The Future Of Sheffield City Centre

[PRESLEY]

Talking to an elderly neighbour in his late 80s  a few days ago ,  said he had been to town to use the moore market and said he couldn't get back to the bus stop to go home fast enough, he said from coming out of the market making his way back to the bus stops outside the Mulberry he was approached/acosted several times by people asking for money using all kinds of excuses like I've lost my bus fare or have you got enough on ya for a bag of chips because I havn't eaten for days ect, ect.  He will not be going to town anymore after being a regular visitor for nearly 70 years, he felt  really scared and intimidated,  this is just one of the reasons that doesn't bode well for the future of our city centre.   

[SFBeca]

3 hours ago, crookesey said:

So if what other posters have said regarding the presence of beggars, drunks, druggies etc is correct, a police presence makes zero difference.

you mentioned police presence, so i mentioned yes there are police around and saw some earlier is all?

On 01/08/2021 at 17:43, HumbleNarrator said:

These days town looks amazing now in places, I hardly recognised the place when I had a mooch around recently.

agree with this! some places in the city look great, and there are exciting new things coming up like the Festival on the Square in Tudor Square, and Hedgerow Market on Division Street for example. Definitely not all doom and gloom in my opinion.

[ECCOnoob]

5 hours ago, PRESLEY said:

Talking to an elderly neighbour in his late 80s  a few days ago ,  said he had been to town to use the moore market and said he couldn't get back to the bus stop to go home fast enough, he said from coming out of the market making his way back to the bus stops outside the Mulberry he was approached/acosted several times by people asking for money using all kinds of excuses like I've lost my bus fare or have you got enough on ya for a bag of chips because I havn't eaten for days ect, ect.  He will not be going to town anymore after being a regular visitor for nearly 70 years, he felt  really scared and intimidated,  this is just one of the reasons that doesn't bode well for the future of our city centre.   

Well if that's true, you're elderly neighbour certainly has had a pretty sheltered life.   Let's get real here.  Beggars, drunkards, vagrants are not some new fagalled concept only existing in the past 10-years.

 

Good grief I remember plenty of times back in the day when Peace Gardens, Balm Green, Fiitzalan Square were notorious no go area after hours, Pond Street bus station, Hole in the road and the various underpasses around the city were all a risk of being bothered by all manner of  Tramps and drunkards and panhandlers.

 

Sounds like they have stuck rose tinted glasses to their face and are just looking for excuses.

[PRESLEY]

14 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

Well if that's true, you're elderly neighbour certainly has had a pretty sheltered life.   Let's get real here.  Beggars, drunkards, vagrants are not some new fagalled concept only existing in the past 10-years.

 

Good grief I remember plenty of times back in the day when Peace Gardens, Balm Green, Fiitzalan Square were notorious no go area after hours, Pond Street bus station, Hole in the road and the various underpasses around the city were all a risk of being bothered by all manner of  Tramps and drunkards and panhandlers.

 

Sounds like they have stuck rose tinted glasses to their face and are just looking for excuses.

Might be when he was in his younger days the scum you mentioned didn't bother him then,  just glad your not a copper with your attitude,  so the old fella is in the wrong for feeling intimidated. Why would you mention the last 10 years, I'll tell you why, because you dam well know its got worse over that period of time, I'm not on about Pond St Nora and  drunken old tramps,    I'm on about todays lot  who are out and out scammers and con merchants ,  with soul intentions to go out there and get money with Mercs and Porche's hidden in nearby car parks, infact several years ago Look North exposed some of the ones I'm on about , they are  the types what frighten and deter people from wanting to venture into the city centre,  if you were in your late 80s your attitude wouldn't be so cocky as it is now.

[Guest makapaka]

46 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

Well if that's true, you're elderly neighbour certainly has had a pretty sheltered life.   Let's get real here.  Beggars, drunkards, vagrants are not some new fagalled concept only existing in the past 10-years.

 

Good grief I remember plenty of times back in the day when Peace Gardens, Balm Green, Fiitzalan Square were notorious no go area after hours, Pond Street bus station, Hole in the road and the various underpasses around the city were all a risk of being bothered by all manner of  Tramps and drunkards and panhandlers.

 

Sounds like they have stuck rose tinted glasses to their face and are just looking for excuses.

Or maybe they’re older and more affected by it?

 

Im no hard nut but neither am I normally intimidated by the type of people knocking about town but was a bit put out myself at the weekend.

 

Tramps and panhandlers replaced by people looking for a fix - a lot different.

 

 

[hackey lad]

44 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

Well if that's true, you're elderly neighbour certainly has had a pretty sheltered life.   Let's get real here.  Beggars, drunkards, vagrants are not some new fagalled concept only existing in the past 10-years.

 

Good grief I remember plenty of times back in the day when Peace Gardens, Balm Green, Fiitzalan Square were notorious no go area after hours, Pond Street bus station, Hole in the road and the various underpasses around the city were all a risk of being bothered by all manner of  Tramps and drunkards and panhandlers.

 

Sounds like they have stuck rose tinted glasses to their face and are just looking for excuses.

" After hours " . Last week after about six months , took a trip to town .   On the Moor , Peace Gardens and Fargate , I was asked  for money  maybe ten times  , in the middle of the day .

[ECCOnoob]

Oh god the humanity!!!   Vagrants asking for money - I'm so shocked and distresed!!!!  Good grief someone think of the children!!!!!

 

What on earth is wrong with people. When did we become so overly sensitive. Why is every unsightly part of life  constantly blown out of all sense of proportion and reality .

 

I have worked in the city centre for nearly 30 years. I have at least half a dozen of my friends and colleagues who live in the city centre and  never had experience of anything like the levels of harassment, encounters and supposed intimidation described by some people on here. 

 

There has always been beggars and vagrants drunkards and homeless people. Perhaps, just perhaps, in the wake of quiet high streets and empty stores it may be more visible. But let's not pretend this is some mass out of control crisis where people cant go from shop to shop without being accosted at least a dozen times.... It's nonsense.  

 

Perhaps people would prefer it if every city street, public communal square, park space and precinct was all gated, barricaded and controlled by heavy security so that only those with authorised reasons, financial means and genuine business can access them.  That would be better right?   

 

Interesting then, that when landlords tried to do that with private apartment blocks, courtyards, playground spaces and gardens or try to install physical devices to stop vagrants loitering around  doorways or sleeping in window ledges or messing up alcoves the Guardianistas  kick off about the disgusting behaviour of the greedy corporate monsters saying it's unfair to  poorer members of society.What do people actually want?   

 

If it's a open, public street, in an open public city centre some of those members of the public will be the less desirable ones. That is a fact of life.  

[PRESLEY]

14 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

Oh god the humanity!!!   Vagrants asking for money - I'm so shocked and distresed!!!!  Good grief someone think of the children!!!!!

 

What on earth is wrong with people. When did we become so overly sensitive. Why is every unsightly part of life  constantly blown out of all sense of proportion and reality .

 

I have worked in the city centre for nearly 30 years. I have at least half a dozen of my friends and colleagues who live in the city centre and  never had experience of anything like the levels of harassment, encounters and supposed intimidation described by some people on here. 

 

There has always been beggars and vagrants drunkards and homeless people. Perhaps, just perhaps, in the wake of quiet high streets and empty stores it may be more visible. But let's not pretend this is some mass out of control crisis where people cant go from shop to shop without being accosted at least a dozen times.... It's nonsense.  

 

Perhaps people would prefer it if every city street, public communal square, park space and precinct was all gated, barricaded and controlled by heavy security so that only those with authorised reasons, financial means and genuine business can access them.  That would be better right?   

 

Interesting then, that when landlords tried to do that with private apartment blocks, courtyards, playground spaces and gardens or try to install physical devices to stop vagrants loitering around  doorways or sleeping in window ledges or messing up alcoves the Guardianistas  kick off about the disgusting behaviour of the greedy corporate monsters saying it's unfair to  poorer members of society.What do people actually want?   

 

If it's a open, public street, in an open public city centre some of those members of the public will be the less desirable ones. That is a fact of life.  

You mentioned rose spectacle glasses, I would rather wear those,  rather than blinkers.

[Martin C]

30 minutes ago, PRESLEY said:

You mentioned rose spectacle glasses, I would rather wear those,  rather than blinkers.

 

49 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

Perhaps people would prefer it if every city street, public communal square, park space and precinct was all gated, barricaded and controlled by heavy security so that only those with authorised reasons, financial means and genuine business can access them.  That would be better right?   

 

Interesting then, that when landlords tried to do that with private apartment blocks, courtyards, playground spaces and gardens or try to install physical devices to stop vagrants loitering around  doorways or sleeping in window ledges or messing up alcoves the Guardianistas  kick off about the disgusting behaviour of the greedy corp 

Sounds good to me.

I'd rather sh*t in my hands and clap than be seen as a "Guardinista" though.

[buckeroo]

On 30/07/2021 at 11:02, Bargepole23 said:

 

Where would you see the boundary between Inner Sheffield and Greater Sheffield? Access to the centre is easy, loads of buses, from Ecclesall/London Road corridors. I imagine it's pretty easy on tram routes also.

 

I welcome the huge increase in people resident in the centre, whether they be students, or young workers. They spend money, which is the lifeblood of shops/bars/restaurants, and keep them alive.

No tram routes for several sections of the city and buses are so 20th Century for many people and not much use for shopping.  Ring Road would be the boundary as intended by the Council when they proposed it as the CAZ boundary.