The hanging gardens of Moorfoot? Let’s make it happen

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

One of the reasons The Tribune’s two full-time writers make such a great team is because we are incredibly different journalists. A kind of good-cop, bad-cop, if you will. Two stories we published 24 hours apart last week illustrate this perfectly. On Saturday, our free list received Dan’s moving portrait of the city’s homeless population, ahead of a potential new council order that could put them under even greater pressure. On Friday, paying members got to read Victoria’s account of a bitter, years-long feud at a gated community in Hillsborough — a saga so compelling that 14 people subscribed to read it to the end.

Just like the feud has split that community, our coverage divided our readership! Some readers deemed it too salacious — with Gareth Dent describing it as “worthy of the tabloids” — while others found it hilarious, with Keith Green arguing that he wouldn’t want us to publish “heavy going issues reporting all the time”. One of the new subscribers who joined because of this piece told us the story was “positively Ballardian” and that they “can’t live [their] life without reading it to the end”.

Even if you prefer our more serious journalism, there have still been six compelling reasons to become a paying member of The Tribune so far this month, and there’ll be many more to come. Our members-only stories have touched on everything from the potential revival of the steel industry to a moorland burning summit. It’s just £7 a month for an extra two editions every week — sign up today using the link below.

In today’s briefing, we look at three masterplans for parts of the city centre that have been developed by Sheffield Council. The plans will create 3,000 new homes in the city centre, a large number of which will be affordable family homes. It’s an ambitious plan— but are we really ready for the hanging gardens of Moorfoot?

Catch up and coming up

Much ink has been spilled about Sheffield Council’s plan to smarten up the city centre by giving police and council staff more power to crack down on “antisocial behaviour,” like begging and drinking in public. Campaigners who oppose the move have been quick to point out that this is essentially a crackdown on homeless people. As a determined advocate for Sheffield’s most vulnerable, Dan Hayes hit the streets to hear what they thought in their own words. You can read his piece here.

Last week we sent out two great newsletters to more than 2,000 paying members. In the first, Dan spent the afternoon with his most passionate debate opponent, Tribune member Ruth Grimsley, to discuss an issue dear to both their hearts: transport infrastructure. (Our resident data wizard Daniel Timms crunched the numbers and Ruth has written the most comments of any of our readers, and is second only to Dan himself.) For the second, Victoria tried to get to the bottom of a years-long feud at a Hillsborough gated community, which began over decorative planters and has since featured an allegation of pomeranian-based intimidation of an autistic child. An extract from that second piece is below.

Pawson tells me they have only spoken in person twice in the past three years — which is not to say they haven’t been on each other’s minds. “He is obsessed with me, I must be living in his head rent-free,” Pawson says of Strafford. Though he insists the other man is “not on his radar,” it’s clear that, if Strafford is truly fixated, it is very much mutual. At one point, he suggests that a report about him to South Yorkshire Police made by another tenant, who also did not press charges, “were set up” by the other man. “If he rattles my cage with allegations and slander, I’m going to bite,” he tells me. 

This week, paying members will receive two more, including an interview with someone who has a credible claim to being the Arctic Monkey’s most dedicated fan (before you get up in arms, he moved 9,000 miles for them) and a piece on the ongoing battle between sex workers and the campaigners who despise their industry.

The big picture: We model Sheffield’s most exclusive designer bag 👜

Do you love The Tribune and carrying things with ease? If so, I have a potentially life-changing opportunity for you. Convince just ten of your friends, acquaintances or enemies to join our free email list — using a special referral code unique to you — and we’ll send you a Tribune-branded tote bag, modelled above by one of our colleagues. Other than Mill Media Co employees, there are currently only three people in the city who have this bag and, if I know anything about fashion (I do not), that makes it a highly desirable piece. Find your unique code here and share it widely!

This week’s weather 🌥

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say this will be a fairly standard, changeable week to finish an underwhelming meteorological winter!

Monday 🌦 A chance of an early frost, then bright, but with a chilly breeze from the north during the day. Scattered showers later, with highs of 8°C.

Tuesday ☂️ A frosty start, with cloud increasing as a weakening occlusion heads south. Only light rain expected, with a clearance later on. Highs of 8°C.

Wednesday 🌥 Milder with bright spells and variable cloud, likely increasing later with a low risk of rain in the evening and overnight. Highs of 10°C with southwesterly breezes.

Thursday 🌧 A cold front swans in from the west during the day with cloud thickening and outbreaks of rain passing over. Clearer overnight, with day highs of 10°C.

Friday 🌦 With the front clear, we'll have a chillier feel to begin March, with sunshine and scattered showers and perhaps hail or sleet over high ground. Highs back down at 7°C.

Outlook 🌦 A cool and changeable weekend is favoured with low pressure filling and bringing further showers amongst the brighter periods.

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

The big story: The hanging gardens of Moorfoot? Let’s make it happen

Top line: Three “masterplans” for new residential neighbourhoods in Sheffield city centre have been unveiled. The new neighbourhoods — Sheffield Station Campus, Moorfoot and Furnace Hill and Neepsend — will see thousands of homes built over the next decade and a half. Can they help solve Sheffield’s housing crisis and bring life back to the city centre?

The plans have been drawn up jointly by Sheffield City Council and Homes England, a government body which helps local authorities fund construction projects to deliver more affordable homes. At a recent Homes England conference at the City Hall, the body’s chief executive singled out Sheffield, praising it as the best council they were currently partnering with.

• The plans could provide almost 3,000 new homes, a significant chunk of the 20,000 Sheffield needs to build in the city centre over the next 15 years.
• Council leader Tom Hunt said the three plans are part of their vision to build all types of housing in the city centre, including affordable family homes.

Of the three, the one that looks most exciting to us is the Moorfoot masterplan. The building was first opened in 1981 as the home of the Manpower Services Commission, but has been used by Sheffield City Council for the last 13 years. In the artist’s impressions, the building is the centrepiece of a new neighbourhood of tall buildings that will support more than 700 new homes. Under the plans Moorfoot’s central square would be transformed into a tree-lined public space while the building’s terraces would also feature elevated gardens reminiscent of other modernist buildings such as the iconic Alexandra Road Estate in the London Borough of Camden.

The Sheffield Station Campus masterplan will provide 800 new homes and 20,000 sqm of commercial floorspace. Last year, the government-owned property developer LCR acquired the site currently occupied by DFS for £5.4 million with help from Sheffield City Council, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Homes England and Network Rail. Part of the new vision for the station includes an office building on the vacant plot next to Sheaf Square. From here, a footbridge over the tracks will be built so pedestrians no longer have to use the train station.

However, as we’ve highlighted on The Tribune before, the station area has some of the most polluted air in the city, with one monitor recording Nitrogen Oxide levels over 2.5 times the legal limit in 2019. Any plan for new homes will need a robust plan to tackle the issue, to stop it damaging the health of new residents.

The Furnace Hill and Neepsend masterplan covers the area around Kelham Island — building on the success of a neighbourhood which is reputed to be among the UK’s coolest. The council says 1,326 new homes will be built here using £67 million worth of public funding.

Bottom line: These three masterplans might still be very much on the drawing board at the moment but they prove how serious the council is in its desire to make the city centre a place that thousands of people live, as well as use for work and for leisure. Residential developments in the city centre have struggled for years due to the problem of low land values, meaning most of the housing that gets built tends to be student accommodation and small flats. Homes England’s investment could change that calculation, and open up city centre living for families.

Our media picks 🔗

These goals could create a fairer, greener, more democratic Sheffield — and they belong to all of us 🥅 Discussion continues to rumble on about the Sheffield City Goals, following our piece at the start of this month. While Daniel Timms found the goals vague and frankly unexciting, NowThen made their case for why this is a “groundbreaking” project and a “north star” that will lead the city into the future. Opus, the worker-owned company that publishes Now Then, has been part of the team bringing the goals together and say that rather than setting objectives or policy targets, the goals are intended to “set a direction of travel and a collective vision for what a better Sheffield could and should look like ten years from now.”

‘Fraudster’ with fleet of Rolls-Royces tried to buy Sheffield United ⚽ A businessman accused of fleecing investors via a ‘fictional’ mobile phone company, claiming to help Nigerian farmers, almost bought Sheffield United, reports The Times. Dozy Mmobuosi, 45, reportedly vanished from his London home last month after being charged with a billion-dollar fraud by the US authorities. While Mmobuosi denies all wrongdoing, investigators allege he siphoned off at least £6.5 million from the suspect company, Tingo Mobile, while trying to buy the team last year.

Operators announce closure of iconic venue with immediate effect 🏚️ The team running the venue based in the Abbeydale Picture House are closing its doors “with a heavy heart,” unable to afford the huge repairs needed on the building, The Star reports. We reported on the imminent threat to this gorgeous building late last year and have been working on a follow-up story ever since. What you see here isn’t quite the full story, but watch this space!

Home of the week 🏡

I would spend money I objectively do not have to live in a building with that combination of stained glass and grand staircase, so one of you had better take this off the market and out of my mind. This three-bedroom flat is in Broomhill, in a building that dates back to 1898. The guide price is £450,000 and you can find more details here.

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 in the first poll instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.

Things to do 📆

Disco 🪩 On Tuesday, a club night inspired by the “game-changing sounds” of rapper Tyler The Creator returns to The Leadmill, following its launch last year. In addition to his music, DJ Kaj will be playing “a range of the biggest hip-hop and rap anthems, Odd Future classics, collaborations & inspirations”. Sound like your cup of tea? Then grab a £6 ticket here.

Comedy 😂 Also on Tuesday evening, Bill Bailey is coming to the Utilita Arena, with a show the Guardian described as “one zinging musical-comedy set piece after another”. Thoughtifier promises to be “a magical, musical mystery tour of the human mind,” touching on matters like whales, biophilia and unrequited love. Get your ticket here.

Drama 🎭 On Wednesday evening, head down to the Crucible Playhouse to catch a play hailed as one of the “best theatre tickets to book in 2024” by the Guardian. Set in five prisons across five decades, Lines interweaves the lives of seemingly disconnected individuals in Uganda, Palestine and the UK. Grab your ticket here.