Dore to Door internet edition

News & Comment - Spring 2004

Postal voting - Did you know - Mobile phone law - Letters - 2003 Commendations

Postal voting

This years local council elections have been put back to 10 June to coincide with the European Parliamentary elections. With ward boundary changes introduced to even out the number of voters between wards, all 84 Council seats are up for grabs at one go, making a political change of council leadership a real possibility.

Under the boundary changes the city moves from 29 to 28 wards and we lose three of the 87 council seats we presently have. Most wards are affected in some way, and our existing Dore Ward loses parts of Lower Bradway and gains parts of Whirlow. It also changes its name to Dore and Totley, conveniently forgetting Bradway and Whirlow sensitivities.

This year the Government has decided not to pursue electronic voting across Yorkshire and the Humber region, preferring to concentrate on postal voting instead.

There is no doubt that postal voting increases election turnout, as people can vote at home at their own convenience and simply pop the envelope in a post box when they go out. Without the need for polling stations the changes to Sheffield's ward boundaries will also be easier to introduce.

Did you know

Council tax is a fact of life, we have to pay for the services we receive via our council somehow. But do we get value for money? I wonder how much the readers of this august journal contribute? I have no idea how many houses fall into which price bands, but lets say for the sake of argument the average is £1,500 per year times 3,200 households. That is £4,800,000 - enough to run a small country. Perhaps we would be better off declaring UDI. Then there is income tax. But that's another story!

Sadly, too many people in Sheffield envy the residents of Dore, perhaps with some just cause. It is easy to forget that in fact Dore Ward, which includes Totley, Bradway and Low Edges has a wide mix of housing and incomes. Now all that is to change, as the Ward loses Low Edges and parts of Bradway, but gains Whirlow. It doesn't take a genius to know what effect that will have on our image.

Sometimes it seems like Dore is one great building site. Well the grounds of King Ecgbert School certainly are. Up goes a huge steel frame, far more visible from the surrounding area than we imagined, while earth moving equipment busily reshapes the adjacent land. It is comforting to know that we will be paying for this building for years and years, that it almost certainly won't meet the space needs of the school, or be much use to the community at large. And the building itself? Will it be a credit to modern architecture? Or am I alone in noticing the remarkable similarity between new PFI school buildings and new prison buildings or hospitals. Perhaps the idea is to prepare pupils for later life experiences!

Something is seriously wrong with the planning process in Sheffield. It is not just Dore which is suffering, as there are for example constant battles in Ecclesall as well. But if you doubt how serious things are, just look at the flats that have been built on the old Ecclesall Library site. These might be at home in a Swiss ski village, but are grossly out of scale and keeping with where they have been built!

Doremouse

Since last December, it has become illegal to hold a mobile phone while driving in mainland Britain. This includes cradling the handset on your shoulder, or holding it by any other means, and the law applies to all motor vehicles. The initial fine is £30 rising to a maximum of £1,000 if the case goes to court.

In fact, it's illegal to hold a mobile phone any time your engine is switched on, even if the car is stationary, whether to make or take calls, send text messages, use WAP or any other function. It is also an offence to hold a mobile phone while supervising a learner driver.

The only defence will be if you're dialing 999 in response to a genuine emergency and cannot stop safely to make a call.

You may continue to use hands free kits while driving.

Dear Sir,

We learn from the media that the lives of a very large number of people throughout the world who live on flood plains or near to coasts are under threat. We also learn from the journal ‘Nature' that international scientists have produced a ‘mid-risk' forecast that 25% of all land animals and plants will be extinct by 2050. Both of these will be the consequences of Global Warming causing Climate Change, which (in spite of all the other threats) is now the greatest enemy of humanity. We need a similar response to that in Britain during World War II when everyone was called upon to do his or her bit to defeat the enemy.

We do not need to be told what to do by any governmental authority. We know what we should do. We should use less energy, whether provided by electricity, fuel oil, gas or petrol. We should use less (piped) water. We should reduce the use of materials, and re-cycle more of them.

2003 Commendations

One of the Society’s prime objectives is the protection and enhancement of the local environment, to ensure that the Village remains a place of which we can all be pleased and proud.

The Society tries to ensure that developments and changes within the Village are sympathetic to the surroundings and enhance, rather than detract from the present circumstances. In doing so the Society is aware that some of the high profile work of objecting to inappropriate development proposals may seem negative, particularly when the Society’s views are reported in Dore to Door.

However there are many good things that happen or are developed within the Village that appear to go unappreciated. It is for this reason that the Society has decided to highlight and recognise good developments and features in the Village, and award Annual Commendation Certificates. This is the first year of this scheme and we have selected four projects for 2003 that merit recognition, and for which Commendations have been issued.

Devonshire Terrace Road, in the middle of the Village, suffers from the local residents point of view, from car parking, the bus terminus, heavy goods vehicles and the activity around the shops. But even though the front gardens of the terrace houses are small some of the owners have provided a glorious display of summer flowers in pots, beds and hanging baskets for all those who pass by to enjoy.

The Society have singled out the following three gardens on Devonshire Terrace Road for the pleasure that has been provided during the past year.

Pat and John Marsden No.6

Kathryn Acaster No.12

Reg Skelton No.14

For some time now, building works have progressed at 183 Dore Road, at the corner of Dore Road and High Street. This semi detached house, which until recently had white painted rendered walls, has been completely renovated. The rendering was all removed and the original brickwork repointed and restored. This pair of houses Nos 181 and 183 Dore Road are the only brick built properties in this immediate vicinity. All the other properties are in natural or reconstituted stone.

When the single storey extension, so prominently situated on the side of the house, was proposed, it was appropriate that it should be built in stone to match the predominant material of the centre of the Village, rather than extend the use of brickwork. The extension has been built in natural stonework to blend sympathetically with the neighbouring properties and their dominant boundary walls. The Society considers this high quality restoration work by Mark and Julie Cunningham deservedly merits a Society Commendation award.

The awards each year, will be limited in number, but if during 2004, there is some building work or other feature or activity which you think enhances the Village scene and meets the aspirations set out above, please let us know. It is right that such things should be appreciated and acknowledged.

David Heslop