Improving our environment

By Rob Bullock

BCAF environment working group continues to meet on the first Monday of the month. The group is small but we have tried to keep a handle on the New Deal process and to support The Forum.

At a New Deal green environment theme meeting, community people present, including members of the BCAF group, endorsed a proposal for a three year project including an audit of green spaces and ecology, the development of new projects and the administration of projects already proposed. Sheffield Wildlife Trust will lead the project in partnership with the Council Recreation Dept. Green City Action, local interest groups and activists.

Local people at the meeting felt strongly that a steering group of residents should be formed to oversee the project. It’s not easy to get involved in these things, especially if you’ve not done anything like it before, so we’ll organise some training sessions for would - be steering group members.

We would like to encourage people to form the steering group and have arranged a meeting for Tuesday 9th April at 6.30 p.m. at Abbeyfield Park House to discuss its formation, including roles and responsibilities of members and training.

It’s good to see work beginning, although we’d better not hold our breath.

There are some projects which started to develop before New Deal raised its ugly head and which have been ground to a halt by that process. It would be really good to see some of that effort brought to fruition soon, before community spirit, aroused by The Forum is finally put back to sleep by bureaucracy.

What do you think? Join the debate on our Environment bulletin board