Rehabilitating Gleadless Valley’s image should be a key part of its regeneration project said Sheffield Council leader, Tom Hunt.

Gleadless Valley, one of Sheffield’s most deprived areas, was assigned £80 million in council funds to assist in improving local amenities and social housing, with plans created by three urban design companies.

That was seven years ago. Gleadless Valley remains an area most heavily affected by poor housing and unemployment, with no action by the council or local services.

Residents still face many of the key issues reported in 2017, when the project was announced, including anti-social behaviour (ASB), crime and fly tipping.

Regarding fly tipping and the condition of the area, Councillor Hunt said: “We need to tackle this as part of the regeneration.

“Maintenance of public areas around the housing will make a big difference to the overall impression of the area and quality of life for residents.”

Dave, 67 and Trevor, 68, two long-standing residents were both former members of the Gleadless Valley Tenants and Residents association. They left the association because they felt they weren’t being listened to by the council.

Dave described the state of the area as “an eyesore”.

“People come in and dump rubbish by the barrowload, and they don’t care who sees them.”

Trevor said: “The council set up cameras as a deterrent, to try and scare people off but they were ripped down by vandals.

“The amount of graffiti, the litter, the fly tipping, the area just isn’t looked after at all.”

Statistics of waste removal from the area indicate that volunteer led initiatives have removed over 2500 refuse sacks of waste picked up from outdoor, public spaces in 2024.

Projects like this are part of the council’s initiative to encourage what they call “community led approaches”, where residents support their own community projects.

Tom Hunt said that the council aims to “look for ways to make visible changes quickly, targeting littering hotspots and working with police to target fly tipping.”