Despite repeated promises to regenerate Gleadless Valley, residents have spoken of their frustration that the deprived ‘area has stayed the same’.

Sheffield City Council allocated £83m in 2018 for the housing regeneration of the area but the funds still haven’t been used.

Despite the need for fast action, the council only managed to finalise the masterplan at the end of August 2024, switching to a community led approach, prompting locals to ask how the funds will benefit the area.

Gleadless Valley was built in the 1960’s and comprises of roughly 4,600 homes, half of which is social housing. The area has been classed as one of the most deprived estates in the country, with an above UK average of unemployment.

Two ex-members of the Gleadless Valley Tenants and Residents Association (GVTARA), Dave and Trevor, who asked not to be fully named, spoke about the area’s key issues and their concerns that locals feel are not being heard.

Dave, 67, who has been an area resident for around 20 years, said: “Crime and anti-social behaviour are a big problem and its only getting worse. The other day I saw a group of big, young, lads go into a shop and help themselves to drinks, then just walk out.”

The crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) rates in Gleadless Valley are 1.5 times higher than the Sheffield average, with the Herdings, Ironside and Plowright areas having approximately 250 incidences per 1,000 residents.

Trevor, 68, said local amenities are being neglected. “There’s no buses running up and down the road now, the number 11, they’ve axed that,” he said. “Now we’ve got to walk half a mile to get a bus. The area is being starved. Some people of our age are not mobile, they can’t get out. The government gave us bus passes but there’s no buses.”

Dave and Trevor agreed that despite the council’s surveys and data collection, things have only got worse, and the community is being ignored.

In a 2017 survey, 40% of residents living in council owned flats in the area described the state of their home as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’.  “I’ve heard lots of reports of damp and cold,” said Trevor.

Dave, who explained his home has problems with damp, has tried to speak to the council about the issues, said: “I’ve called them up about four times this week. I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall.”

The original 2018 regeneration plan documentation mentions three organisations who were involved with the creation of the masterplan and data collection in collaboration with residents, but their current position and involvement in the plans remains unclear.

Urbanism, Environment and Design (URBED), an urban design company focused on “sustainability and community-led design” was at the forefront of creating the masterplan yet ceased trading in 2023.

Anthony Everitt, ADE regeneration’s director, the firm in charge of funding and economic concerns for the plans, said the company has “not been involved since the original work was completed”.

BDP architects were unavailable for comment.

The council which recently switched to a community led approach, is leaning on volunteer and charity organisations to identify and rectify community issues.

Sylvia Martyn, 59, has lived in the area for 30 years, and is a volunteer at a local library and assists in community projects.

“It’s alright them saying community led but who do they mean by that? They wanted volunteers to take over the library, but it meant having a management committee who would be responsible for finances. A lot of people don’t want that.

“There are plenty of groups going on, there’s an organisation called the Heeley Trust. They come in a couple of days a week with link workers, they help people sort out benefits and signpost them to other places.”

The Heeley trust is a charity that has been working in the Heeley and Gleadless area for the last 25 years. They focus on improving the wellbeing of residents, preventing personal deprivation and improvement of public spaces.

Ms Martyn feels ASB is an ongoing problem for the area. “There are a couple of street wardens who come round sometimes but not often,” she said. “Whether they’re having any effect, I don’t know.”

She doesn’t wholly blame the council for the lack of change in Gleadless Valley. “When the right to buy came in all those years ago, the council were allowed to use the proceeds to build more houses. They wanted to raise council tax. But they weren’t allowed to do it.”

Government funding for council was stripped back under the conservative leadership. Councils are now facing a funding gap of more the £2 billion next year.

Sheffield Wire approached councillors, including the chair of the Housing Policy Committee, the chair of the South Local Area Committee and the Ward for Gleadless Valley, but they were all unavailable for comment.

As the issues with the Regeneration Masterplan delay continue, the council will surely come under further scrutiny as to their future action and spending.