The old Ecclesall library scandal

[Rich]

Peter Price really does take the biscuit doesn't he? Why make the Wincobank planning application a class issue when it clearly isn't? Thankfully most of us have moved on from the pointless class warfare divisions of the 70's.

 

Mind you, 'Sheffield women don't want posh frocks' either.

 

I wonder what Peter Price's position is on the sale of public green open space at Norfolk Park?

 

It's all about snobbery mate, certain people think people off the Wincobank estate are *ahem* sub human in some cases, utter rot! Prince Naseem's off Winco and he's done OK for himself.

[Powerage]

I agree the selling of Weetwood house was a disgrace I couldn't believe it when I heard it had been demolished and flats built on it. I spent many happy hours there as a child not only was the library brilliant but the grounds were beautiful. Its a disgrace but I can honestly say I would never vote for this council and never have I long ago came to the conclusion that they don't give a fig what any of the citizens of Sheffield think.

 

Unfortunately not enough people share my views as they keep getting in year after year

god knows why I still don't understand.

[Longcol]

One assumes that the upkeep of the old building cost council tax payers an arm and a leg and that it didn't comply with legislation.

 

http://libplugins.sheffield.gov.uk/uttm/shownews.asp?title=190

[A.B.Yaffle]

I also thought it was closed due to it being in a state of bad repair. I remember several occasions when parts of the library were out of bounds due to leaking roof, damp and collapsed ceiling.

 

I did think that the council had promised to keep the majority of Weetwood Gardens as a public park though... something which hasn't happened.

[obase]

One assumes that the upkeep of the old building cost council tax payers an arm and a leg and that it didn't comply with legislation.

 

http://libplugins.sheffield.gov.uk/uttm/shownews.asp?title=190

 

Thanks for the link Longcol. But it's not so much the decision to close the library that upsets me, but the theft of public land.

 

Remember the new library was only agreed to be built AFTER the council realised their underhand deeds had been rumbled by the council tax payers.

 

[BillyWhiz]

You sound surprised but really, you shouldn't be.

 

After all, isn't this the council which wants to tear down the terrace of beautiful shop fronts on Pinstone Street in order that it can build the no doubt plain ugly shopping centre?.

 

The shops fronts etc on Pinstone Street are staying. Everything behind Burgess Street, John Lewis etc is going as is Grosvenor House Hotel, to make way for the new city centre development.

[BillyWhiz]

The last time the council tried to sell off the Graves Park Nursery site pretty well proves they just aren't fit to be the custodians of land, or anything else for that matter, that was bequeathed to the people of Sheffield.

 

What happened to the Mappin Art Gallery and its collection of paintings ?

 

The Mappin Art Gallery is now part of the new museum but the art collection is still in the Sheffield Collection. If there's a particular painting or artwork you would like to see ask the Graves Art Gallery where it can be viewed.

[Longcol]

Thanks for the link Longcol. But it's not so much the decision to close the library that upsets me, but the theft of public land.

 

Remember the new library was only agreed to be built AFTER the council realised their underhand deeds had been rumbled by the council tax payers.

 

 

Do we know what conditions were placed on the land by the people / person when it was left to "the public" ?

 

For instance if it was simply stated that the land was "left for the benefit of the people of Sheffield" (or similar) then selling it and replacing a library on another site nearby could well be construed as fulfilling the terms of the donation.

 

If the specifically defined land was left "in pertuity" then could well be a different matter!

[obase]

Do we know what conditions were placed on the land by the people / person when it was left to "the public" ?

 

For instance if it was simply stated that the land was "left for the benefit of the people of Sheffield" (or similar) then selling it and replacing a library on another site nearby could well be construed as fulfilling the terms of the donation.

 

If the specifically defined land was left "in pertuity" then could well be a different matter!

 

Pretty sure it was the latter Longcol. There was no plans for a new library at all until SCC realised they had been rumbled.

 

As I said earlier, the ultimate result of taking legal action against SCC would only have been the equivalent of cutting your nose off to spite your face.

 

[Jason Bourne]

I wonder what Peter Price's position is on the sale of public green open space at Norfolk Park?

 

Well, here's Coun Price's position on St Luke's Hopsital:

 

Nursery site at the park 'a beautiful setting for new St Luke's'

 

AS Chair of the old Recreation Committee and Leisure Service on the City Council for over 14 years during the 80s and 90s, can I say the community have never had access to the Norton Nursery site at Graves Park; indeed, it was gated and for most of the time locked at both ends.

 

Once a year it was opened to the public for two days to have an open day and sell surplus plants. During this time several buildings were put up to use for storage of equipment, and the largest glasshouse within local government was built which included automatic watering, air conditioning and a combined heat and power system, supplying a constant temperature.

 

It is untrue for people to claim they played there when children. The nursery site was not for Graves Park but for the business of growing and supplying of plants, shrubs and flowers for the whole of our city.

 

Unfortunately, due to compulsory competitive tendering and the changing world of horticulture the nursery became unviable and now the site lies for the most part derelict.

 

The proposal to allow St Luke's to build the hospice there, with its attractive garden setting and the continuing involvement of the group that currently use it, will in my view enhance the park, bring an area of land back for the benefit of the whole of Sheffield, create jobs, but above all provide a beautiful setting for those Sheffield people with the greatest need.

 

Coun Peter Price