Elected in 2023 Local Elections 
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Hi, my name is Angela and I have lived in Sheffield since 1996. I moved here from Italy, where I was born and raised. Since being a teenager I have been interested in social justice and human rights. I was a teacher for 16 years and since 2015 I have worked in the voluntary sector: first for a disability charity and currently for a homeless charity.
What do you think makes a good local councillor?
Since being elected in 2019, I have worked hard to tackle inequalities in Sheffield as a whole and to promote climate justice for my constituents. I take my role very seriously and have an excellent record for casework results. I work closely with community groups and I am available to residents. I want to continue the work I started in 2019. I know what happens in the ward and I am there for costituents.
Tell us three things you're aiming to focus on or achieve for your ward during your term as councillor
I want to continue to work hard with local communities to ensure that their aspirations are achieved.
Ensure that people who are most vulnerable are looked after properly and supported to thrive in their communities by giving them a voice in Council.
Air pollution is a real issue in the ward and I want to work to ensure that people can travel safely by public transport, on foot and by cycling so that only necessary journeys are undertaken by car, thus reducing traffic and improving air quality in hot spots.
Inconsiderate parking and rat runs are a problem in some areas and I want to ensure that we listen to residents affected and find solutions.
Tell us three things you're aiming to focus on or achieve for the city of Sheffield during your term as councillor
Continue to work openly in the committee system that Sheffield voted for, listening to and engaging residents. This has already had results this year and as a co-chair of a Policy Committee I am very proud of the positive changes that we have made in our work practice.
Building more council housing so more people will have somewhere affordable to live. Making the connection between having a safe, affordable home and the quality of life and health that people can enjoy.
Make streets around schools safer and tackle illegal and unsafe parking all over the city, so that our children and communities can enjoy walking to school and don’t need to worry about unsafe driving and parking.
Environment: Sheffield City Council has stated that to reach its aim of net-zero by 2030, "change will be difficult... we will have to take hard decisions as a council on behalf of the city". If elected, what changes will you make to enable Sheffield to reach net zero by 2030?
We need to create a Local Area Energy Plan for Sheffield that has the buy-in of the wider community and leads to a local area energy planning process.
We have to look at best practice from around the country and apply it here. In Exeter the Council have constructed all their buildings to the Passivhaus standard with very low energy demand. In Nottingham the council is retrofitting council homes to a very high standard to ensure residents have a comfortable home that is affordable to heat. We should incorporate solar panels into all new council buildings.
We need to find new sources of funding to ensure we can make improvements to public transport, support cycling and walking. The Employers Workplace Parking Levy brings in £9 million/year to help Nottingham City Council fund its improvements and it could work in Sheffield as well.
We need to find ways to help people make their own homes energy efficient. Our proposal to help people make improvements by releasing the capital in their own homes is innovative and has been trialled successfully before by Kirklees Council.
We need to establish strategic partnerships with renewable and energy efficiency installers to help ensure certainty on cost and delivery of measures.
We should use funding available for solar installations from Cooperatives on Council Buildings and encourage take up by large commercial organisations.
We need to encourage wider community investment in local renewable energy projects through a range of measures including Community Share Offers & Municipal Bonds.
We need best practice in Planning to support renewable energy installations by developers and to create a low carbon energy supply.
We need to encourage renewable and energy efficiency skills by making links between the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency sectors with appropriate local training providers.
Government needs to be a partner and be aware of its role to help SCC achieve Net Zero.
Transport: Sheffield City Council, and the Mayoral Combined Authority, have been awarded multi-million pound pots to improve cycling and walking networks. What are your priorities for transport infrastructure in Sheffield?
Sheffield Greens have produced a vision document on transport ‘Get Sheffield Moving’ where quality public transport & safe walking & cycling could replace most routine car journeys.
Our vision for cycling and walking is:
A safe and convenient network of fully-protected cycle ways that connect homes, workplaces, shops & leisure areas.
Secure cycle parking at all public amenities including parks, shopping areas, libraries & leisure facilities.
Facilitate on-street cycle hangars according to local demand.
Cycling fully integrated with public transport, including spaces/racks for bikes on trams, bike racks on priority (commuter) bus services, and cycle parking at interchanges.
Make walking safer by removing obstacles from pavements (including parked cars) and properly enforcing parking laws.
Give pedestrians priority at crossings, provide wider pavements and clean, well-lit paths.
Local Economy: Sheffield City Council has a forecasted cumulative budget gap of £111million by 2026/27. How would you raise revenue for the city going forward?
As Sheffield knows all too well, bad decisions are very costly. The new Committee System means there is far more scrutiny of council policies at an early stage in their development. It is hard to quantify the benefit of good decision making but we do know that the legal costs for the Sheffield Tree Scandal were over £413k.
The funding settlement the Council receives from the government is unfair to Sheffield. The Council has had a 50% cut in government funding since 2010 in real terms. So our first demand is that the Government restores proper funding for local public services.
There are also things that we can do locally to help the Council’s finances. We would establish a wholly owned council company along the Oxford Direct Services model. This would provide improved services to householders, such as gardening, household repairs, heating system servicing and replacement and retrofit works. This model ensures local people would get services they need and value whilst also providing a useful income stream for the Council.
Priorities include:
Generating renewable energy on council land and buildings
Introducing an Employers Workplace Parking Levy
Looking at ways to save money, for example by improving energy efficiency in buildings, and using council buildings more effectively.
Housing: On 14th December 2022 the council adopted a motion asking the housing policy committee to consider adopting further selective licensing throughout the city. Do you think Landlord Licensing in Sheffield should be extended, from currently applying to Abbeydale Road, Chesterfield Road and London Road, to covering more wards?
- Yes
- Unsure
- No
If you'd like to add details on your position, please do so here
Sheffield Green Party supports city-wide landlord licensing and we have been arguing for more protection for private tenants in Sheffield. Privately rented housing often inflicts extreme economic and social hardship on the tenants and contributes to a lack of community cohesion in areas of high renting. Landlord licensing means saving tenants from poorly maintained homes and creating a level playing field where landlords are rewarded for investing in good quality accommodation.