Local democracy requires Heeley residents to go the extra mile

An important ‘You Choose‘ event will take place between 11am – 12 noon this Saturday, 9th October, at Newfield Green Community Centre.  This will be your opportunity to vote on how a significant chunk of local funding will be allocated to community projects across the Gleadless Valley Ward.

Heeley Development Trust have four projects for which they need ‘You Choose’ funding:

• Heeley Festival
• Heeley Advice Centre
• Heeley’s UK Online Centre
• Activities for Cambridge Court Sheltered Housing (elderly residents)

Bids will also have been put in by other community organisation in the Gleadless Valley Ward.  Heeley and other areas in the Gleadless Valley Ward are under the South Community Assembly.

By way of background, here is an explanation of this relatively new mechanism for administering local funding from the Community Assemblies’ webpages on Sheffield City Countil’s website:

Community Assemblies bring doorstep democracy to where you live – essentially decisions that were made in the Town Hall will now be made within communities.  As a resident of Sheffield, you will have more opportunities to influence services in your area that meet your needs and reflect what local people want.

‘You Say’ and ‘You Choose’ sessions will be held regularly around each ward in various locations for you to discuss with us what you’d like to see change or improve.  Open to everyone, the ‘You Say’ sessions will be where ideas and projects will be developed while ‘You Choose’ sessions will pinpoint funding priorities. These will then be put forward to formal meetings every quarter where Councillors will in public say what has happened.

Apparently, the results of the morning’s voting session will be announced at 12.30 pm that very afternoon.  [This may indicate that participation is not expected from every household in the Gleadless Valley Ward.]  There is no postal or online voting system for ‘You Choose’ monies, so if you would like to see Heeley Development Trust’s bids, or any others you favour, compete successfully against worthy and interesting projects from other areas of the Gleadless Valley Ward then you will have to get yourself to Newfield Green Community Centre on Saturday morning.

• Here is a Multimap map to Newfield Green Community Centre, Gleadless Road, S2 2BT
• Bus numbers 47, 48 and 252 will take you up Gleadless Road – or use the SYPTE journey planner.
• The South Community Assembly were offering to arrange transport to the event, but required a week’s notice.  The team can be contact on 0114 205 3281 or communityassemblysouth@sheffield.gov.uk There may be a ride you can hitch.
• Voting is billed as ‘For Residents only’, but you don’t need to bring ID, they will just ask for your address and postcode to check it is within their catchment area.

Good news is that the voting takes place at a fairly convenient time, and won’t take long, so you might be able to fit a trip up to Newfield Green Community Centre around your other Saturday plans – take a little local democracy detour.

See the South Community Assembly webpages for more information and opportunities to feedback through online questionnaires.