a good deal of dry weather. Scattered showers possible.

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

Coming up

This week, our paying members will receive two extra editions of The Tribune. In the first, Dan is experimenting with a new kind of story — focusing on the best thing about Sheffield: its residents — which could become a regular feature if it does well. In the second, Victoria returns to the kind of story she’s most known for: local institution perhaps not what it appears. If you’re itching to know what on earth we’re talking about, you’ll have to become a paying Tribune subscriber. It costs just £1.71 a week or a mere 24p a day (about one sip’s worth of a decent coffee) if you pay for 12 months up front.

Our media picks 🔗

‘The most horrific, sobering thing I’ve ever seen’ ☢️ It’s now 40 years since Sheffield was blown up on television in the terrifying nuclear apocalypse film Threads. In this piece in the Guardian, Jude Rogers, who has made a new radio documentary about the film, talks to its cast and crew to find out why it still haunts so many today. Reweaving Threads, 40 Years On will be on BBC Radio 4 on 21 September at 8pm, and Threads itself will be shown on the BBC in October.

Final stage of flats regeneration to be approved 🏗️ At long last, plans for the fifth and final stage of the Park Hill regeneration will be debated (and almost certainly greenlit) by the council tomorrow. If approved, Urban Splash will refurbish the derelict block on Talbot Street into 105 apartments — although, as we reported earlier this year, the plans do not include any of the social housing once promised on the estate. The Friends of Park Hill group has asked for one of the flats to be furnished as it would have been in the 1950s and opened up to the public. 

A ‘baleful’ childhood and abusive mother: the sad story of the Rotherham rioter 🔥 It can be galling to see the media rush to humanise the white perpetrators of racist crimes, particularly when that charity is less often extended to the groups they target, so there are very valid criticisms that can be made of the framing of this Sunday Times piece. That said, we reckon there is some value in trying to understand how those who participated in the Rotherham riot ended up there, while never forgetting the impact on their victims. Perhaps the most sobering line of this piece, however, is its last, in which the city’s most senior judge tells convicted rioter and arsonist Thomas Birley: “It is to be hoped this racist malignancy within you can be eradicated whilst in custody.” We wouldn’t put money on it, to be honest. 

Home of the week 🏡

This stunning Nether Edge townhouse has six bedrooms and three bathrooms spread over four floors, as well as solar panels which bring in around £1,500 a year. It is on the market for £525,000.

Tribune tips: If you want to tell us about a story or give us some information, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are always happy to speak to people off the record, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.

Things to do 📆

Heritage 🔪 On Wednesday at Portland Works, historian Peter Machan will, talk about his new book The Little Mesters: The Rise, Decline and Survival of Sheffield's Traditional Trades, which tells the story of the self-employed traders who were still working in the cutlery and silverware trades into the 1970s and 1980s. The talk will cover the people, premises, products and processes that made their trade unique. Tickets are £6.13 and the two-hour talk begins at 7pm.

Music 🎼 Janacek’s Mládí was written towards the end of his life as a nostalgic celebration of memories of his youth, drawing on his early writing. Receiving its premiere in Autumn 1924, on Wednesday at the Crucible Playhouse, Music in the Round celebrate the 100th anniversary of this iconic piece for wind, featuring the bass clarinet alongside a regular wind quintet line-up of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. Tickets are priced £5-£22 and doors open at 6.30pm.

Festival 🎭 The 10th annual Nether Edge Festival continues this week, featuring dozens of events including walks and trails, live music, theatre dancing, poetry, workshops, talks, food, quizzes, and more. Starting on Wednesday at the Lantern Theatre is Hamlet, while there are gigs at Cafe No. 9 most evenings and a talk about the women of Sheffield General Cemetery at the Samuel Worth Chapel on Thursday. The festival will continue until Sunday 22 September.

Thanks to the FT for sponsoring today’s edition — get your discounted subscription now.