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The contents of these pages are prepared by the New Deal executive team.

Making a difference

There can be no doubting BNDfC Community Engagement Manager Levi Ferguson’s determination to help bring improvements to Burngreave – having lived most of his life here, he’s well aware of the need for change.

Actively involved with BNDfC since it was established - as one of the first five elected Community Representatives - Levi is confident that all the work which has gone on behind the scenes is now beginning to make a real difference to local people. But he does understand people’s frustrations that things haven’t happened more quickly:

“It has been difficult at times over the last couple of years, as things have moved much more slowly than we would have liked, but I believe that years of hard work will soon pay off and we’ll see some major improvements taking place.”

One of Levi’s top priorities is to ensure that local people really benefit from the money being spent in the area. Grants should soon be available to help businesses improve their properties, and Levi has been actively engaged in discussions to ensure that local building companies get to do the work and take on local trainees to help them do so.

“We are currently working with JobMatch and Sheffield Employment Service on the possibility of setting up a community construction business – there’s obviously going to be a lot of building work around, and it would be great to see local firms not only doing that work, but also taking on local young people as trainees to enable them to develop the skills for which there is currently a growing demand.”

Another important task for the Community Engagement Team is to ensure that developing provision meets local needs.

“Burngreave is a culturally diverse area and it is important that we develop flexible provision to meet a range of different needs. By meeting people face to face, we can find out exactly what people want and then feed that into the decision-making processes to ensure that local needs are properly met.

“As a local resident myself, I am determined to help make a difference to Burngreave. It is a great place and I’m looking forward to helping bring about real improvements.”