Regeneration of Sheffield Gleadless Valley 'already having a positive impact'

Members of the Gleadless Valley community who have been working with Sheffield Council on regeneration plans shared how the work is already having a positive impact.

Lara Joyce, who is secretary of Gleadless Valley Tenants and Residents Association (TARA) and a member of Gleadless Valley Regeneration, admitted that she hated the area when she first saw it.

She and TARA chair Matt Lawton shared their experiences of working on the regeneration board to deliver a Vision for the Valley at Sheffield City Council’s strategy and resources policy committee on Wednesday (December 10).

The Vision for the Valley aims to transform the rundown estate with 1,100 new homes and improvements to 200 more, upgrades to shopping areas, parks, open spaces and community hubs, jobs and training opportunities and better public transport links.

The project was first announced by the council in 2017 as the Gleadless Valley Masterplan. When it stalled, the council relaunched it in August 2024, this time working alongside community organisations to produce a shared vision.

Ms Joyce said she moved to Gleadless Valley almost five years ago. “When I came to look round I said ‘I’m not going to move there’. I got back in the car and I sulked.”

She said they moved there anyway because it was what they could afford. Shortly afterwards, she was persuaded by Mr Lawton, who she met as their children go to the same school, to join the TARA.

“What a four years it turned out to be, watching this valley develop around me and being part of it.”

Ms Joyce said that working on the project has brought community organisations much closer together. They have spoken and listened to many local people to learn what they wanted to see from the process, including some very vulnerable residents.

“I’m hopeful, I’m excited, I’m really proud, I’m enjoying myself and I’m really looking forward to it going to the next stages.”

Mr Lawton, who moved to the area in 2014, said he had to give up work to become a full-time carer for family members with learning disabilities. He said: “This place that I came to from Cheshire has got so much to offer and I really, really love the valley.”

He was involved in the Gledless Valley Masterplan and said that had left him “really, really sceptical and I didn’t believe this was going to work”.

He added: “I feel really, really emotional about what we’ve achieved. We’ve opened up a lot of new doors talkign to a lot of other orgamnisations in the valley. That didn’t happen before.

“I’m just so proud of what we’ve achieved and just hope that’s taken forward in the plans.”

Regeneration board independent chair Alexis Krachai said it had been a genuine privilege to take on the role. He said that regeneration is always difficult, especially now, but resolved to keep pushing the project forward.

Realism is important, he said, delivering what can be achieved but being honest about the process.

Council head of regeneration Matthew Nimmo outlined the project to councillors, who unanimously backed it. He said that the council cannot deliver it on its own.

He said it must work alongside the community to get funding from regional and national government, businesses, charities and funding organisations.

When Gleadless Valley was built in the 1950s and 60s it was a groundbreaking social housing scheme which attracted national and international attention. “Gleadless Valley wants to recapture that ambition,” said Mr Nimmo.

He said that the current budget for the project is £30m but delivering everything in the plans would cost £600m.

Small-scale projects that will make a difference to people’s lives, dealing with issues such as anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, will be delivered first.

The rest of the project will be broken down into stages involving 12 projects to be delivered over the next 10 years if funding can be found. A start will be made to each project over the next two years, he said.

Coun Douglas Johnson, who is on the regeneration board, said the meetings are a pleasure to attend because people are listening to each other.

“By 2032 most people in Gleadless Valley will be living in the same houses that they’re living in at the moment. It isn’t about demolishing and building new housing, it’s about respecting the area where people live.”

That includes resources for housing repairs and sweeping the streets.

Coun Johnson said that work taking place on the shops on Gaunt Road has created a real buzz in the area.

Coun Joe Otten said that the work taking place had overcome his misgivings of August 2024. Hoeever, he said people whose houses were earmarked for demolition need to know what’s happening.

Mr Nimmo said that letters are going out to update people of the situation.

Coun Kurtis Crossthorn said: “We’ve seen far more progress in the previous year than in the previous six years.”

However, he said a lot of the plan feels like marketing which could be misleading. “Let’s treat people like adults and be honest with people in Gleadless Valley about when they are going to see investment in their area.”

Ms Joyce said she was offended by what Coun Crossthorn said about not treating people like adults.

He apologised for his choice of words, saying he had just spoken to family and friends living locally and was expressing their frustration at delays.

Coun Crossthorn promised to attend a community event once the scheme has been delivered to let people throw tomatoes at him.

Coun Hunt said: “It’s about the council and communities taking big steps to make sure that this part of the city has a better future for many decades to come.

“I feel really proud of the way that we’ve come to this decison today. In our politics right now there is a lack of hope.”

He said that an excess of pride but no hope can make people look backwards. “This is about leaning to hope, to looking forward together.”