Let local people shape their communities and the direction of the local economy - Minesh Parekh

The Council’s plan to bring in more visitors identified Kelham Island, Ecclesall Road, Sharrow Vale, Abbeydale and London Road, Walkley and Crookes, all as neighbourhoods with their own visitor appeal. But I also think of Spital Hill and Meersbrook, Attercliffe and Hillsborough – strong communities in their own right and definitive of what makes Sheffield a wonderful place to live.

Because as much as Sheffield is a large city, its selling point is as a collection of multiple, vibrant centres. If you look at the reasons Londoners relocated to Sheffield during the pandemic it wasn’t for a large city centre so much as life outside of it. And that comes from strong and active local communities.

The new government has initiated a £1.5bn ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’, with Ministers stating that communities will be able to decide for themselves how their money is spent.

This is something we have pioneered in Sheffield.

In 2022 and 2023 the council operated two £2m rounds of an Economic Recovery Fund, creating grants for local residents and businesses to improve their local high streets. This was first envisaged as a way to support small businesses after the pandemic, and then continued for another year with rising energy prices, but what it allowed for was the community-led regeneration of local high streets.

Some of the grants went into new shop fronts, others into community fayres and events. Independent analysis found the net economic return to local economies to be double the initial council investment. But what was particularly important was that they let local people shape their communities and the direction of our local economy.

We know that is something which has been particularly lacking since 2010 and the implementation of austerity. With so much taken away it is no wonder we all feel far less agency and control over our surroundings.

The ward I represent has lost two important places in recent years – a local community garden, and a pub linked to the origins of football.

It is for this reason – thanks to new powers being devolved down to local authorities – that Sheffield Council is going to strengthen powers for community groups to buy community assets, as well as investigating new powers to force landlords to rent out long-term empty shopfronts on local high streets.

Later this year the council is also launching the Sheffield Climate Bond, which will allow people to invest in local decarbonisation initiatives, like solar panels on public buildings or more active travel infrastructure.

The previous government presided over 14 years of austerity and a stagnant economy. We can only end that by shifting more power down to local people and putting communities in the driving seat of our economic renewal.

Minesh Parekh is the Labour & Co-operative Councillor for Crookes & Crosspool.