The Sheffield Drop 💧 Wednesday, July 2
Two tragic trials begin, Sheffield MPs lead a rebellion as parliament votes on the government's controversial welfare reform bill, and Prince William comes to town. Blimey!
My name is Andrew. I am a journalist based in Sheffield, and I’ll be providing you with all the latest developments in the Steel City. Let’s get into it.
📰 The News
👮♂️ A Snapchat row led to a 15-year-old boy stabbing and killing Harvey Willgoose at All Saints Catholic High School, Sheffield Crown Court heard — Lucy Thornton, The Mirror
👉 The court heard how the defendant was “dancing” around with a knife after he stabbed Harvey twice in the chest.
👉 Prosecution said he told the headteacher: “I’m not right in the head. My mum doesn’t look after me right. I’ve stabbed him.”
⛪ Chris Brain, a former priest of the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield, engineered a “cult” to sexually abuse women in the 1980s and 1990s, Inner London Crown Court heard — Andrew Dowdeswell, YorkshireLive
👉 Brain, 68, is accused of 36 counts of indecent assault and one count of rape.
👉 The court heard how Brain was adored by members of the church, abusing his position of power, and said “I thought it was more” when he was accused of sexually abusing around 40 women.
👨🦽 Three of Sheffield’s six MPs — Marie Tidball MP, who teared up in an emotional Parliament speech, Abtisam Mohamed MP and Olivia Blake MP — voted against the government’s welfare reform bill yesterday.
👉 The second reading of the bill passed by 75 votes after a massive climbdown from Labour — UK Parliament
👑 Prince William and Gordon Brown visited Sheffield yesterday as Prince William’s Homewards project marked its second anniversary. Inspired by his mother, Princess Diana, Prince William is trying to change the public’s attitude towards homelessness — Sean Coughlan, BBC News
🚶♀️ The pedestrianisation of Pinstone Street will now cost £27 million, almost double the £14 million initially budgeted. The council says the added cost — which is the second time the budget has changed — is due to "a number of setbacks" — Lucy Ashton, BBC News
🩰 All dressed in pink, hundreds of mourners lined Mosborough High Street yesterday to honour 11-year-old Elemie Wainwright, who died when she was hit by a van last month — Ciara Healy, Sheffield Star / Video credit: Sheffield Online
🌻 Loxley Nurseries, a garden centre on Long Lane in Loxley, will close after 25 years of trading at the end of August — David Kessen, Sheffield Star
🏞 Sheffield City Council will not fund a new play facility at Denham Close Park in Burngreave, but has promised to make the existing spaces “safe, welcoming and accessible”. A petition said the park had become overgrown and was taken over by drug users and graffiti — Julia Armstrong & Elizabeth Mackley, YorkshireLive
🏫 The Birley Academy was rated as “good” by Ofsted in a recent inspection — the first time the school has not been rated as “requires improvement” in over a decade — Ciara Healy, Sheffield Star
📌 Community Noticeboard
I will have a community noticeboard for each edition, which will include tidbits, events, and news provided by you, our wonderful readers!
✉ If you have anything you’d like me to include in the noticeboard, please do get in touch.
👉 Join Dr Rohit K. Dasgupta as he discusses his book, Desi Queers, which considers how queer South Asians have shaped LGBTQ+ movements and culture in Britain. You can catch him at Sheffield Central Library at 6pm on Thursday. More information here.
👉 Nottingham House pub (Notty House) is hosting its summer party on Saturday. Expect live music, some wonderful food (I suspect some of the best pies in the city) and good vibes. More information here.
👉 Also on Saturday, from 11am to 4pm, is the Walkley Summer Makers’ Market, hosted at St Mary’s Walkley. There’ll be art, jewellery, woodwork and more. More information here.
The Big Read
There has been significant reporting on Sheffield’s growing behaviour crisis in schools, with permanent exclusions and suspensions rocketing following the coronavirus pandemic. But Victoria Munro of the Sheffield Tribune reports on the use of “hidden exclusions”.
This includes when the threat of a child being expelled could lead to parents removing the child themselves, or schools placing troublesome pupils in other schools for a short period to see if a different environment helps reduce difficult behaviour.
These exclusions are not officially recorded, and they could help schools maintain a 90% attendance record, which Ofsted closely monitors. You can read more about this story here. It is behind a paywall.
🔗 Top three links from the last edition
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said Doncaster Sheffield Airport reopening “is still a big if” — Ralph Blackburn, Yorkshire Post
Lower Bowshaw View Nursing Home has been placed into special measures after the Care Quality Commission rated it “inadequate” — Tom MacDougall, BBC News
An 81-year-old cyclist was killed by a driver who had inhaled a nitrous oxide balloon — Wayne Ankers & Dave Higgens, YorkshireLive
🗞 Thanks for reading edition number 13🗞