Youth community centre transformed with “once in a generation funding”
A new £1m youth community centre has replaced a former GP surgery in North Sheffield, following a sustainable renovation project.
Fourth Wall Building Consultancy has unveiled the fully renovated GP's surgery in Southey Green that had sustainability as the driving force behind the project.
Josh Weston, 31, co-founder and lead director of the Sheffield-based building company, said: “It’s a multipurpose facility and it’s all about flexibility because this is a once in a generation package of funding, and we were incredibly fortunate to get that from the Youth Improvement Fund.
“It made sure that it was useable now and usable in the future, where rooms can always be repurposed.”
The Youth Improvement Fund is a government-supported initiative that provides financial support to revitalise youth facilities across the UK.
The new centre acts as a foodbank, provides counselling and career services, has IT suites and includes a sports hall to overcome the most significant gaps in the area’s community resources.
Fourth Wall and Chilypep, the Parson Cross youth charity, worked with young people from Southey Green to gather feedback and incorporate their ideas.
The two organisations worked closely since 2023, securing £1m bid to complete their sustainably-driven project.
Instead of demolishing the former GP surgery, Fourth Wall chose to renovate the interior and build an extension, resulting in a 60% reduction in carbon emissions.
Mr Weston said: “The government are starting the recognise we are demolishing a lot of structures which have had a lot of carbon used to build them in the first place.”
The construction crew also installed an air-source heat pump instead of a traditional gas boiler, and added solar panels to reduce the centre’s carbon footprint.
Lesley Pollard, CEO of Chilypep, said: “The new youth and community centre has been a long-held goal, and we’d like to express deep thanks to Fourth Wall for their dedication and collaboration with this project.
“We are also really proud to have had the young people and the wider community we serve at the heart of this, inputting into the design and ensuring that the centre meets their needs.”
Chilypep initiatives are supported by their patron, the Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett, who was born and raised in Parson Cross, Sheffield.
Rt Hon Lord Blunkett served as education and employment secretary, home secretary and work and pension’s secretary in Tony Blair’s cabinet.
Fourth Wall was founded in 2020 and is committed to sustainable development in all of its projects.
The building company has received the Highly Commended Sustainable Development award at the Inside Media Yorkshire Property Industry Awards.
“Council housing has been underinvested in for decades” – Councillor calls for more government support
Over a hundred new council homes will be built in addition to the 1000 promised by 2029 after a £12m boost was given to Sheffield City Council from Homes England.
Sheffield councillor and Chair of the Housing & Homelessness Committee, Douglas Johnson said: “[social housing] is at a critical point where the government needs to act to make sure that council stock is still viable.
“The difference this money makes is it means that we can keep the rents at a traditional council rent level.”
The council have promised 112 new homes after the waitlist for council housing in Sheffield currently stands at 25,000.
The recent budget boosts like these “just makes a small inroad” into addressing the demand for housing at an accessible price.
The Future of Council Housing Summit which took place on 6 March in Sheffield brought together over 100 council leaders nationally to address what Cllr Douglas Johnson called “very reasonable, modest demands to the government”.
Over recent years social housing has been affected nationally, with tightened budgets and shifting policies.
Labour declared that they would build 1.5 million homes within five years, and Sheffield City Council has pledged to deliver 40,000 new homes by 2039.
Cllr Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council, and the summit organiser, said: “Cuts to our income and soaring costs have undermined our agreement with government and left a huge gap in our housing budgets. However, councils will play a critical role in reaching the government’s ambition for 1.5 million new homes."
The party are currently pushing a bill through parliament which would give councils greater power to acquire land, in hopes of speeding up building.
Cllr Douglas Johnson said: “That in itself probably won’t make that much difference, that’s not the big rocker.
“It’s okay providing the power to acquire new land and building housing but it’s no use at all if the government doesn’t provide the right amount money.”
The Chair of the Housing and Homelessness committee see the stable future of social housing stands in the “revitalising” of estates that were once council housing.
Empty council homes stood at over 1000 in 2023 and a re-focus on these empty properties and investment into repairs has seen the number fall to about 400.
Ultimately, Cllr Douglas Johnson is only one in over 100 key leaders nationally, that believes the way forward is to urge the government “to really focus on housing that has been neglected for so long”.
New council strategy aims to eliminate hotel accommodation for Sheffield’s homeless
Some of Sheffield’s most vulnerable people could be moved into new temporary housing, according to a new Council strategy.
Sheffield City Council has announced a new Temporary Accommodation strategy, which aims to end the use of Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs), Hotels and Nightly Paid Accommodation as temporary accommodation.
The strategy also prioritises a rebalancing of the draft allocations policy (which is currently under consultation), to increase the priority on letting properties to those living in temporary accommodation.
Councillor Douglas Johnson, Chair of the Housing Policy Committee, said: “The Council has statutory duties to provide emergency accommodation for people who are homeless and without accommodation.
“A general increase in housing availability is an immediate step we can take over the next few months to alleviate this really pressing crisis.”
As of December 31 2024, there were 305 adults and 140 children placed in B&Bs, something which is paid for by the Council.
Cllr Johnson added that emergency accommodation like B&Bs was used by the Council after it exhausted its available housing stock.
The Council currently uses 442 dispersed council properties for temporary accommodation, but the new strategy highlights the need for approximately 200 more, including 70 for families and 130 for single occupants.
The recent announcement of a £12 million pound grant from Homes England to the council, will provide 112 council homes at social rent, as part of council plans to deliver 1,000 by 2029.
Cllr Johnson said: “We have far too many homeless people who are being accommodated in B&Bs.
“You’ve got to remember if you’re homeless, being in a B&B really isn’t a good thing for you at all.”
Homeless families in B&Bs have a maximum placement limit of 42 days, however the shortage of alternate temporary accommodation has caused many families to stay beyond this limit.
The total cost of B&B use to the Council has increased drastically, going from just £190,000 in 2018/19 to around £4.8m in 2023/24, with it being projected to rise to £6.6m in 2024/25 (Sheffield Council).
Cllr Johnson said: “This overspend is a massive pressure so it affects all services.
“It impacts Council budgets and takes money away from other vital services such as children’s care and social services.
“It’s much more cost effective and far better for residents to be in self contained flats and houses, and that is what we want to move more towards.”
This new approach is estimated to reduce pressure on the Council General fund by approximately £2.9 million for families and £2.2 million for single households by March 2027.
Labour benefit cuts a “big worry” for election campaign
Fears that Labour’s cuts to the disability benefits affecting 60,000 people in Doncaster could lose them votes in the upcoming local elections have arisen ahead of Nigel Farage’s planned visit tomorrow.
Cuts to Personal Independence Payments, which support those with disabilities in their daily living and mobility costs, were announced by the government last week.
Liz Kendall, announcing the welfare reform, said the cuts could save £5b and motivate people to get back to work.
Minesh Parekh, Councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, is one of the Labour members fighting against the cuts.
Cllr Parekh said: “Many of my friends and family are telling me that this isn't what they voted for when they voted for Labour. And that's something that cuts quite deep to me.
"I worry these welfare cuts and other policies that have been considered or enacted might lose us electoral support. That is a big worry for me. But the bigger worry is the moral and social impact on disabled people's lives and people who depend on welfare support.”
James Woods, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Doncaster, a charity which provides support and advice, said the plans undermine the 2010 Equality Act because they disproportionately impact those with mental health conditions, conditions which fluctuate, and non-visible disabilities.
Mr Woods said: "The danger with it is that people could be pressured into work when they are not well enough to sustain it."
Already receiving over 800 calls a week, Mr Woods added that the cuts will have a knock-on effect on the already "astronomically high" demand for Citizens Advice Doncaster and local food banks and homelessness charities.
Labour members against benefit cuts united in Sheffield City Centre last Friday in a bid to fight the changes. They urge supporters to submit motions to their branch and Constituency Labour Party and write to their MP to ask them to vote against any cuts to welfare.
The news of a potential loss of support for Labour comes after The Telegraph predicted Reform UK will topple Energy Secretary and Doncaster MP Ed Milliband in the upcoming May local election.
Nigel Farage will visit Doncaster tomorrow to unveil his mayoral candidate in a rally at the racecourse. Reform UK candidate for Woodhouse, Andrew Hizzard, said people are turning to the far-right in Doncaster because they want change and are unhappy with how our country is being run.
He said: “The party is growing at an unbelievable pace and I think we are doing remarkably well”.
Reform UK’s manifesto pledges an equally significant change to welfare. They insist on face to face assessment for disability benefits and warn that “all job seekers and those fit to work must find employment within 4 months or accept a job after 2 offers. Otherwise, benefits are withdrawn.”
Cllr Parekh said: “I think Reform is a very cynical political enterprise. It's run by a former banker and it's run by its millionaire lobbyists. I'm sure they'll say whatever they want to push people into believing they'll receive help when they won't.”
“I want us to be loud and proud in our support of working class people. And I think in the absence of that, people might lose hope and people might turn to these false idols. But Reform is an abhorrent, racist party and I hope people don't turn to them.”
Hizzard added that claims Reform UK is a racist party are “absolute rubbish”.
“I felt like I’d done something wrong”: Sheffield women share their PIP assessment experiences
A Sheffield woman who is battling a debilitating condition which leaves her struggling to walk and in constant pain has said securing financial security through the government targeted PIP process was one of the hardest battles of her life.
It took Rachel Wood, who has stage 4 endometriosis, 18 months and a court appeal to be granted Personal Independence Payments.
She now fears other people, in her position, won’t be given the financial aid they desperately need.
“I wouldn’t wish it on anyone” she says, “my hope for future generations of girls is more support, so that they don’t suffer like I have.”
The Department of Work and Pensions’ announcement last week outlined a proposal of £5 billion cuts, which will make PIP even harder for many to access.
Green Party Councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale, Angela Argenzio, has called the cuts “ethically and morally unjust for the people affected”, and suggested the government are "cowardly."
Personal Independence Payments have historically provided financial aid to people with a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, and are intended to help cover the additional costs of being disabled.
Rachel, 41, from Sheffield, understands more than most how endometriosis, a condition where cells including the womb lining grow elsewhere in the body, causing pain, inflammation and scar tissue, can leave a sufferer unable to do the most simple of tasks.
“It impacts everything,” she says. “Even, like going to the toilet. I can’t walk very far at all, and it affects you mentally a hell of a lot. I would have pain three out of the four weeks [of the month]. My first marriage even broke down, as he just didn’t understand the condition.
“It can be atrocious trying to go to work. Sometimes it all just gets on top of you, and if it’s a really bad day work just kills me.”
Endometriosis is a fluctuating condition, and has resulted in eight surgeries for Ms Wood, including the removal of part of her ureter and bowel, a bowel resection, and a hysterectomy.
Rachel first applied for PIP at the end of 2023, but despite her daily challenges, and 192 pages of medical evidence, she was initially awarded 0 points in her PIP assessment.
“I had the evidence, including a letter from my consultant that I walk with a stick, and that it affects me daily, but it still wasn’t enough,” she says.
A combination of the condition and Prostap - a monthly injection used for endometriosis management that induces a state of menopause - resulted in Rachel having trouble using the bathroom, mobility issues, and the need for more medications, such as antidepressants, HRT and blood pressure tablets.
As a result of her symptoms, Rachel, who uses a mobility aid, has struggled with managing the condition alongside work.
PIP is awarded to claimants on a point-based-system assessing two main components - a daily living part - if you need help with everyday tasks - and a mobility part - if you need help with getting around.
To access the standard rate, someone must receive eight to 11 points for daily living needs, and more than 12 points for daily living or mobility for the enhanced rate.
Rachel appealed the initial decision and went to court to fight her case. “The judge was lovely,” she says. “I was awarded nine points straight away. They took me seriously.” A complete contrast to how Rachel had been initially treated.
But she believes if she wasn’t having a bad day when she went to Court, she might not have been believed.
“It was a bad day when I went in, which was a good thing. I can see it being different going on a ‘good day’, as we call it, or as normal as we can get.”
Receiving PIP has allowed Rachel to lower her hours at work, and better manage her conditions.
“It’s been a fight to get PIP, and it shouldn’t have to be,” she says. “When you’re that poorly, to have to go to court is just awful. I felt like I’d done something wrong.”
Ailish McMillan, 31, received zero points in her PIP assessment, despite suffering from severe depression and endometriosis, and claimed the application process was dehumanising.
The fluctuation of her debilitating symptoms mean that she can go from working her busy hospitality job one week, to being unable to get out of bed the next.
At her worst, she shared that there were only three days of the month that she could function without thinking about it. “How can a person feel that much pain, and still be alive?” She says. “It’s horrendous”.
But despite her health conditions, Ailish was told she was not eligible for PIP, causing her to feel as though the people assessing her application thought she was lying.
“The process of the application is scary and quite harrowing,” says Ailish, from Sheffield. “It was almost like I wasn’t believed. I would crawl to the bathroom seven days a month, you don’t just snap out of that. It’s depressing, really.”
Although Ailish was shocked to see her score, she was not surprised, and is worried about what it means for other people in a similar position.
“To take away the only help targeted at disabled people boggles the mind,” she says. “It’s still sinking in. It just leaves us all out in the cold, and what are we supposed to do?”
Personal Finance Expert Fiona Peake said that PIP is a ‘vital lifeline’ for millions of disabled people across the UK, and that, for many, it’s the difference between keeping the heating on, affording accessible transport, and being able to access the essentials.
Despite misconceptions, PIP is not an out of work benefit. The extra support allows people to order grocery deliveries, make their living space more accessible, purchase mobility aids and medication, and use taxis services, which would otherwise be unaffordable.
Changes to the PIP assessment outlined in the Green Paper propose the payments should be “focussed more on those with higher needs”, and only those who score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity will be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.
This creates challenges for many currently eligible for or receiving PIP, that make up their points across different components of the assessment.
“Many people find that assessors just don’t fully understand their conditions, or how fluctuating conditions impact daily life,” says Peake.
“This leads to unfair decisions, forcing people into often lengthy appeals”.
Peake outlined these cuts will impact not only claimants, but also have a knock-on effect on their families, placing more pressure on them for financial and practical support.
“Not everyone has family who can step in,” she says. “And for those who don’t, the impact could be devastating.”
Peake argued if the Government wants to support people into work, simply cutting PIP and other welfare support isn’t the answer.
“They should be looking at ways to make employment more accessible, offering better workplace adjustments, tackling discrimination, and providing better support financially,” she says.
“Without this, [disabled people] could be left choosing between their health and trying to hold down a job that doesn’t accommodate their needs. That’s not fair, and it's not realistic.”
“Cowardly”: Sheffield Green councillor slams government disability benefit cuts
The government’s disability benefit cuts will lead to increased poverty and worse mental health for Sheffield residents, a councillor has warned.
Last week, Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, confirmed the government would be tightening criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and reducing incapacity benefits for new claimants from 2026.
Speaking in the House of Commons she said that the changes aimed to save £5bn a year from the welfare budget by 2030.
However Broomhill and Sharrow Vale councillor Angela Argenzio called the cuts “ethically and morally unjust for the people affected”.
She said: “There are choices that the government could take, but they are choosing to target the most vulnerable people. It’s cowardly really.”
Cllr Argenzio has herself worked in the voluntary sector for seven years, including five years as finance manager of Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind. She is also currently chair of the city’s Adult Health and Social Care Policy Committee.
She said: “It worries me that this will put pressure on local services because people will have to rely more on foodbanks, they will get more ill because they will be more stressed, so as well as typical problems they may have more problems with mental health.
“We’re working so hard in this city to try to make it better for everybody, then something like this happens which will put huge pressure on our residents.”
According to 2021 census data, 20% of people in Sheffield identified themselves as disabled, with 28% of households having one disabled person living in them.
One of these residents is Liz Kieran, a mum of three who suffered a stroke when she was just 27.
Now aged 40, Mrs Kieran struggles with mobility and chronic pain. She said that the cuts would be “catastrophic” for people like her in the city who rely on PIP and universal credit to pay for the daily costs of living with a disability.
Mrs Kieran also volunteers for Disability Sheffield and sees first-hand how people are already struggling.
She said: “A lot of the time you do find it’s disabled people that are ending up having to go to food pantries, because of universal credit, because they’ve been turned down for PIP, or because they’re not getting the help in the community.”
Cllr Argenzio said that the link between poverty and disability was being overlooked by the government’s planned reforms.
She said: “For me, we need to tear down the systemic barriers that make people unwell and reliant on welfare.
“The welfare system is so important because it's a safety net for all of us. All of us, one day, may need some kind of support.”
During her speech on 18 March, Kendall also announced a £1bn package to support disabled people back into work.
She said: “This will mean fairness for disabled people and those with long term health conditions, but also for the taxpayers who fund it as these measures bring down the benefits bill.
“At the same time, we will ensure that our welfare system protects people. There will always be some people who cannot work because of their disability or health condition. Protecting people in need is a principle we will never compromise on.”
Makers’ Market 2025: Sheffield’s independent artisans reflect on ‘demoralising’ reality of the market
Local sellers at Sheffield's first ever Makers' Market said they "can't compete" with established companies such as Amazon and IKEA.
All Good Stuff (AGS), a non-profit that promotes Sheffield's local artists, designers, and artisans, hosted its inaugural Makers' Market last Saturday.
Dawn Ireland, a textile artist with nearly 30 years of experience, said as an independent artist “you can't really compete” against the likes of Amazon and Ikea.
In 1994, she set up her own business as an independent artist and now sells embroidery, vintage fabrics, stamps, and postcards.
Her experiences while exhibiting her products have varied, and she said it is key that an event is “well advertised”.
Ms Ireland found Saturday's Makers' Market “a little bit slow” due to technical difficulties, and also felt unsure whether a lot of people would be arriving at the event when “there's a lot happening in the city this weekend”.
She believes that local artisans have to rely on different factors for things to work out, including people realising that the products are handmade, and that the “right people come to visit” during exhibitions.
Rosie Butcher, who creates a variety of handcrafted cards, was one of the exhibitors.
She said: “When you do something, and then you go to a high street place, and you see [a product] for less, it's a bit demoralising."
Ms Butcher said the idea of making “something very personalised that means a lot” to a customer is what motivates her to keep going.
Stella Eden, another artisan, specialises in soy wax candles, and started her business ‘Getting on Me Wick’ during the COVID-19 lockdown. She researched ways to calm anxiety and began experimenting with essential oils before deciding to make her own candles that may help a person feel calmer when they are dealing with anxiety.
She said: “We make things by hand, which takes longer, and [because of] our costs and everything, I can't compete with the mass production.”
Looking at the positives, the artists shared that while it is difficult to compete against largely manufactured goods and their price points, there is still an audience that exists for handcrafted products.
Ms Ireland said: “I think it's just finding the right audience for the work. Events like this are good because people can meet the maker and find out a little bit more about how the work is made.
"When people meet artists and makers, I think that helps.”
Ms Eden’s experience at exhibitions has largely been positive, as she highlighted the support of a great community. She also talked about the downside of the reality, where she feels that “we live in a society where it's more focused on Amazon, and really fast, mass produced items”.
She said that she still has “a lot of customers who want something that's handmade, and they will pay for more of a quality item”.
Speaking about the support in Sheffield for local artisans, Ms Eden said people are very supportive in the city, and “it's a wonderful place to make things”.
She shared an instance that reinforced her motivation to continue with her business. One day a woman walked into the store as the then unreleased ‘Joy Candle’ was burning, and loved the smell so much she bought it for her wedding.
Ms Eden said: “She had all her friends and her family there and she said the feeling was just overwhelming and she just never forgets that day and on her wedding anniversary.
“I was so honoured that even though I wasn't there, I felt like I was [at her wedding] because she got the joy candle burning, so that brought me so much happiness and joy.”
The woman now always buys the same candle on her wedding anniversary to give to her friends and family.
For Dawn Ireland, it is the positive feedback from people that drives her to continue with her business.
Ms Ireland said: “They see my work and the reaction I get from people that like my work and that makes me think, ‘Yeah, this is why I'm doing it’. Not only do I enjoy making, but when I see people appreciating it, people buying my work, it really makes it worthwhile.”
“Not nearly enough films about disabled athletes”: SHAFF ’25 spotlights accessibility outdoors
Panellists spoke about going beyond basic needs and promoting “a good life” during a talk on disability in the outdoors, as part of this year’s Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (SHAFF).
The panel hosted Clare Millington, a mother of twins with learning disabilities, who highlighted the issue of “low expectations”, and included a conversation on how disabled people are represented within the adventure film genre.
John Churcher, another speaker, talked about his climbing experience and said: “sometimes, people’s attitudes haven’t been the best, so we just try and educate them that blind people can do it.”
A range of viewpoints on the current state of accessibility for disabled people seeking to access the outdoors were shared, with topics like the right-to-roam campaign and the government’s proposal to limit disability support coming under discussion.
Anisah Barber, a disability rights campaigner and director of the Adaptive Riders Collective, spoke about her isolation from the outdoors community when she encountered frustration from “people who look at me and go ‘well, you look fine, so why are you struggling to do this’.”
She also drew attention to the additional cost of disability and said: “specialised kit is even more expensive, brands are perhaps only providing it to well-known people…as much as people might say that the outdoors is free, it’s not.”
SHAFF 2025’s co-director and the panel’s chair, Frit Tam, later spoke with Sheffield Wire and reflected on the hundreds of film submissions sent in for consideration.
He said: "There’s not nearly enough films about disabled athletes. We’re still really, I think, in such early days of that, but also, somewhat frustratingly, it’s 2025 and we shouldn’t be in the early days of that.”
It was a point brought home by Mr Churcher’s sight guide, Lauren Bean, who challenged herself to provide audio descriptions of movies after having to read out "90 minutes’ worth of subtitles".
She said: "I thought it must be lengthy, difficult and expensive because nobody's doing it, and I was just completely taken aback by how easy it was, and I think it just really annoyed me.
“I don’t think it should be acceptable that films featuring a blind person are not audio described…because if you’re making a film about blind people, who are you trying to inspire? Because it’s not other blind people, if it’s not accessible to them. It’s just not right.”
Mr Tam said: “Films create an opportunity to spend time with somebody, or somebody’s story, for an extended period of time in which you can then learn more about someone’s journey”.
During the weekend-long event, a series of film strands were screened, including a new ‘Reconnection’ segment that intended to showcase community-centred movies.
Set in a deprived district of South Dallas in the US, Danny Schmidt and Lindsey Hagen’s 4DWN – one of the films shown as part of ‘Reconnection’ – focuses on the pastoral role that a skatepark-turned-urban-farm is playing in parts of the city where the state has, in effect, retreated.
The crisis of food insecurity and a lack of social infrastructure intertwine, from the viewpoint of a young African-American boy who takes hold of the fragile joy to be found in latter-day skate culture.
Although adventure film remains dominated by the US and UK markets, Mr Tam said: “Here at SHAFF, we want to try and utilise film as a vehicle for sharing messages that we’re passionate about, that other filmmakers are passionate about.
“I think film will continue to have a really strong role to play in continuing to contribute to change.”
Next year, SHAFF celebrates its 20th anniversary and, according to Mr Tam, preparations already underway.
The festival’s founder, Matt Heason, has promised a sauna and ice bath at the ready outside the Showroom in 2026.
New book charts Sheffield United’s rise from Fourth Division to Premier League
A lifelong Blades fan has released a sequel to his first book: Ain’t Got a Barrel of Money.
Jason Holyhead, a Sheffield local, had his second book: Still Ain’t Got a Barrel of Money, released this morning. Its publication comes three years after the first came out.
This time, the book tracks United’s comeback from the Fourth Division, after dropping there for the first time in the club's history in 1982, to then playing in the 1992-93 inaugural season of the Premier League.
Mr Holyhead said, while “the first book was all doom and gloom” he hopes that the second instalment will “bring back happy memories and trigger fond recollections of just how far United climbed during this period”.
He also said he wanted readers to acknowledge the importance of “old club legends”, such as former Blades chairman, Reg Brealey, who passed away last month.
Mr Holyhead said: “I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. I hope someone writes a book about him.”
Sheffield United went down to the fourth division in a game against Walsall in 1981, it was the first and only time they had ever dropped so low. This book however is a celebration of how the team managed to climb their way back to success.
Mr Holyhead said: “the fourth division campaign is one of the best seasons in living memory for a lot of supporters” and that is why he wanted to write about it.
Still Ain’t Got a Barrel of Money is also set alongside the strong working-class, industrial industry of Sheffield. Mr Holyhead said it was important for him to contextualise his writing within the background of the 1980s, referencing events such as the Miners’ Strike and Live Aid.
He said: “Sheffield is a working-class, industrial city. As I mentioned, most of the players were from similar backgrounds and I think fans can relate to that.
"To be popular with Blades fans you don’t necessarily have to be the greatest footballer in the world. If you work hard and you’re willing to put your body on the line, that goes a long way.”
The book also discusses the importance of grassroots football and criticises the money that is pumped into the Premier League, often leaving smaller clubs behind.
Mr Holyhead said: “The Premier League has brought us some fantastic footballers and some good managers, but it has done nothing for grassroots football and a lot of smaller teams suffer while the big clubs have got bigger and the rich owners have got richer.
"You see newly promoted teams go straight back down as they simply can’t compete. That’s not good for local or international football - which the men's team still haven't won a trophy in. Thank God for women's football.”
Still Ain’t Got a Barrel of Money is published by Pitch Publishing and will be available in selected bookstores across Sheffield today.
It can also be brought online.
JUS News Morning Bulletin (24 March 2025)
Here’s our JUS News morning news rundown with Cassidy Chan.
Stay tuned for our afternoon news rundown at 2pm.
Sheffield Comic Con 2025
Stormstroopers, wizards, and a doctor that jumps between time, Sheffield Comic Con took place last Saturday.
Organised by Creed Conventions, the event was packed with excitement filled with incredible cosplay and celebrity guests.
Our reporter Cassidy Chan went down to enjoy the atmosphere there, but she seems to be in a bit of trouble…
Steelers claim 4-1 victory to top elite league standings
The Sheffield Steelers secured a crucial 4-1 win over the Manchester Storm on Saturday, climbing to the top of the Elite League standings.
This victory, following a dominant 10-2 triumph over Glasgow Clan, saw the Steelers extend their strong form with a balanced team effort.
After an early goal from Manchester’s Dallas Ehrhardt, Sheffield quickly responded with Robert Dowd's equalizer.
This was followed by a bizarre go-ahead goal from Sacha Guimond when David Tendeck misjudged the puck, deflecting it awkwardly and into the net, handing Sheffield a 2-1 advantage.
The Steelers seized control in the second period, with Dowd scoring again to make it 3-1 and Marco Vallerand adding a rebound goal to extend the lead to 4-1.
Despite a few moments of tension and Manchester’s efforts to fight back, Sheffield's defence and net minding, led by Matthew Greenfield, kept Manchester Storm at bay.
Greenfield finished the game with an impressive 96.15% save percentage, with Sheffield outshooting Manchester 32-26.
Dowd's two-goal performance earned him Man of the Match honours, and the Steelers then sat one point clear at the top of the standings.
Aaron Fox said: "It's a huge weekend for us, hopefully we've put pressure on Belfast and Nottingham.
"It should be an interesting next couple of weeks".
The Steelers, who are currently second in the league, have their work cut out, though, as the Belfast Giants, are at the top, after their 5-2 win over the Guilford Flames, yesterday.
Sheffield’s next challenge comes at home against the Dundee Stars on Saturday, followed by a Sunday trip to face the Fife Flyers, who currently at the bottom of the table.