Darnall Community Post Office

Darnall Community Post Office has reopened after a major facelift. Come and see your new look branch and tell your friends that we can now issue vehicle license discs. We are also open from 9am until 5.30pm every day except Sundays.

Darnall Forum AGM

Darnall Forum AGM

Church of Christ, 6.30pm 24 September 2013

Present – 23 people

Apologies - none

The Minutes – were agreed to be a true record

Matters Arising –

The Primary Care Centre project was completed and Darnall Well Being is now a tenant

A letter of thanks should be sent to Shabana for all her help

Financial report - Neil Bishop spoke to the Statement of Financial Activity and the Balance Sheet, explaining the financial position of the charity. The accounts were approved and the independent examiners were reappointed. Another firm had offered to quote but withdrew because they could not compete.

Trustees’ Report – Presenting the report Sylvia said that staff now have to work part-time and it is only because of their commitment and dedication that the charity is able to carry on. Neil is a ferret and really gets his teeth into things.

Sylvia said the Work Programme had proved an absolute nightmare but thankfully the Charity made a small profit, largely thanks to the efforts of Nazia, before the trustees decided to withdraw in 2013.

We had an information day last year instead of a carnival but - considering the weather - it was reasonably well attended.

Elections - thirteen people agreed in principle to serve as trustees

Local issues - It was reported that the library has been identified as a hub library that should remain open and under Council management. Cllr Lea confirmed that Darnall was not on the list of closures because it was considered a hub library. Recommendations have been made set against a number of criteria and a statutory consultation is starting shortly.

The Carnival was a big success. About 5,000 people attended and everyone had a good time. It was very harmonious.

A resident asked about the attempts to clean up Shirland Lane and other environmental issues. There is going to be a voluntary clean-up day and Veolia are also drafting in extra staff to address the issue. However, there are bulky items of furniture which are an eyesore. Cllr Lea promised to contact Streets Ahead about this. She said that it would be good to remind people in the Darnall Herald how to get bulky items taken away. Neil P said the Darnall Environment Task Group was trying to get residents to take pride in the neighbourhood, although he agreed that persuading private landlords was difficult even though piles of rubbish left on their property must discourage new tenants from occupying it.

In Tinsley a litter busters' group has been formed to take action about rubbish. Zahira said the same thing could be done in Darnall. The community organisers are available to help people if they want to try to do something about it here. Mary Lea said that teams using local pitches to play games should clear up after themselves. Sylvia has been into schools taking assemblies to encourage pride in the environment.

A member of the meeting said a lot of things thrown away could be 'free-cycled' if people were educated about it. Could Amey staff knock on the doors of people with bulky items on their property and tell them about this? Mary Lea said there will be a week of community action to promote recycling. There is a free-cycle website which needs advertising.

Neil Parry  from East End Quality of Life pointed out that people are not ringing in to report fly-tipping.

Sylvia said the closure of the Darnall and District Advice Service has caused a real problem. Cll Lea reported that there will be one advice service for the whole city which will make sure that every area is covered.  Neil Bishop said the current advice sessions don't meet the demand and some of the capacity is taken up by advice sessions for Slovak speakers. There has been an attempt to move to triage appointments with follow-up where appropriate. There will also be a move to more telephone and online advice which doesn't always work in an area like this.

Neil Bishop explained about the conversion of the post office to a main branch, which is now likely to happen in November, but our ATM may be installed in October. Someone said that Royal Mail was too expensive but Neil B reminded the meeting that when they used the post office local residents were helping the local community, especially people who are not able or are not comfortable to use the internet.

Sylvia reminded people about Community First. There is one more funding round this year and the closing date for applications is Friday 11 October.

AOB - Sylvia was thanked for her 13 years as chair of the Forum and presented with gifts. Cllr Lea and others said how much her leadership had been appreciated.

Darnall Carnival was Buzzing on Saturday

Darnall Carnival saw its biggest crowds for many years on Saturday afternoon. Pictured are (left to right) Sylvia Hamilton, Chair of Darnall Forum, Nazia Fazil from Darnall Forum who was funded by British Land to organise the event, and Paul Campbell Chair of the Friends of High Hazels Park who raised the money for the Carnival with support from Awards for All, Sheffield Town Trust, the J G Graves Charitable Trust and the Darnall Area Trust Fund.

Darnall Carnival Has Returned!

'Darnall Carnival has returned,' says Nazia Fazil, who works for Darnall Forum in Sheffield. She has been funded by British Land, the joint owners of Meadowhall and one of the main catalysts of the redevelopment of the Lower Don Valley, to help the Friends of High Hazels Park bring Darnall Carnival back to High Hazels Park, after an interval of 15 months. It will be happening on Saturday 21September from 12 till 5.

'We organised a similar event in 2012,' says Nazia, 'But it was more about information and advice, and showery weather put a damper on some of the more fun things that we tried to do.' This year the Friends of High Hazels Park have stepped in to ensure that a traditional carnival will be held once more, thanks to generous grants from Awards For All, Sheffield Town Trust, J G Graves Charitable Trust and the Darnall Area Trust Fund. 

'The Friends of High Hazels Park have done all the fundraising,' says Nazia, 'And we have provided administrative support to bring in all the entertainment and activities. It is taking place a bit later this year because both organisations were just too busy to do anything about it until the start of the summer.'

'There are going to be some information stalls, but the 2013 Carnival will really be a chance to have fun,' she says, 'Because The Friends of High Hazels Park are dedicated to getting local people to come and enjoy their local park. It's a wonderful place to go for fresh air and to do all the things that you can't do cooped up in a tiny house.'

Entertainment this year will include popular Bhangra acts Nafees, Sama Blake, Deen Janjua, AK 1 and Sajaad. There will also be a fairground, children's rides, circus workshops, food and craft stalls.

ENDS

Darnall Forum AGM & Darnall Herald

DARNALL FORUM ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND A CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER AT 6.30PM (Venue to be confirmed)

If you live or work in Darnall you are entitled to come to our annual general meeting where we elect the trustees of the charity. Darnall Forum owns Darnall Post Office and runs a number of projects to help regenerate Darnall and support local residents.

This is also a chance to ask any questions you might have about your neighbourhood or the services the Council and other agencies provide.

How do you feel about the proposal to close some of the City’s libraries or ask the community to run them?

ADULT COMMUNITY LEARNING AT DARNALL FORUM

Once again we are running adult community learning courses in Darnall.

Our entry level ESOL classes are now full but we hope to be able to offer ESOL Level 1 and 2. Let us know if you have passed Entry Level 3 or Level 1 and would like to study the next level with us in Darnall.

Our IT courses in a range of subjects at Levels 1 and 2, including wordprocessing, spreadsheets and desktop publishing are recruiting now. Hurry to get a place.

Basic Help for Jobseekers

Each Wednesday from 9.30 till 11.30 we run sessions for people who are looking for work. The programme we offer lasts for five weeks and during that time we will help you to:

1.   improve your CV

2.   open an email account, or use your existing email account, so that you can manage your CV and send it to employers

3.   register on the government’s Universal Jobmatch website

4.   search for jobs on the Internet

5.   improve your job applications and covering letters

6.   improve your interview skills

You can join the programme by coming along on a Wednesday at 9.30, but we only have space for eight learners at a time.

If you already have a CV please bring it with you. If you have a copy of your CV on-line please send it to yourself in an email before you come to your first session or you can bring it with you on a memory stick if you have no alternative.

Basic Help for Jobseekers in Slovakian

For the next few weeks we are still able to offer the same course to people in Slovak. Join the class NOW while this is still available. If you already have a CV – in English or Slovak – please bring it with you. If you have a copy of your CV on-line please send it to yourself in an email before you come to your first session or you can bring it with you on a memory stick if you have no alternative.

Please note that places on our employment course will go quickly. Please call at Darnall Forum to reserve your place.

This programme and some of our other sessions for jobseekers are funded by the European Social Fund as part of its mission to invest in jobs and skills for European citizens.

NEWS ABOUT DARNALL POST OFFICE

We are still waiting for planning permission to install our new ATM machine. Once we have that we will be expanding our other services to include car tax or vehicle licensing. The branch will close for a short period during the makeover. Staff will let you know, up to four weeks before, when these changes are going to happen.

All of our usual services will continue to be available alongside the new ones after the refit:

·     Saving and borrowing

·     Insurance

·     Banking and payments

·     Travel money

·     Letters and parcels

·     Phones and internet

·     Forms and documents

We will also be opening for longer on Saturdays.

Who to contact for more information

Please contact Nazia on 0114 249 0099 or email Nazia@darnall.org.uk for more details about the carnival or anything else in this newsletter. Or you can also follow us on Twitter at #darnallforum

If you have an idea, vision or concern, or just want someone to listen to what you have to say about your community, why not contact our community organisers:

·     Zahira Naz on 07860 526602

·     Nagina Hussain on 07860 526601

COMMUNITY FIRST

There is still some Community First funding available for this year. Applications must be submitted by Friday 11 October.

Community First is an £80 million Government Funded initiative managed by the Community Development Foundation to help local communities come together to identify their local priorities, plan for the future, and develop grassroots activity. The programme is being managed in Darnall by a community panel supported by Darnall Forum and Tinsley Forum.

PRAISE OR BLAME… Who would you like to thank for what’s happening in Darnall, or who would you like to blame? Post your response on our blog but please note that we cannot publish anonymous posts.