Analysis Topic: Local Issues
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Sheffield Best Secondary Schools Rankings and Trend Trajectory for Applications 2018 / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Sheffield's students born between 1/9/2007 and 31/08/2008 will be busy with parents applying for their secondary school places in the count down to the deadline of 31st October 2018 for paper applications and 18th October for online. In preparations for which families will be attending open evenings across Sheffield's secondary schools, where many hope to gain a place at one of Sheffield's top ranked schools, which given the high demand not even in catchment area children are assured a place.
So students and their parents will have been scouring various Sheffield secondary schools performance league tables in making their application choices. However, the league tables can from time to time prove highly misleading as many of Sheffield's 38 or so Secondary schools / Academies for whatever reasons tend to exhibit volatility in performance from year to year. Therefore a currently high ranking school may not mean that the same level of performance will continue in subsequent years as it may have been subject to special measures, therefore a better methodology in the ranking of schools is to evaluate performance in terms of trend.
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Sunday, September 02, 2018
Sheffield City Centre Then and Now - Town 1960 vs 2018 / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Here's Sheffield city centre, or Town as we like to call it, 1960 vs today (2018). How things have changed and continue to change with much work to be down for instance on the hole that once was Castle Market.
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Friday, August 03, 2018
Sheffield Residents Urged to Water Dyring Replacement Tree Saplings in Summer Heat / Local / Sheffield
By: Anika_Walayat
Sheffield City Council's tree felling programme that targets the felling of half (17,500) of Sheffield's street trees to be replaced with small saplings that typically are near 1/200th of the mass of the felled trees, where many of which have been planted at the wrong time of year and many more are now suffering during the summer heat wave having as few as 10% of the leaf cover they should have by now as they are NOT being watered adequately i.e. recommendations are for 20-30 litres of water per day when the actual watering is likely that amount per month (if that) resulting in a sorry state for Sheffield's streets of dying replacement trees as this video illustrates the difference between saplings which are being watered by residents and saplings which are being left for Sheffield City Council's contractor Amey to water and look after which given the state of a large number of replacement trees is just not proving sufficient.
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Thursday, June 07, 2018
Suspended Sentences for Sheffield Tree Protestors - Videos of the Incidents that Triggered the Court Case / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Four Sheffield citizens were in High Court this week for potential committal to prison as the Labour controlled council took the four to court for the parts they played in Sheffield's anti street trees felling protests that have seen more than 20 arrests this year alone which culminated in an halt to tree fellings announced late March in the run up to the May 3rd local elections that continues. At the conclusion of the trial Justice Males verdict was that the case had been proven against three of the campaigners - Simon Crump, Fran Grace and Benoit Compin that they breached the injunction banning direct action against tree fellings, whilst reserving judgement on the fourth person, Paul Brooke.
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
Drama in Sheffield High Court as Labour Council Attempts to Send Tree Protestors to Prison / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Four Sheffield citizens are in court this week for potential committal to prison for the part they played in Sheffield's anti street trees felling protests that have seen more than 20 arrests this year alone which culminated in an halt to tree fellings announced late March in the run up to the May 3rd local elections that saw Labour lose 5 council seats as a consequence of the Labour council and it's contractor May's tree fellings programme. The halt in street tree fellings continues as the protest drama now plays out in the high court in Sheffield this week.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Sheffield Local Elections 2018 Forecast Results / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
The local elections will be held on May 3rd, 2018 when 1/3rd of Sheffield's city council seats will be up for election, that's 28 out of a total of 84 seats. The current make up of the council has the Labour party on 56 seats resulting in an a commanding majority of 28. Which has allowed the Labour council to basically do whatever they want to do in the city as it is impossible for the 28 opposition councilors to even come close to out voting Labour in the council chamber.
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Thursday, April 19, 2018
Abbeydale Park Rise Cherry Tree's in Blossom - Sheffield Street Tree Protests / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
The Cherry Trees of Abbeydale Park Rise are in Blossom to illustrate what thousands of Sheffield's residents have been busy trying to prevent the felling of for several years. Abbeydale Park Rise has been one of the key focal points for Sheffield's anti street tree felling protests, which has been witness to numerous arrests of protestors this year before tree fellings were suspended by the Labour controlled city council in advance of the May 3rd Local Elections.
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Thursday, April 12, 2018
"Get off My Tree!" Sheffield Anti-Tree Felling Protest Ready to March! / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
The "Get Off My Tree!" Sheffield anti-trees felling protest of 7th April 2018 started as a march from Sheffield city hall and around the city centre. Where this video covers the lead up to and into the first few minutes of the march that also apparently includes the arrest of a Police officer for blowing a whistle!
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Saturday, April 07, 2018
Jarvis Cocker Addresses the Crowd at Sheffield City Hall Anti Tree Felling Protest / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker addresses an estimated crowd of 4000 Sheffield anti street tree fellings campaigners at the "Get Off My Tree!" protest at Sheffield City Hall after the campaigners had marched around the city centre on the 7th April 2018.
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Monday, April 02, 2018
Sheffield Tree Fellings Protest - Amey and Acorn Vehicles Slow Marched VR 360 / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Here's what tends to happen at the end of Sheffield's Street Tree fellings, as Amey and Acorn vehicles are are slow marched out of the felling site at Thornsett Road so that they have less chance of resuming fellings elsewhere on that day, with protestors themselves surrounded by Police, encouraged fasten their pace under threat of a Section 303 obstructing the highways charge.
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Monday, March 26, 2018
Sheffield Tree Fellings Protest Virtual Realty VR 360 Experience / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Sheffield's street fellings may have been suspended due to the forthcoming local elections. However here is about as realistic an experience as one can get without actually being at a Sheffield Street tree felling protest site, in virtual reality 360.
Whilst a VR headset will give you the whole immersed experience of being there, a VR capable browser such as fire fox or chrome will be able to give you a taste of what it's like to be there.
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Monday, March 26, 2018
Labour Sheffield City Council Halts Tree Fellings Ahead of May Local Elections / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
The Labour controlled Sheffield City Council announced a halt to the controversial street trees felling programme today that had seen escalating protestor opposition on the streets of Sheffield against the felling of healthy trees that followed the revelation that half of Sheffield's street trees would be felled during the life time of the 25 year PFI contract with Amey..
Since the resumption of felling a month ago the streets of Sheffield have been witness to very heavy police and security presence at felling sites, with upwards of 30 police officers and 20 Hiviz security all towards enabling felling if a single tree. Which has galvanised the people of Sheffield to come out and protest in their hundreds each day against the felling of healthy street trees that tends to result in multiple arrests at each felling site on a daily basis.
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Sunday, March 25, 2018
SY Police Hunting and Arresting Bunnies at Sheffield Street Tree Felling Protests / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
March has witnessed a further escalation in the aggressive policing of Sheffield's street tree felling protests with multiple arrests taking place each day. In this video of events on Thornsett Road the Police hunt down and arrest a Bunny which is a protestor who attempts to prevent a felling by getting close to a cordoned off street tree. However this arrest is controversial as the protestor may have had permission to be in the neighbouring garden to the tree as the video illustrates.
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Thursday, March 22, 2018
SY Police Arrest Woman for Blowing Trumpet at Sheffield Tree Felling Protest / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Since the thawing of the beast from the east snow, South Yorkshire police who attend each tree felling in numbers of upwards of 35 have increasingly been becoming more aggressive in the arrest of tree protestors, which now includes for just blowing a small plastic children's trumpet, as happened to this lady on Rivelin Valley Road Wednesday.
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Thursday, March 22, 2018
SY Police Arrest Elderly Sheffield Tree Protestor on Rivelin Valley Road / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Rivelin valley Road, Wednesday 21 March. The treatment by the Police of this elderly Tree Defender illustrates what is happening on Sheffield's streets on a daily basis. Quite outrageous. The gentleman concerned was arrested under suspicion of a minor obstruction (S303 Highways Act 1980) offence.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Sheffield Pothole City, Atrocious Roads as City Council Fells Trees Instead of Fixing Roads / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Sheffield's roads are in a truly atrocious state, streets littered with potholes and we are not talking about the odd one here or there but potholes that run the whole width and length of roads that are causing damaging to Sheffield's road traffic, tyres, wheels and suspension.
The Labour controlled city council signed the "Streets Ahead" PFI contract 5 years ago with Amey. And 5 years on the roads are clearly in worse overall state than before! There are even potholes appearing on newly resurfaced roads doing damage to the cities road traffic. What's worse instead of prioritising filling potholes the contractor appears to have become obsessed with the felling Sheffield's street trees, with a target recently revealed to fell HALF of Sheffield's street trees following the forced revelation of the 'secret' fellings target by the Information Commissioner.
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Tuesday, March 20, 2018
The Beast from the East Snow, UK Roads Driving Car Accidents / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
The 'Beast from the East' snow from Siberia that hit Sheffield a couple of weeks ago returned during the weekend on March 17th 2018. And so I decided to take a drive to a local Sheffield Morrisons supermarket in my 4X4. Unfortunately, many with less capable front wheel drive vehicles did not head the warnings to keep off the roads resulting in many abandoned cars littered on the pavements and roads and also a few accidents as this video illustrates.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Labour Sheffield City Councils Secret Plan to Fell 50% of Street Trees Exposed! / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
The mainstream press has finally awoken up to the fact that Sheffield city council and it's contractor had all along planned to fell half of Sheffield's street trees. Having kept the information contained within the Streets Ahead PFI contract with Spanish owned Amey secret for over 5 years, previously only releasing heavily redacted pages that failed to answer key questions raised by tree campaigners. Where even towards the end of 2017 the council in the face of growing public opposition and protests on the streets, the Labour councilors still stuck to their mantra of having a target of felling fewer than 6000 trees, following which the contract was said to enter a maintenance phase.
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Sunday, March 11, 2018
Death of Europe's Greenest City, Police State Sheffield Labour Council to Fell 50% of Street Trees / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
For 5 years Labour controlled Sheffield city council has kept virtually all of the the Streets Ahead PFI contract with Spanish owned Amey secret from the people of Sheffield with only heavily redacted pages being released into the public domain that failed to answer key questions being raised. Where even towards the end of 2017 the council in the face of growing public opposition and protests on the streets that were increasingly met by force, the Council stuck to the mantra of having a target of felling 6000 trees, following which the contract would enter a maintenance stage.
Friday, March 09, 2018
Sheffield Police State as Tree Protesting Citizens Are Snatched off the Streets! / Local / Police State
By: N_Walayat
Following the thawing of the 'Beast from the East' snow Sheffield's streets have seen a huge expansion in the level of force deployed against street tree felling protestors, with now at least 35 police officers attending felling sites, accompanying 20 or so SIA security and a dozen or so Arb's, as has been the case on many of Sheffield streets this week such as Thornsett Road, Kenwood Park Road and Abbeydale Park Rise.
Sheffield increasingly resembles an eastern european totalitarian police state with police snatch squads in operation literally grabbing people off the streets, then barring them from returning to the street tree protests under threat of prosecution / breach of police bail. The way it appears to work is that SIA security or Arbs snap a picture of an innocent protestor and then later forward an allegation to the police who then grab the invidual off the street at the next street protest, probably identified to the police by the SIA / Arbs. However, so far not one Sheffield tree protestor has been prosecuted for any crime, therefore the objective is to prevent peaceful protests from taking place in Sheffield.
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