Letters Page Dear Sir/Madam We recently received a copy of the Burngreave Messenger. When we turned to the back page and began to read the letters, one letter caught our attention. It involved the estate where my family and friends live. The letter was referring to my friends and me. It said that a young mother and her friends were terrorising the estate, causing people to flee from their homes and some too scared to leave their homes because of abuse and threats towards them and their families. We would like to give our side of the story. These threats were not only one sided, the people that were making the complaints were also giving abuse and saying things about ourselves and our families. One man told some of the children that they were ‘not fit to be on this earth’. Another woman on the estate told some of the children to take their brown faces away from the front of their home. We were watching these children and all they were doing was sat down talking amongst themselves. These were in fact CHILDREN between the ages of 8 and 15 years old and if they were at school they would respond in exactly the same way. These articles
and letters do not tell the whole story and make out it was the
whole neighbourhood that was being terrorised. In fact a lot of
people on the estate spoke and treated these children with respect
and the children gave them respect back. Regarding the police, these children do not deserve to be treated like criminals. They should have been treated as children that had nothing to do. It is the Council’s fault for not giving them somewhere to go and join in with. The Council keep going on about how much money they have to do this and that. They should have stopped and realised these children were bored and needed something to do. When at last Pitsmoor Youth Project came round and organised activities for them, the people of the estates still criticised and said no one should be doing anything for them. They should have done something sooner and given the children of Carwood a chance to show their good side, which is what they needed from the start. But now these children and our families have a bad name, when it should be the Council, the police and the complainants that should have the bad name. We, along with all the young people of Carwood feel that it is their fault in the first place for not giving us all the chance we needed. Yours
sincerely Dear Burngreave Messenger With reference to your October Issue of ‘Eviction’ I am not writing to offer any answers to the problem, but instead to share a few considerations and thoughts on the matter. My family and I chose to live in Pitsmoor so as to be near family and decided to buy or own house. When one lives amongst bad neighbours and their antisocial behaviour related to drugs and crime, of which we have seen many, we do not have the luxury of ‘uping sticks’ to somewhere more desirable, instead, we just close our doors and hope that our children preserve their innocence and don’t notice what’s going on outside. It is a terrible tragedy that within our modern society, the sense of caring for things and people within the community has been erased. Despite what some might feel, the action of a few does affect others around, even though nothing might be said. We used to live in one of the upside-down wavy houses on Woodside estate - and although we really loved the property and the view it commanded over the Pennines, the antisocial behaviour and vandalism was too much, especially with a new baby, and we had to move. People should not have to suffer the consequences like that. As I said, I
am not offering any magic answers but want to make a few suggestions: Of course, these ideas would need further research, but I think it’s better than doing nothing. People must relearn the importance of community responsibility once again! Yours
sincerely Dear Messenger In response to your front-page article in last month’s Messenger, it comes as no surprise to hear confirmation that council housing on Woodside is to be demolished. The announcement comes after ten years of impoverishment and dilapidation on Woodside, the result of the council’s strategy of deliberate neglect and abandonment of the estate. The inevitable decline in demand which followed is now being used as justification for demolition, supplemented by grossly-overstated estimates of the cost of making the houses sustainable. The council has no intention of building new council homes on the vacant site, consequently the land will be sold to private developers. Demolition of council homes and the sale of public land are part of central government’s strategy to effect the wholesale privatisation of all Sheffield council housing. The political decisions which have brought about the end of Woodside have been taken without regard to the rights or interests of the established community, “consultation” on Woodside having been stage-managed by a firm of private consultants employed by the council. Housing officials and Councillors have colluded in the implementation of Thatcher’s legacy - the dogmatic pursuit of privatisation to the benefit of land and property speculators. Their conduct has revealed their contempt for the people of Woodside. The location of Woodside, situated on the hill overlooking the city, potentially makes it an attractive and desirable place to live; however, this aspect is compromised by the decaying housing stock and Woodside’s unsavoury (and largely undeserved) reputation. The decision to demolish was no doubt made - but not announced - at least two years ago, though this was consistently denied in the past by amiable-but-erroneous Dave Robinson and his subsequent replacement “Hatchet” Horton at Burngreave Housing Dept. The announcement of the decision was facilitated by the council’s loathsome band of Judas collaborators on Woodside - the feckless and easily-fooled tenants that have campaigned to have their houses demolished - motivated by a poisonous mixture of poverty and greed to conspire with the council to sell-off the rights of future tenants for a measly £1,500 per tenancy. The future for those wishing to remain council tenants on Woodside is bleak; relocation with the knowledge that the private developer jackals and property speculator vultures, with their entourage of lawyers and accountants, are poised to move in to make vast profits from the building and sale of posh housing for yuppies. Further clearance in Burngreave remains a threat - will Verdon Street be next? K Hartney - Woodside
|
Upset? Angry? Full of Joy? Good news or bad, we want you to have your say! Send your letters to: The Burngreave
Messenger, You can email
us at: |
