Our ward spending priorities | Cllrs Ruth Milsom and Minesh Parekh

At Sheffield City Council’s annual budget meeting in March 2023, Councillors supported devolving power away from the Town Hall into neighbourhoods, and to achieve this, unanimously voted to allow additional spending of £25,000 to be spent in each ward and overseen by ward councillors.

As ward councillors for Crookes and Crosspool we—Ruth Milsom and Minesh Parekh—want to be open and transparent about how we think this should be spent.

Following discussions with community forums, local residents and businesses, as well as drawing on the South West LAC Local Area Community Plan and Survey, we have proposed the following spending commitments for Crookes and Crosspool.

Image of a table with information, repeated below for screen readers

We believe that the above proposals speak to the priorities of the ward, LAC Plan and 2023 Community Survey; and the Council as a whole, and that these projects will help us deliver on the priorities that residents and communities have told us are important to them. They also offer proposals to work with residents, businesses and community organisations on projects, and ensure that delivery is informed and shaped by those the projects aim to support.

We hope that these proposals are supported, and to be able to work collaboratively with community partners to deliver for our ward.

The proposals are reported below in a text format to benefit screen readers.

*Project*	*Description*	*Explanation*	*Cost*
Community-hosted collection points for hard-to-recycle items	Purchasing community-hosted collection point boxes for hard to recycle items, including: crisp packages, cleaning product accessories, coffee packaging, plastic packaging from health and beauty products.	Recycling and sustainability are key priorities of the ward, LAC, and Council as a whole. ‘Local Environment’ ranked highly on the LAC Community Survey with residents calling for an increase to ‘what can be recycled’ and for the LAC to consider providing ‘community recycling opportunities’.	£500 For the trial we are suggesting two different types of collection in each half of the ward and to liaise with community organisations, churches, or other points to discuss hosting a box.
2 new benches across the ward	Two benches, one in Crookes and one in Crosspool, to be sited according to community need.	The ‘Crookes Collective’ Economic Recovery Fund bid proposed several modular benches in locations across Crookes, which were not funded in the final bid. We would like to propose an extra bench in Crookes and in Crosspool, with locations to be confirmed in correspondence with the community forums.	£2000
New play equipment on Crookes	Installing a small play area to draw families to the high-street	The ‘Crookes Collective’ Economic Recovery Fund bid proposed a trim trail of play equipment to draw families to the high-street and create a more pleasant urban environment. This was not funded in the final bid.	£1000
An EV charging point pilot project	A pilot project to explore charging points for households with no off-street parking	A pilot project to demonstrate demand for on-street EV charging points for terraced housing in Crookes. The LAC Community Survey called for ‘pilot charging points for households with no off street parking’.	£5000 Working with Transport and Highways Officers to explore potential interventions and trial some EV charging measures.
Kickstart funding for new ‘Friends Of’ group	‘Seed funding’ to kickstart the newly established Friends of Mulehouse Park group and support initial projects.	The LAC Community Survey called for more recognition of volunteer environmental groups, more planting for biodiversity, and more support for community groups.	£500
Inaugural lunch club for unpaid carers in Crosspool	Organise an inaugural lunch club for unpaid carers, to be hosted in Crosspool, to recognise unpaid carers and look to establish a more regular network.	The LAC Community Survey suggested organising a ‘lunch club for carers’.	£300 (estimate) We would launch this In consultation with carers and relevant community groups (such as Care for Crosspool).
Community-led wildflower planting on the Bolehills	A community-led wildflower planting project for the Bolehills.	The LAC Community Survey results call for ‘planting for more biodiversity’, more ‘flowers in the Bolehills’ and ‘providing seed for free’. This would help support ward, LAC and Council ambitions to increase biodiversity and address the nature emergency.	£500
New street trees across the ward	Engaging local residents to site new street trees on roads or pavements across the ward.	Local environment was ranked a high priority in the LAC Community Survey. This would help support ward, LAC and Council ambitions to increase biodiversity and address the nature emergency.	£5000 We would look to match-fund through the Trees for Streets scheme)
Events for LGBTQ residents in Crookes and Crosspool	Working with community organisations including SayIt, organise events for LGBTQ residents through the LAC. Format to be decided through community engagement, but could consider drop-ins and celebratory events with stalls.	The LAC Community Survey suggests an ‘open event to embrace LGBTQ so we are not excluded’ and that ‘a Crookes day with stalls would be good’.	£500
Grants for cost-of-living activities	Provide grant funding for organisations to bid for to deliver cost-of-living or warm space activities across the ward.	The LAC Community Survey speaks to the need to ‘ensure those that struggle with the cost-of-living can access local neighbourhood amenities’, and this would ensure we can continue some of the CoL activities funded through last year’s LAC grant funding.	£5000
Youth Politics Day in the Chamber	Bringing local school students into the Town Hall and delivering a debate in the Chamber to encourage youth political participation.	Respondents to the LAC Survey are unrepresentative and skew towards an older demographic—with over 65% of respondents over 55+, and less than 10% aged under 34—which reflects the disparity of decision-making and decision-makers in the town hall. As a ward we should look to redress this disparity by encouraging youth participation in politics.	£500 To look to work with relevant local organisations to deliver this, including the Youth Cabinet.