Janet Ridler

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I have lived in Sheffield all my life and I have extensive experience of working for our community. As a Director of the Gardeners Rest Community Society in Neepsend, I run a work experience programme offering opportunities to young people with learning difficulties, and as a trustee of Sheffield Civic Trust I coordinate Sheffield’s Heritage Open Days festival. I also have 12 years’ experience as a magistrate in Sheffield’s criminal courts.

What do you think makes a good local councillor?

A good councillor is someone who has an extensive local knowledge of the city and the issues facing it, and who has a proven track record of working for the community and getting things done. They will work with their communities and work for them.

Tell us three things you're aiming to focus on or achieve for your ward during your term as councillor

• Transport – I am committed to taking our local public transport networks back under public control. This will mean a better service, cheaper fares, and a service run for people not profits.

• Families – I will fight to protect important services such as adult social care and children & young people’s services. I stand up for working people and their families who are suffering rampant inflation, soaring energy bills, and tax rises.

• Environment – I will fight to protect our local green spaces such as Wood Royd against inappropriate development, as the Government’s unrealistic figures of houses they want building in our area is threatening our rural landscape.

Tell us three things you're aiming to focus on or achieve for the city of Sheffield during your term as councillor

1. Continuing to build a more prosperous and sustainable Sheffield post-pandemic, tackling the climate emergency, protecting green spaces, and delivering clean growth. Investing in local centres and high streets to support their economic growth.

2. Prioritise early intervention and prevention services – investment in combatting social isolation, increasing youth provision, and street enforcement to tackle litter, graffiti & fly-tipping.

3. A commitment to making the city more accessible and inclusive for all particularly through improved connectivity, active travel measures and public transport.

Transport: “Air pollution contributes to 500 deaths a year in Sheffield. Living alongside a busy road carries the same risk as passively smoking 10 cigarettes a day.”. Supported by better public transport and disabled accessibility, do you think private motor traffic should eventually be excluded from Sheffield city centre?

• Yes
• Unsure
• No

If you'd like to add details on your position, please do so here

We need to improve public transport so that it is affordable, clean, safe and dependable. The key to reducing pollution in the city centre is to make travelling by public transport easier, cheaper and more convenient than going by car. There will always be a need for private vehicle access for disabled access. By taking public transport back into public control we can reduce the number of private vehicle journeys in a way which makes this a positive, cheap and easy choice for people. We did it in the 70s, we can do it again.

Housing: "The introduction of Selective Licensing can bring widespread benefits to the local community. In particular it will ensure that all private rented property within the designated area is safe and well managed". 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

The purpose of landlord licensing is to ensure that private tenants are protected from poor property conditions and other issues such as fire safety arising from poor standards of property management. Licensing gives the council power to enforce standards and gives often vulnerable tenants a degree of protection and backing which they may not currently have. By rolling out landlord licensing across more areas of the city we can help to make the private rental market safer, fairer and more transparent for tenants.

Local Democracy: “The primary purpose of the Local Area Committees (LACs) is to promote the involvement of local people in the democratic process and to bring decision making closer to local people.” Do you think Local Area Committees should be further developed?

• Yes
• Unsure
• No

If you'd like to add details on your position, please do so here

Anything which promotes and encourages local people to have a voice in their communities has to be a good thing, so I would like to see the LACs being further developed and greater attendance and involvement of more local people being fostered and encouraged. The committees ought to be an effective way of helping councils to respond quickly and directly to the issues that matter to local people.

Local Economy: Community wealth building (CWB) is a people-centred approach to local economic development, which redirects wealth back into the local economy, and places control and benefits into the hands of local people." Do you think Sheffield City Council should support community wealth building?

• Yes
• Unsure
• No

If you'd like to add details on your position, please do so here

Community wealth building must lie at the heart of our approach to rebuilding our communities post-Covid. The council must support local businesses and invest in locally-based skills-building, apprenticeships and training, so that investment remains in the city, rather than being taken out of it. We must deliver a high-wage, high-skilled, high-employment local economy in Sheffield.