We need your help.
We’re told that there’s no money for Space for Cycling, but a £160,000 underspend on a Sheffield road project is to be spent on public art unless we take action now.
We were told that there wasn’t enough money to provide good cycle facilities as part of the Grey to Green scheme, that the busy pavement will be shared use and ‘confident cyclists’ can use the busy but narrowed road.
Today we discovered that £160,000 of savings have been made on the scheme but that they are now earmarked to be spent on public art instead of the high quality protected cycle path we need.
We don’t think that this is a good use of the money. We only have a few days to make our voices heard before the decision is made.
Please write to your councillors and tell them that you want this money to be spent on creating safe Space for Cycling on the Grey to Green scheme.
Tell them:
- Safe Space for Cycling is needed as part of the Grey to Green scheme in Sheffield City Centre
- Spend the £160,000 savings on creating a protected cycle track so that people don’t have to cycle with motor traffic or come into conflict with people walking.
- Ask them to pass on your views to Terry Fox, Cabinet Member for Transport, who is responsible for this decision.
The decision will be taken at the Sheffield Council Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 27th May.
We only have a few days to act. Please take 2 minutes and contact your councillors now via this website.
Thank you,
Matt Turner, Chair of Cycle Sheffield
You can write to your councillors quickly and easily by using this website
This allocation of funding is due to be approved by the Sheffield Council Cabinet at the 27 May Sheffield Cabinet Meeting[page 61 of the pdf].
Grey to Green Public Art
This project will provide Public Art as part of the Grey to Green Phase 1 – Sheffield Riverside Business District project. The inclusion of Public Art was always envisaged as part of the Grey to Green Phase 1 project but was not included in the Grey to Green Phase 1 Procurement Strategy due to funding pressures.
Following a competitive tender on the Grey to Green Phase 1 project sufficient savings have been made to confidently allow this part of the project to proceed. European Regional Development Funding have now confirmed that they will allow their portion of the remaining budget to be used for this project and a variation will be submitted to seek approval to use part of the remaining budget for the Public Art project.
The total budget for this part of the project is £160k split as follows:
Construction Cost – £65k
Client Costs Capital – £85k (£20k Foundations; £40k Artists Commissions; £25k Commuted Sums (Amey Maintenance)
Fees – £10k
Funded by £64k of ERDF which is included as an approved variation to the original Grey to Green Phase 1 – Sheffield Riverside Business District funding agreement.
