Area Panel Co-ordinator's Column 

by Stuart Bolton

This is Stuart Bolton, your Area Co-ordinator, reporting on what your Area Panel have been doing for you over March and April and what issues you have asked us to take up in the future. 

Don’t forget you can contact the Area Panel at:
Room G44, Sheffield City Council, Old Town Hall, Sheffield, S1 2HH Tel: 276 9134 or E-Mail
s.bolton@unisonfree.net

All minutes and agendas for Area Panel meetings are available on the Internet 

QUESTION ON HEALTH
There is going to be a survey looking at the health of people who live around the Parkwood landfill site. When you first asked for this at the joint Area Panel meeting last November the answer was ‘no’ but because you and the Area Panel would not accept this it things have now changed. 

At the Area Panel meeting on the 26th March at Roe Lane Social Centre Dr. Rosie McNaught of Sheffield Health told us about a postal questionnaire that would ask local residents about their health to see what effect living near the landfill site had on it. 
Dr. McNaught told the meeting that a written report would be finished by the Summer and this will go to the Council’s inquiry on the Parkwood landfill site.
Also, people were told about a survey taking place in local schools that would look at children’s health and how the Environment Agency is going to monitor the site using a video camera sited in houses that are next to the tip. There was large turnout by local people at the Area Panel meeting and we had arranged for representatives from the Environment Agency, Health Authority and Sheffield Council’s waste management and ecology departments to be there. Your Area Panel will be making sure that all of your comments and question go to the Council’s inquiry and your MP Richard Caborn.

HELP FOR ALL
At the last Area Panel meeting Social Services heard what you felt about what was being done for people from Pakistani, Yemeni, Turkish and other cultures who live in Burngreave. You said that that there were too few Council workers who were from black and minority ethnic groups. Overall, people felt that the Council and its staff was not doing enough to understand, help and work with different people from cultures and faiths. It was decided that a special working group of people from Social Services, Councillors and Burngreave’s cultural and faith groups would look at all of the issues raised and come back to the Area Panel in six months time to tell you what had been done to change things.

CLEAN UP YOUR ACT
At the Area Panel meeting on 3rd April Nick Hetherington from Streetforce, the part of the Council responsible for clean and looking after your streets, came to listen to what you had to say. Mr Hetherington spoke about the new 4 person team that offered training to unemployed young people and at the same time was helping to clean up your area and the work that was planned with Fir Vale School. Cllr Hussain, the Area Panel Chair said that this was a positive step but he was unhappy as things had not changed in the last year. Mr Hetherington will be at an Area Panel meeting in three months to show you how Streetforce has changed and is making a difference in Burngreave. 

Your Area Panel
You can meet your local Area Panel Councillors at their regular surgeries. These are at: 
· Burngreave Library, Spital Hill - every Saturday 11.00 to 12.00 pm 
· Pakistani Advice Centre, 58 Owler Lane - every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of month 3.30 to 4.30 pm 
· Firshill TARA Office, 11a Firshill Glade - Saturday 18th May 12.00 to 1.00 pm with Councillor Ibrar Hussain

HAVE YOUR SAY - NEXT AREA PANEL MEETINGS

The dates for your next Area Panel meetings is:
Thursday 16th May 2002 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm, Pitsmoor Methodist Church, Burngreave Road. Tackling Crime in Burngreave - we will be talking about the new plan to tackle crime in Sheffield and what the Burngreave New Deal Police Team have been doing.

Find out more about Local Government and the New Deal in Burngreave. What do you think? Join the debate on our Local Government and the New Deal bulletin board.