The Darnall Environment and Health Audit

DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

A REVIEW BY SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL

AND SHEFFIELD HEALTH, 2001

South East Sheffield East End Quality Primary Care Trust of life Initiative DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

CONTENTS

Chapter Page 1 Introduction ...... 1 2 Air quality ...... 4 3 Noise ...... 10 4 Land use and planning ...... 13 5 Contaminated land in the Darnall area ...... 15 6 Local facilities and services, parks and green spaces ...... 18 7 Transport ...... 22 8 Water quality ...... 25 9 Industrial processes authorised under Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act . . . . 28 10 Environmental Quality ...... 29 11 Housing ...... 31 12 Health data ...... 33 13 Conclusions and Next Steps ...... 40

Tables 1 Community air quality monitoring results ...... 5 2 Respiratory health data for Darnall ...... 7 3 Quantified health impact of air pollution in Darnall and Tinsley ...... 8 4 Darnall and Tinsley noise measurements 2000 ...... 11 5 Main Development Sites in Darnall ...... 14 6 Remediated land and current use ...... 15 7 Known / likely contaminated sites ...... 16 8 AADT Traffic Flows for Selected Roads in the Darnall area ...... 23 9 GQA chemical grading for rivers and canals ...... 25 10 Groundwater and surface water abstractions in the Darnall area ...... 26 11 Requests for pest services in Darnall ...... 29 12 Other requests for services in Darnall ...... 29 13 Housing tenure in Darnall and Sheffield ...... 31 14 Incidence of long-term limiting illness in Darnall ...... 33 15 Comparison of hospital admissions for respiratory disease, asthma and coronary heart disease for Sheffield City and Darnall Primary Care Groups (1997/98) . . . 34 16 Impairments of Darnall residents recorded by Sheffield City Council’s Housing Survey ...... 38 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

Figures Page 1 Map of Darnall Action Area ...... 3

2 Tinsley community air quality monitoring results 1998-2001, NO2 fortnightly averages ...... 6

3 Darnall community air quality monitoring results 1999-2001, NO2 fortnightly averages ...... 6 4 Darnall residents’ satisfaction with their present accommodation ...... 32 5 Darnall residents’ feelings about the area ...... 32 6 Hospital Admission Trends 1994-98 Darnall PCGs ...... 34 7 Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 all causes below age 75 ...... 35 8 Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 coronary heart disease ...... 36 9 Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 stroke ...... 36 10 Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 circulatory disease ...... 37 11 Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 suicide and undetermined cause of death ...... 37

Appendix 1 Air Quality A1.1 The Government’s Air Quality Objectives ...... 41 A1.2 Results of DEFRA’s (DETR’s) Air Quality Monitoring Unit at Tinsley 1990-2000 42 A1.3 Short and long term health effects of air pollution ...... 42 A1.4 Sheffield M1 Air Quality Action Zone ...... 43

Appendix 2 Noise A2.1 Noise Measurements and Exposure Category Boundaries ...... 44 A2.2 World Health Organisation guideline values for community noise in specific environments ...... 46

Appendix 3 Industrial Processes Authorised under Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 A3.1 Part B Processes operating in the area ...... 47 A3.2 Part A Processes operating in the area ...... 48 A3.3 Mass emissions to air from Part A processes ...... 48

Appendix 4 Index of Local Deprivation (ILD) A4.1 Index of Local Deprivation for Ennumeration Districts in Darnall and Tinsley . 49 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

1. INTRODUCTION This document has been produced jointly by Sheffield Health and Sheffield City Council’s Environmental Protection Service in response to community concerns regarding the state of the local environment in Darnall and its affect on health. The approach has been to draw together environmental data from a variety of sources as the basis for an objective assessment of environmental quality.

Using established guidance, the results of research, and recognised methods of health impact assessment the environmental data has been interpreted in terms of its likely affect on human health.

The aims of the audit are therefore:- 1) to review the current state of the environment in Darnall and its effect on the health and well being of Darnall residents, 2) to identify the gaps in knowledge and information relating to the environment and health, 3) to examine the links between environment and health.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information given in this report is reliable, this has been gathered from a variety of sources1. We cannot therefore guarantee the accuracy of data in the report. Official statistics are generally reported on a ward basis, and therefore include Tinsley, whilst community research is more focused on Darnall itself.

This document will be reported to the Darnall Area Panel and Sheffield City Council. A summary of the audit will be widely circulated throughout Darnall and the full document will be made available to Darnall, Handsworth and Tinsley Forums, the Darnall Well Being Group, the Health and Regeneration Group and, on request, to members of the public.

It is the intention that the audit will form the basis of the development of a local area action plan.

This process will require a collaborative approach between the local community, the Council, the health community, the private sector, and other organisations which all have an influence on the environment and health of Darnall residents.

Darnall Action Area

Darnall has seen a major transformation of the immediate area. The Lower Don Valley has attracted new manufacturing industry, office employment, retail, leisure and sports facilities. Meadowhall, now 10 years old, is a major out-of-town shopping and leisure centre which

1 Sources include one-to-one interviews carried out in the Darnall area from Feb-May 2000 by the East End Quality of Life Initiative, EEQOL’s postal survey in Nov-Dec 2000, the New Deal for Communities Neighbourhood Profile of Darnall, published in January 2000, Sheffield TEC’s 1999 Priority 5 Community Audit, Sheffield Health Information & Research SHAIPS1 & 2 surveys (1994 & 2001) and LAPIS5, 1999, the OPCS 1991 Census, Sheffield City Council Housing Survey 1999-2000, and the “On Track” Delivery Programme.

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attracts 30 million visitors per year, with an average of 150,000 cars per week using the centre. This, with Meadowhall Retail Park and the Centertainment complex, Sheffield Arena, and Don Valley Stadium, attract considerable amounts of traffic. Major names like Abbey National, Yorkshire Cable, Dixons and Freemans have offices in the valley and the area provides over a quarter of the jobs in the Sheffield travel-to-work area. This considerable regeneration has increased traffic-related pollution in many of the residential areas. The Darnall and Tinsley Action Plan produced by Darnall and Tinsley Forums (1997) noted: “that local employers employed few local people and smaller employers employ a lower proportion of local people.”

This suggests that the local community disproportionately suffers the negative effects of the regeneration of the Lower Don Valley.

Population profile

The Darnall area has one of the highest proportions of people from minority ethnic origins of any ward in the city. 30 per cent of residents are from black and minority ethnic communities, of which approximately a fifth are of Pakistani origin. The area also has the largest area of Bangladeshi settlement in the city, making up 7 per cent of the local population. There are also smaller numbers of people of Somali and Yemeni origin. The area is also very diverse in terms of socio-economic conditions. Areas of high minority ethnic settlement and social housing or pre-war terraced owner occupied and private rented housing correlate with higher levels of deprivation, compared with areas of low minority ethnic settlement and inter-war/post-war owner occupied semi-detached housing (see Index of Local Deprivation, Appendix 4). Darnall ward, as opposed to the City Council’s Darnall Action Area) includes some relatively affluent neighbourhoods into and beyond Handsworth to the east, as well as excluding sections of the more deprived Castle ward (Kettlebridge Polling District) just to the south of Staniforth Road. As a consequence ward based data under-represents the social and economic problems of the area and has tended to exclude ‘Darnall’ from high priority consideration within the city (Darnall and Tinsley On Track Programme 2000-03: Delivery Plan, 2000).

2 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT Figure 1: Map of Darnall Action Area

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2. AIR QUALITY

National context

In 1997 the Government launched its National Air Quality Strategy which included a list of pollutants that the Government wishes to control to protect health. Now, for each pollutant an objective, with a target date has been set (see table A1.1 in Appendix 1). The objectives were drawn up on the basis of the Government’s judgement of costs, benefits, and technical feasibility of achieving the standards by their objective dates.

To begin the process of managing air quality on a local scale, local authorities were required to undertake a process of review and assessment of air quality within their areas. The purpose of this review and assessment is to determine whether the objectives will be, or are likely to be exceeded by the set date.

The review and assessment carried out by Sheffield City Council’s Environmental Protection

Service has identified two areas of the city where levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are likely to exceed the annual objective of 40 microgrammes per cubic metre (µgm3) by 2005 and as a consequence the Authority declared two Air Quality Management Areas, now designated as Air Action Zones. One of these Air Action Zones centres on an area of Darnall around Junction 34 of the M1 motorway (see Appendix A1.4). In consultation with other agencies, business, and local communities the Council is now required to develop an

Air Quality Action Plan, the aim being to achieve the annual NO2 objective within the area by the year 2005.

It should be noted that no other pollutants are considered likely to exceed relevant Government objectives in Sheffield.

Road traffic is considered to be the main contributor to NO2 levels in Darnall.

Air quality monitoring and air quality modelling

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has operated an air quality monitoring unit in Tinsley since 1990. The unit monitors carbon monoxide (CO) and NO2. The monitoring results are available on the DEFRA website: http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcent/airqual/

Appendix A1.2 presents a summary of the ratified results for the DEFRA unit at Tinsley.

The City Council has also developed its own air quality monitoring strategy and now has five mobile air quality monitoring units, one of which has been in Tinsley since 1998.

These units monitor sulphur dioxide, fine particulates (PM10), and NO2. The Environmental Protection Service is able to make accurate predictions of air quality in the city using a sophisticated computer system known as Airviro. Such predictions make use of monitoring data and weather data obtained from a meteorological station at Woodburn Road. The Airviro system was used extensively for the review and assessment of Sheffield’s air quality referred to above.

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Local community concerns regarding road traffic and associated pollution led to the establishment of a network of sites for monitoring NO2 levels using diffusion tubes. This community monitoring began in Tinsley in 1998 and was extended to other parts of the Darnall area in 1999.

Diffusion tube monitoring is a technique designed to obtain air quality average data over a period of months. The results of this work are given in Table 1 below and Figures 2 and 3 overleaf and indicate that poor air quality may extend over a wider area than that predicted by the Airviro model.

Table 1: Community air quality monitoring results

2000 - 2001 1999 - 2000 1998 - 1999

3 3 3 Location NO2 (µg/m ) + NO2 (µg/m ) + NO2 (µg/m ) + annual average annual average annual average

Town Street* 61.0 63.0 57.0

Siemens Close* 57.0 58.0 53.5

Greasboro Road* 53.0 54.0 50.3

Ferrars Road* 46.0 46.0 43.2

Ingfield Avenue* 60.0 61.0 55.4

Clifton Crescent# 39.1 36.5 N/A

Prince of Wales Road# 37.6 36.3 N/A

Philimore School# 39.5 39.5 N/A

Greenland School# 40.6 39.3 N/A

Greenland Way# 39.6 38.1 N/A

# - Sites in Darnall * - Sites in Tinsley + - Running average

The Government’s objective for NO2 is that it should not exceed an average level of 40 µg/m3 by the year 2005. Figures 2 and 3 overleaf show the community air quality monitoring figures for Tinsley and Darnall as averages on a fortnightly basis.

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Figure 2: Community Air Quality Monitoring Results of 3 years NO2 monitoring in Tinsley (1998 - 2001) shown as fortnightly averages

40 40 micrograms per metre cubed - the annual average objective set by Government to protect peoples health 30 Micrograms per metre cubed 20 Tinsley Annual Average 1998/99 = 54.6 micrograms per metre cubed 10 1999/00 = 56.3 micrograms per metre cubed 2000/01 = 55.1 micrograms per metre cubed 0

Tinsley Average 1998/99 Tinsley Average 1999/00 Tinsley Average 2000/01

Figure 3: Community Air Quality Monitoring Results of 2 years NO2 monitoring in Darnall (1999 - 2001) shown as fortnightly averages

60 National Air Quality Strategy Objective for Nitrogen Dioxide by 2005 of 40 micrograms per metre cubed. 50

20 Micrograms per metre cubed Darnall Annual Average 10 1999/00 = 37 micrograms per metre cubed 2000/01 = 39 micrograms per metre cubed

Darnall Average 1999/00 Darnall Average 2000/01

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Air Quality and health

A wealth of evidence is now available on the health impacts of various air pollutants. Air pollution is associated with increased death rates and with respiratory and heart conditions. Studies have also found links between air pollution and low birth weight babies and some cancers. The most vulnerable groups are the very young, the elderly, pregnant women, and those already suffering from poor respiratory or heart health. A recent study suggests that as many as one in four children may experience health effects from air pollution, in the form of shortness of breath, wheezing and decreased lung capacity. A summary of current epidemiological evidence of the effects of short and long term air pollution on health is given in table A1.3, Appendix 1.

In Darnall ward as a whole, hospital admissions for respiratory disease and for asthma are 13 per cent and 22 per cent higher than the city average respectively (Sheffield Health, 1999). A comparison of Sheffield Health and Illness Prevalence Surveys for Darnall Electoral Ward (SHAIPS1, 1994 & SHAIPS2, 2001) shows that the incidence of self-assessed respiratory disease has increased (see table 2 below). A postal survey of 1500 residents in the Darnall Action Area during November-December 2000 was carried out by the East End Quality of Life Initiative (EEQOL) using the same analysis as that used by Sheffield Health, and the results are included in table 2 below for comparison2.

Table 2: Respiratory health data for Darnall

Health symptom EEQOL survey (2001) SHAIPS2 (2001) SHAIPS1 (1994) Chronic cough 21.5% 20.3% 13.9% Chronic sputum 17.4% 16.3% 10.5% Bronchitis 13.3% 14.1% 7.7% Asthma 26.5% 23.8% 11.6%

Further detailed health data can be found in Chapter 12 of this report.

The health and air quality data taken together suggest that air pollution is causing an additional burden of respiratory ill health for Darnall residents. But the question remains exactly how much ill health in the area is caused by poor air quality, as opposed to other factors. Several recent studies have attempted to quantify the impact on health of a number of air pollutants. Data accumulated from a large number of research investigations into both short and long term health impacts of various air pollutants have been used to calculate ‘effect estimates’ or ‘dose response coefficients’. These allow the extra number of deaths, hospital admissions or other measures of ill health caused by a particular level of air pollution to be estimated, for a range of air pollutants.

2 It is important to note that the results from these surveys are not based on an objective assessment of people’s health, or on clinical diagnosis, but on indicators and self-assessment of symptoms via a self- completion postal questionnaire. How people assess their own health and respond to the questionnaire can be affected by a wide range of factors, and it is important to bear this in mind when interpreting the results.

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A recent government report estimated that up to 24,000 extra deaths per year are caused by short term exposure to poor air quality nationally. This would mean about 240 extra deaths in a city the size of Sheffield, and around 16 extra deaths per year in the Darnall area (on a pro- rata population basis). Studies from the United States indicate that long term exposure to particulates may shorten life expectancy by several years. A recent Swiss study concluded that particulate pollution was responsible for an extra 2,100 deaths in Switzerland, and that these deaths were brought forward by an average of 12.7 years. Research in Austria, France and Switzerland, using particulates as a measure of air pollution, found that 6 per cent of deaths were due to air pollution, of which half were due to traffic-related air pollution. Health costs from traffic across the three countries amounted to 1.7 per cent of the gross domestic product (this equates to £84 million for Sheffield, based on 1996 GDP).

In Table 3 below effect estimates and costs from a recent World Health Organisation study are applied to health and air quality data for Darnall to calculate the number of deaths, hospital admissions, cases of chronic bronchitis, restricted activity days, and asthma attacks in Darnall which can be attributed to poor air quality.

Community Research

Community research carried out in Darnall during February-May 2000 found that many people thought air pollution, particularly in the Kettlebridge and Phillimore/Greenlands areas, was a source of health problems such as breathing difficulties, asthma and other related problems.

Table 3: Quantified health impact of air pollution in Darnall and Tinsley

Health indicator Number Estimated Estimated Estimated Estimated per year number caused costs based on number of costs of cases by total outdoor WHO 3 cases attributable to air pollution 3 country study attributable to traffic-related

based on PM10 (at 1996/97 traffic related air pollution in level of 25µg/m3 prices) in air pollution4 EUROs EUROs

Deaths 2235 16 140457346 8 7163324

Hospital admissions7

respiratory 361 8 631978 4 32230

cardiovascular 395 9 691499 4 35266

Chronic bronchitis 108110 158 3307454011 81 16868015

Restricted activity days 721612 67830413 3680 345935 (adults = >18)

Total Morbidity Costs 33885190 17281446

TOTAL COST in EURO’s 47930924 24444770

TOTAL COST in £ 28758554 14666862

(see accompanying footnotes overleaf)

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Footnotes for Table 3

3 Source for effect estimate of relative risk: Künzli et al, 2000; air pollution level based on Airviro modelled predictions from Sheffield EPS. 4 51% of cases estimated attributable to traffic-related PM10, extrapolated from Künzli et al, 2000 5 Annual average of deaths 1977-79 for all adults aged 30 and over, due to all causes, for Darnall ward, source: Sheffield Health Information & Research Department 6 WTP (willingness to pay): risk reduction of fatal road accidents EUR 1.4 million per prevented fatality, corrected downwards to EUR 0.9 million considering lower WTP of higher average age class of air pollution related victims (WHO 3 country study). 7 Source: Sheffield Health LAPIS5, May 1999: 1997/98 hospital admissions for Darnall PCG 8 WTP (willingness to pay) for the avoidance of health state EUR 7870 per admission (WHO 3 country study) 9 WTP (willingness to pay) for the avoidance of health state EUR 7870 per admission (WHO 3 country study) 10 Estimated from Darnall ward average prevalence of 7.6% of adult population 11 WTP (willingness to pay) for the avoidance of health state EUR 209000 per case (WHO 3 country study) 12 Total person-days per year, extrapolated from Künzli et al, 2000, in the absence of reliable local data 13 WTP (willingness to pay) for the avoidance of health state EUR 94 per day (WHO 3 country study)

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3. NOISE Like many other urban areas Darnall suffers high levels of environmental noise from various sources. The main source of such noise is road traffic, although industrial sources can make a significant contribution in specific locations.

Noise associated with Sheffield City Airport is subject to planning conditions and Central Government rules administered by the Civil Aviation Authority. Although noise from aircraft taking-off and landing will affect people living near the airport the amount of air traffic would have to increase considerably to trigger noise insulation schemes under criteria set by Government.

Major roads contribute significantly to noise levels in Darnall. The M1 motorway is undoubtedly the single most notable source, but many other major roads run through the area.

Local noise monitoring

In 2000 the Environmental Protection Service undertook a limited programme of noise monitoring in Darnall to assess the local noise climate.

Measurements were taken at representative locations along major roads and at other locations over 15 minute periods of the day. The results are given in Table 4.

The World Health Organisation has recommended that to protect the majority of people from being seriously annoyed during the daytime the noise level should not exceed 55 dB

LAeq in outdoor living areas, and that to protect the majority of people from being moderately annoyed during the daytime the outdoor level should not exceed 50 dB LAeq. Unfortunately there are no applicable UK standards which can be used as a means to assess environmental noise in this context. Planning Policy Guidance PPG 24, produced by the (then) Department of the Environment, defines four Noise Exposure Categories (NEC’s) as the basis for deciding the suitability of sites for new residential development - see Appendix 2.

The noise levels in PPG 24 cannot be compared with the noise monitoring results in Table 4 without great caution as the latter were taken over periods of only 15 minutes.

Noise in Darnall

Noise monitoring results confirm anecdotal and subjective evidence that many areas of Darnall, especially those close to major roads, suffer unacceptably high noise levels.

If regard is had to PPG 24 many vacant sites in Darnall are likely to be regarded as unsuitable for residential development. This can in turn lead to blight and other problems such as fly-tipping, and there may therefore be merit in looking for other ways of addressing the issue of noise affecting potential residential sites.

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Noise and health issues

Numerous studies have been carried out to determine the health effects of noise pollution (IEH report on Non-Auditory Effects of Noise, MRC/IEH, 1997). Strong evidence exists for the effect of environmental noise on annoyance and sleep disturbance, including mood the next day. Links have also been found between high noise levels and heart disease and also poor performance in school children (Berglund,1996). Some studies have also indicated an association between exposure to high levels of environmental noise and low birth-weight babies and psychiatric disorders. However, these are less conclusive. A note of caution should be sounded with some of these attempted correlations, as it is evident that exposure to high levels of environmental noise goes hand in glove with exposure to other sources of pollution. This may complicate the apparent relationships between health and noise.

Table 4: Darnall and Tinsley noise measurements 2000

All values LAeq, 15min.dB DAY TIME PERIOD Location 0930 - 1200hrs 1200 - 1400 hrs 1400 - 1630 hrs Acres Hill Road/Staniforth Road 72.1 Allende Way/Darnall Road 66.9 Attercliffe Common 74.9 74.7 Attercliffe Road/Baker Street 75.3 Broughton Lane 72.8 Carbrook Tramstop 68.1 Clifton Crescent near Parkway 68.7 Faranden Road 70.6 Greasboro Road (near M1) 68.1 Greenland Road 73.3 Halsall Avenue 49.5 Handsworth Road/Dodson Drive 69.3 Handsworth Road/Laverack Street 74.7 Handsworth road/Oakley Road 75.1 Ingfield Avenue/Doctors Surgery 69.7 Junction of Brightside Lane/Hawke/Hanson Street 76.7 Junction of Brightside Lane/ Weedon Street 76.7 Junction of Handsworth Road/Clifton Crescent 71.2 Junction of Hawke St/Janson St/Attercliffe Common 77.6 68.4 Main Road 73.7 Poole Place 72.2 Prince of Wales Road near Parkway 68.0 Staniforth Road 73.5 Waverley Lane near Parkway 71.6

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There is some evidence that, compared with children in quieter environments, children in noisy environments may experience a combination of the following effects: Reduced ability to sustain attention More difficulty in concentrating Poorer auditory discrimination and speech perception Poorer memory especially in relation to performing more complex tasks Lower reading ability Lower motivation Raised blood pressure levels (Reported in 7 out of 9 studies where this was specifically investigated) Lower psychological well being.

One study concluded that environmental pollution experienced during childhood might have life-long effects on achievement of academic potential and on health. Appendix A2.2 outlines the threshold noise exposure values at which various health effects have been noted.

Community research

Community research carried out in Darnall during February-May 2000 found that road traffic noise was a particular problem to residents in the Kettlebridge area. People said it affected their peace of mind and disturbed their sleep. Some mentioned that it was worse in summer, if they opened the windows for fresh air. Aircraft noise was generally not a great problem but there seemed to be more concern in the Littledale and Kettlebridge areas than elsewhere, with sleep disturbance the main problem.

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4. LAND USE AND PLANNING Details of the land use categories for the Darnall area are given on plans 5 and 6 of the Sheffield Unitary Development Plan. This is available for public inspection at the following places: Planning, Transport and Highways Enquiries (Howden House, 1 Union Street, S1) Central Library Local Libraries Area Housing Offices

The existing residential development centres on Tinsley in the north-east of the area, central Darnall and Handsworth to the south. General industry is located mainly along the River Don and Sheffield Parkway, to the north of the airport and the industrial estate at Greenland Road. Much of the remainder of the area is taken up by mixed-use areas, leisure developments and shopping centres including, notably, Meadowhall.

The Industry and Business Land Survey conducted in 1998 is to be updated towards the end of the year 2001.

Table 5 overleaf shows a list of the main development sites in the Darnall area, this should be compared with the information in the next chapter.

A development strategy for the Darnall area is currently underway, as it falls within one of South Yorkshire’s Strategic Economic Zones within the Objective One programme. The Babtie Study (2000) and Yorkshire Forward’s Draft Integrated Development Plan (2001) make specific recommendations on the development of sites, whilst the East End Quality of Life Initiative’s Health Impact Assessment (2001) recommends ways in which health benefits can be maximised and negative impacts minimised for the local population.

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Table 5: Main development sites

Location Grid Reference Ownership Lumley Street 370879 C R Pursehouse Ltd and BR Woodbourn Road/Lumley Street 375880 Sheffield City Council Brightside Lane 376887 Commercial Development Projects Jessops Riverside 386902 Redrow Brightside Works,Weedon Street 387904 Stadium City Ltd Cooper & Turners, Weedon Street 388905 Stadium City Ltd. and YWA Sheffield Road 401913 Earl Estates Shepcote Business Park 408892 Avesta and British Steel Sheffield Airport Business Park 398895 Tinsley Park Ltd Calor Site Shepcote Lane 393892 Gas and Hire Ltd Sheffield Technology Park 381886 Sheffield City Council Former Imperial Steelworks 396906 Meadowhall Ltd Staybrite Works, Weedon Street 392904 Sheffield Forgemasters Salmon Pastures 371883 Duke of Norfolk Greenland Road 389892 Private Atlas Works, Savile Street 366884 Forgemasters Hecla Works, Stevenson Road 377889 British Rail Blackburn Meadows 398915 Powergen & Highways Agency Junction 34 Trading Estate 402904 Avesta Sheffield A.B. Tinsley Marshalling Yard 403898 British Rail Tinsley Marshalling Yard 407898 Avesta Sheffield A.B. Gas Works, Barrow Road 389917 British Gas Tinsley Bridge 395893 Tinsley Bridge & British Steel Sheffield Road 397906 ?

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5. CONTAMINATED LAND IN THE DARNALL AREA In common with all industrial cities, Sheffield has a considerable legacy of land that has been contaminated by the industries which have operated within its boundaries. The area around Darnall has been at the centre of Sheffield’s steel-making industry for over 100 years. As changes in the structure of the steel industry took place land became available for other uses. Some remediation has taken place prior to reconstruction. There is still a legacy of contaminated land that will require remediation.

The Regulatory Framework

Section 57 of the Environment Act (1995) gives all local authorities the responsibility for compiling a register of contaminated sites in their area, and for the development of a strategy to tackle the problem. The local authority also has powers to issue remediation notices to “appropriate persons”(defined in the Act), requiring them to clean up the contaminated land. There are consultation and appeal procedures, wide enforcement powers and provision for public registers of remediation notices, statements and convictions. Sheffield City Council has produced a strategy14 to comply with the statutory requirements outlined in the Act.

Table 6: Remediated land and current use

No. Former Use Current Use 2 Brightside Works on Carbrook Street Five Weirs Walk 4 Railway yards Valley Centertainment 5 Tinsley Park Road Permanent Travellers Site 6 East Forge Don Valley Bowl (Coleridge Road) 7 Edgar Allen Balfour Steels Dannemora Drive 9 Hadfield’s Works (Brown Bayleys) Don Valley Stadium (Worksop Road) 11 British Steel Corporation Tip Sheffield Airport 17 Back-filled Quarry at Central Transport Sheffield City Council transport depot Depot, Staniforth Road

19 Darnall Rail Depot (Acres Hill Lane) New Wholesale Markets development 28 Dunford - Hadfield’s Steel Works Meadowhall

The bulk of sites listed above are steel industry related (even railway sites were largely involved in the movement of raw materials and finished products for the steel industry). The variety of new uses represent a much broader spectrum.

14 Contaminated Land: An Inspection Strategy for Sheffield. Environmental Protection Service (2001)

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Known/Likely Contaminated Sites

Table 7 lists sites and likely contaminants, but includes a number of sites used for landfill where the actual contents are unknown (as they were not regulated at the time they were in use). Many of the sites (landfills) are registered and described in the Landfill Sites Register held by Sheffield City Council. The listing of contaminants is by no means exhaustive and is designed to give a general idea of the type of substances which may be present, but due to the lack of records may be impossible to verify without extensive analysis.

Table 7: Known/likely contaminated sites

No. Site Name Probable Type of Contaminants 1 Former Sheffield Tippers site on Sheffield Former railway land, tip for non- Road/Canal combustible inert waste 3 British Waterways tip at Shepcote Lane Canal dredgings, possibly contaminated by industries draining into the canal 8 Former colliery land on Greenland Road Opencast in early 1950’s filled with foundry and steel waste 10 Canal-side Works on Tinsley Park Road Steelworks waste 12 Closed tip opposite Stadium Canal Unknown, unofficial tip Moorings 13 Land at Britnall Street Former steelworks, some(?) heavy metals 14 Former brick-works quarry and tip at Back-filled with steelworks waste and Eleanor Street builders waste 15 Former Sanderson Kayser works on Steelworks waste including ash and slag Darnall Road 16 Derelict land at Ardmore Street Former scrap-yard, metals and hydrocarbons 18 Former Record Ridgeway Works on Steelworks, condition unknown, awaiting Ouseburn Road site investigation 20 Works tip off Handsworth Avenue Steelworks and industrial waste, licensed by Environment Agency 21 Former colliery site below Quarry Road Scrap Yard and colliery spoil 22 Colliery spoil tip off Quarry Road Colliery spoil 23 Colliery spoil tip off Finchwell Road Colliery spoil 24 W H Nuttall & Sons Quarry Road Non-hazardous industrial waste, Handsworth demolition/excavation wastes 25 Blackburn Meadows Sewage Works Silt, Spoil, sewage cake, screenings, incinerator ash, sludge 26 Infield Lane (Sheffield City Council) Inert non-hazardous waste 27 Pipworth Rd. Former Recreation Department No details available 29 Powergen, Tinsley Power Station Coal fired power station 30 Effingham Road Gasworks Substantial gasworks contaminants

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Published or Proposed Strategies for Re-development/Reclamation

A number of published or proposed strategies have direct relevance to the issue of contaminated land. Most of these were written or commissioned by Sheffield City Council. Where planning proposals envisage a continuation of current use or similar use then complete remediation is unlikely to be required unless there is a threat to controlled waters. Very often uses, which prevent the migration of contaminants and contact with receptors (e.g. children), are preferable to vast expenditure on total remediation. These issues will be addressed through the implementation of the City Council’s contaminated land inspection strategy.

The main documents of importance to the Darnall area are listed below: Sheffield’s Unitary Development Plan South and West Yorkshire Multi-Modal Study: government sponsored research into various modes of transport and how they link to the motorway network Motorway Corridor Study: carried out by Babtie, looked into transport/access issues with regard to major development sites on either side of the M1 in Sheffield Strategic Economic Zone Integrated Development Plan, prepared by consultants Roger Tym & Partners for Yorkshire Forward’s strategy for the implementation of the EU Objective One Programme Local Transport Plan Centre of Excellence Airport Strategy Waverley re-development proposals-Rotherham Borough Council UKSI Campus

Redevelopment of likely or known contaminated land is an important part of the strategy for the overall development of the Darnall Action Area. As such the developers have a duty of care to make sure that a risk assessment takes place prior to the commencement of any works, and that any contamination identified is investigated and remediated to a sufficient degree to support the proposed use.

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6. LOCAL FACILITIES AND SERVICES, PARKS AND GREEN SPACES

Health services

Sheffield Health SHAIPS2 survey (2001) asked about people’s use of a range of services provided by primary care and social and community services. Overall they found that more women than men use these services, and that usage increases with age.

In the Darnall electoral ward, 42.5% of the population had talked to their family doctor in the last 3 months, and 68.5% in the last 12 months. During the last 12 months, 42.4% had used an optician, 64.5% had used a dentist, 9.1% had used a chiropodist, 11.5% had used a district nurse, 1.2% had used a home help, 1.8% had used a social worker, 2.4% had used a mental health worker, 4.3% had used an alternative medical worker, 0.6% had used a speech or occupational therapist, and 8.0% had used a physiotherapist.

Parks and green spaces

In the Darnall and Tinsley area there are approximately 30 green open spaces. Some, like High Hazels, have playgrounds, whilst others have sports facilities, etc. Activities vary from site to site, and some sites are currently undergoing development. The improvement of some of the parks and open spaces is being co-ordinated by local groups involving residents and Council officers.

Also in this area is the Five Weirs Walk and the walk along the Sheffield Canal, both with points of interest, and running from Sheffield city centre to Tinsley. Various areas have cycle routes and some areas are part of the Trans-Pennine Trail.

High Hazels Park Community Regeneration Project

Over the last few months a regeneration plan for High Hazels Park has been developed. This plan is the result of all the consultation about the park which was carried out during the summer 2000 as well as all the comments, suggestions and problems which have been raised by the park users over the last year.

The regeneration plan proposes many new facilities for the park, plus the re-arrangement and improvement of the existing facilities. To carry out all of the proposals will be both a long and expensive project and it is therefore proposed that the work is carried out in three phases over the next 7 years. The first phase will involve the implementation of the most needed facilities such as play areas, street furniture and path improvements. Funding will need to be secured in order to provide the new and improved facilities and the development team, in conjunction with the Friends of High Hazels, are already working on a fundraising strategy for the park, and would like more local people to get involved. Funding for new seats and bins, plus part of the funding for the new play areas has already been raised and these new facilities should be provided during 2001.

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Summer events during 2000 included the multi-cultural festival in July, followed by an “Art in the Park” day, and a “Seaside Day”. Winter events included story telling, tree dressing, a lantern-lit evening walk, and a bike ride. Practical workdays are also held to clean up the park (litter picking, sweeping, edging paths and pruning shrubs).

Bowden Housteads Wood

Bowden Housteads is an ancient woodland, with historical records back to the fourteenth century. It covers an area of approximately 30 hectares which is rich in wildlife; there are proposals to make it a Local Nature Reserve. It contains a good network of footpaths, and is crossed by the Trans-Pennine Trail (TPT).

A management plan has recently been completed for the site, following extensive public consultation. Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham councils were recently awarded money from the £1.5 million Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to manage ancient woodlands in the South Yorkshire Forest. £100,000 will be spent over the next 5 years, on education and improving the site. The Friends of Bowden Housteads Wood will be actively involved in developing these plans, and they would like more local people to become actively involved (contact Jon Dallow on 0114 273 6199).

Tinsley Park Wood

Tinsley Park Wood is an area of ancient woodland, with records dating back to the sixteenth century. This area is also part of the HLF project (see above) with £70,000 to be spent on the site over the next 5 years. It contains a good network of paths, and is also crossed by the TPT. Over recent decades it has become fragmented by the golf course and other developments. Although less rich in wildlife than Bowden Housteads wood, it is still a very valuable site.

Mather Road Playing Fields

Early in 1999, interest from a local youth group (“The Vibe Tribe”) and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers led to the setting up of a steering group. Funding from the Green Estate programme enabled a community consultation process to begin. During the summer of 1999 activities and play sessions were run on the fields. This, along with the consultation process resulted in an overall plan for the area. As more local people heard about the interest in their local green space, the Steering Committee was replaced by a Management Group in May 2000, and a worker was appointed in July 2000.

One of the key concerns from the outset was the lower pavilion. Without it, many felt that the options for developing the playing fields and surrounding area were severely limited. The Friends of Mather Road are looking into securing funding from various sources for this.

Since the appointment of the worker, things have slowly been gathering momentum and changes are starting to happen: the shrubs around the pavilion have been pruned

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the area is patrolled by the local Rangers an activity programme has been started good contacts have been established with the school and other interested groups practical works have started on site and will become more regular (tree planting, installation of vehicle barriers, etc)

Future developments (after consultation) will include a new play area, installation of dog bins, planting of trees (large and small), a summer activity programme and other activity sessions. To get involved or find out more, contact Brett Nuttall, Project Officer, 272 2377

Blackburn Meadows

Blackburn Meadows Nature Reserve is located towards Rotherham, on the old sewage works to the north of Tinsley. It is open at all times for both people and wildlife. Sheffield Wildlife Trust provide a free education and interpretation service, with the aim of encouraging schools, community groups and individuals to visit. Research shows that the use of such areas is good for people: physically, by providing opportunities for exercise mentally, encouraging a more positive emotional state socially, with opportunities to meet other people intellectually, because people question why things do or don’t happen, and the more people know about the environment, the more they are likely to care about it and take more action to safeguard it.

Sheffield Wildlife Trust organised events throughout the year, including annual summer play events for children aged 6-12 and 11-16. They put on occasional guided walks and bird watching events, and will organise activities for specific groups, e.g. young Muslim women. The area is also extensively used by school groups working on National Curriculum topics.

In April/May 2001 an Education Centre will be opened, with a classroom and toilet facilities. It is also hoped to link to the canal towpath via a cycle path. Further information can be obtained from Sheffield Wildlife Trust on 0114 263 4335.

Five Weirs Walk

The Five Weirs Walk Trust was formed in 1988 by members of Sheffield Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Sheffield Wildlife Trust and other interested volunteers, with the active support of Sheffield City Council. The main aim of the Trust is the construction of a high quality footpath/cycle way along the banks of the River Don, from Lady’s Bridge in the city centre, to the city boundary at Tinsley, a distance of nearly 5 miles. One of the major successes of the Trust is the negotiation of access with owners of the riverbank along the proposed route of the footpath, and the raising of funds for footpath construction. The Planning Authorities have been persuaded to include riverside access in their plans for the Lower Don Valley. Footpath construction is handled in phases or sections, and each section is adopted by the City Council as a Public Right of Way on completion.

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The Trust is committed to changing public attitudes to the rivers of Sheffield, which for too long have been treated as sewers and rubbish dumps, all too often straightened and culverted. They aim to encourage the sympathetic use and enjoyment of the rivers and their environs. By valuing them, encouraging river users to report pollution and abuse incidents, and providing opportunities for activities and clean-up days, the Trust aims to ensure the future of Sheffield’s rivers.

Community research

Community research carried out in Darnall during February-May 2000 found there were many concerns about the lack of local services and facilities. Of greatest concern were the lack of safe play areas for children, the lack of community facilities and the lack of affordable and accessible leisure facilities, but there were also problems with public transport and health services, and shopping facilities.

Concerns about play areas focused on there not being enough of them, and the ones that do exist being too close to main roads or derelict places, covered in broken glass and litter, and both children and their parents feeling intimidated by crowds of older youngsters who congregate their for lack of other places to go. Other concerns about parks and open spaces focused more on dogs (their mess and children being frightened by them), vandalism and graffiti.

With regard to community and leisure facilities, concerns included the lack of bilingual support in doctor’s surgeries, somewhere for festivals and social events for people of all ages, affordable sport and leisure facilities.

Concerns were expressed, particularly in the Littledale area, about the lack of training opportunities in the area.

In the Handsworth/Richmond Park area and Phillimore/Greenlands, there were concerns about poor access to public transport services (see next chapter). Also in Phillimore /Greenlands, access to shopping facilities was a problem.

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7. TRANSPORT The amount of traffic using roads in an area has a bearing on a variety of environmental parameters such as noise and air quality. Apart from these considerations, the volume of road traffic has effects on congestion at peak hours, as well as severance effects on communities that are cut through by busy roads.

Traffic flows are an important consideration in the development or redevelopment of the area, since there are a large number of sites earmarked for development. In the last ten years developments (including Meadowhall), have led to a steady increase in traffic flows on roads in the area, including traffic on the M1 motorway. Congestion points identified in a recent study of the M1 corridor (Babtie, 2000) include Junction 34 North and South of the M1, the Outer Ring Road where it intersects the Parkway and the Outer Ring Road in Darnall. Increasing car ownership is predicted to increase traffic flow, and further developments are likely to increase congestion at these and other locations.

Economic and environmental consequences of increased congestion are difficult to predict accurately. Drivers may transfer to public transport if a suitable alternative exists. Road developments outside the area may have effects locally, as in the case of the M1-A1 link road which increased traffic on the M1 at Tinsley by a total of some 10,000 vehicles a day. Some road improvement schemes are already under way in the area.

There is considerable evidence to suggest that without a major increase in the public transport infrastructure, projected increases in road traffic, combined with additional traffic from probable developments, will have a major negative impact on the area. This will be in the form of increased pollution (air and noise) and increasing congestion, coupled with increasing severance of some communities.

The recently completed Rotherham/Sheffield Motorway Corridor Study (Babtie, 2000) identifies the need for investment in the public transport infrastructure, to offset the increases in traffic flow caused by development. To maintain current traffic levels, this would have to be very extensive.

Road Traffic Growth Predictions

The current audit figures are based on 24-Hour Annual Average Daily Traffic Flows (1998 AADT) produced by Sheffield City Council’s Planning, Transport and Highways Service. The 1998 figures have been tabulated for a number of the main roads in the Audit area along with predictions of annual figures until 2005 (see figure 8 below). The predicted figures have been based on DETR National Road Traffic Forecasts (Great Britain) 1997 modified for Sheffield.

The Rotherham/Sheffield Motorway Corridor Study (Babtie, 2000) attempts to examine some of the likely outcomes of increased development in the area in terms of increased traffic flows based on modelling. Most of the modelled scenarios indicate increased congestion, particularly around motorway junctions. Unfortunately, the way in which the report is written does not facilitate direct comparison with AADT data.

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The Babtie study models only evening peak hour traffic and assumes mode transfers to improved public transport facilities (yet to be constructed). Babtie’s estimates of between 33-41 per cent increase in evening peak hour traffic flows at junction 34 of the M1 and 19 per cent on the Parkway are likely to be considerable under-estimates without the transfer of journeys to public transport modes, which have yet to be constructed.

Table 8: AADT Traffic Flows for Selected Roads in the Darnall Area

Road Section 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Sheffield Mosborough 55934 56829 57724 58563 59514 60353 61248 62087 Parkway Parkway- Handsworth Road

Handsworth Parkway- 25192 25595 25998 26376 26804 27182 27585 27963 Road Richmond Park Road

Handsworth Handsworth 13859 14081 14302 14510 14746 14954 15176 15383 Road (2) Avenue - Parkway

Prince of Main Road - 27956 28403 28851 29270 29745 30165 30612 31031 Wales Road Sheffield Parkway

Staniforth Main Road - 11598 11784 11969 12143 12340 12514 12700 12874 Road Woodbourn Road

Greenland Main Road - 28237 28689 29141 29564 30044 30468 30920 31343 Road Shepcote Lane

Shepcote Europa Link - 15836 16089 16343 16580 16850 17087 17340 17578 Lane J34S M1 Motorway

Attercliffe Worksop Road - 24952 25351 25750 26125 26549 26923 27322 27697 Road Newhall road

Attercliffe Broughton Lane - 35484 36052 36619 37152 37755 38287 38855 39387 Common Retail Park

Sheffield J34S M1 - 12753 12957 13161 13352 13569 13760 13965 14156 Road, Tinsley Centenary Way

Bawtry Road J34S M1 - West 13891 14113 14336 14544 14780 14988 15211 15419 Bawtry Road

Public transport

The Darnall area is generally well served by public transport. There is a Passenger Transport Interchange at Meadowhall where buses, trams and trains can be accessed to destinations both within and outside the region. Tinsley is quite well served by buses, although local people have found they tend to be unreliable due to traffic congestion in the area. Tinsley is nominally on the Supertram route, although access to the residential area from the tram stop is via a series of bridges and underpasses, and along a canal towpath which can become very muddy in wet weather. The Babtie study proposes extensions to the tram

23 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

network, to link Darnall, Sheffield airport, and Rotherham into the existing route. Within Darnall, the central area is well served by buses, but parts of the area, particularly some of the housing estates, are some distance from a bus route, or the buses are infrequent (see also previous chapter).

Cycling in the Lower Don Valley

The Lower Don Valley offers a network of cycle routes, linking most of the major attractions and employment centres. There are a number of opportunities for combining cycling with journeys on public transport. Free cycle parking is offered at Meadowhall Interchange, Valley Centertainment, Nunnery Square, Sheffield Interchange and Sheffield Midland Station (some sites require a £1 refundable deposit). In addition, all local stopping trains on routes in South Yorkshire carry bikes free of charge, provided there is sufficient space on the train. The Planning, Transport and Highways department of Sheffield City Council produce a free guide for commuters and visitors who want to cycle in the area, and advice on how employers can help with green transport plans for employees is available from Andy Wild in that department, on 0114 273 5031.

Community research

Community research carried out in Darnall during February-May 2000 found very different responses to traffic problems depending on the area where respondents lived. Residents in Handsworth/Richmond Park had very few worries about traffic. In the Handsworth Hill and Littledale areas, people were mostly concerned about traffic speed and congestion, whilst residents in Kettlebridge were very bothered by traffic speed and noise. Traffic generating developments (such as the Arena, Don Valley Stadium and Meadowhall) were criticised by local residents.

Due to the single road on and off the Littledale estate, residents there experienced severe traffic congestion at peak times and when an event in the Don Valley attracted a lot of traffic, and hence they felt that traffic flow should be improved. Residents whose homes backed onto the Parkway also experienced a great deal of traffic noise.

In all areas except Handsworth/Richmond Park, there was support for suggestions to have more pedestrian crossings, to reduce traffic through the area, and to reduce traffic noise, especially in the Kettlebridge area. In Littledale, where some residents found problems with car parking, several people felt this could be improved.

The New Deal for Communities Neighbourhood Profile (1999) and the Sheffield Health SHAIPS2 survey (2001) included statistics on car ownership. The 1999 survey had only 78 responses from the Darnall area, and 37% of those did not have access to a car or van. The SHAIPS2 survey had 322 responses and found that 23.4% of people in the Darnall electoral ward had no access to a car or van. This means that about a quarter of households in the area are therefore reliant on public transport.

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8. WATER QUALITY

River Water Quality

The quality of river water in the UK is classified according to the General Quality Assessment Scheme (GQA) by the Environment Agency. This scheme is based on standards for the concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), ammonia and dissolved oxygen. These are used because they are indicators of the extent to which waters are affected by wastewater discharges and rural land use runoff containing organic, degradable material. The quality of rivers is affected by effluents from sewage works and industries, and drainage from farms. Table 5 below summarises the classification.

Table 9: GQA chemical grading for rivers and canals

Water Quality Grade* Dissolved O2% BOD mg/L Ammonia mg/L Very good A 80 2.5 0.25 Good B 70 4.0 0.6 Fairly good C 60 6.0 1.3 Fair D 50 8.0 2.5 Poor E 20 15.0 9.0 Bad F <20 >15.0 >15.0

*The overall grade assigned to a river or canal reach is determined by the worst of the three grades for the individual indicators.

River Quality in the Darnall Area

The classified watercourses in the Darnall area are the River Don, the Kirkbridge Dyke and the Car Brook.

The River Don is of Class B (Good) from its confluence with the River Sheaf to the confluence with the Car Brook, thereafter it is of Class C (Fairly Good).

The Kirkbridge Dyke is classified from Staniforth Road down to the confluence with the River Don. In 1998 it was of GQA Class F (Bad).

The Car Brook from Woodthorpe to its confluence with the River Don was also Class F in 1998.

The bad (Class F) quality of the latter watercourses is due almost entirely to the impact of unsatisfactory combined sewer overflows. Yorkshire Water are currently spending approximately £6 million on sewerage improvement schemes which should improve water quality in the river Sheaf, the Porter Brook and the Graves Park Beck. This will have a beneficial impact on the River Don.

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Future schemes are planned for 2000-2005, improving water quality in the Kirkbridge Dyke, the Car Brook and the Bagley Brook, all of which will have a positive impact on the River Don.

The Environment Agency license companies to take water out of rivers (Water Abstraction Licenses) and to release waste water into the sewage system (Consents for Discharges) subject to conditions on the amounts and types of substances released. At present there are no consented discharges in the area around Darnall apart from the effluent from Blackburn Meadows Sewage treatment works.

Table 10: Groundwater and surface water abstractions in the Darnall area

Grid Reference Source Use TCMA License Holder SK40548979 GW C/G 840.000 Avesta Sheffield Ltd. SK37608890 GW C 135.016 Alloy Steel Rods Ltd. SK38108940 Surf. U 35276.960 Sheffield Forgemasters Ltd. SK41109170 Surf. U 6819.000 UES Steels Rotherham SK36808820 Surf. C 45.460 Tempered Spring Co. Ltd. SK39709050 Surf. C 450.000 British Waterways Board SK37408820 Surf. C 20.460 British Waterways Board SK37728847 Surf. C 13.600 British Waterways Board SK37518907 Surf. G 0.272 David Edwards SK37478828 Surf. G 25.000 British Waterways Board SK42718725 Surf. U 70.000 RJB Mining Ltd. SK37008890 GW G 44.160 Lincoln Electrical UK Ltd. SK36908790 Surf. C 31.200 British Waterways Board SK37358961 GW. G 10.500 Tarmac Heavy Building Mats. UK

Key: GW= Groundwater, Surf.= Surface, C= Cooling, G= General Industrial, U= Unclassified TCMA= Thousand cubic metres per annum

The limited use of groundwater in the Sheffield area as a whole is reflected by the few licenses that are current in the Darnall area.

Drinking Water

The Darnall area is supplied with water primarily from the grid system but can also receive water from the upland Pennine sources of the Ewden, Rivelin and Loxley reservoirs. The Grid system water is derived from the river Derwent and treated at Elvington Water Treatment Works near York. Yorkshire Water describe this as a moderately hard water supply of excellent bacteriological and chemical quality. The Pennine sources are reported as much softer but also of good quality.

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None of these supplies is fluoridated.

The area is covered by three water supply zones which extend beyond the Darnall ward boundary. These are the Attercliffe (New), Arbourthorne/Woodhouse, and Brinsworth/Aughton zones.

Water samples are taken regularly from customers’ kitchen taps and 50 per cent of sampling locations are chosen at random.

The water quality reports for 1998 show that the water quality in the Darnall area met the regulatory requirements with the exception of three results for iron, one for aluminium and one for manganese. Yorkshire Water consider these results to be of no health significance and consider mains disturbance during routine valving or similar operations to be the most likely cause. These minor infringements were followed by re-sampling at increased frequency and re-samples were found to meet the prescribed standards.

Yorkshire Water has made undertakings in all three water supply zones to identify any deficiencies in the distribution system and carry out remediation works as necessary.

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9. INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES AUTHORISED UNDER PART 1 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act (1990) requires that certain ‘prescribed’ processes operate under an authorisation issued by the Environment Agency for processes classified as ‘Part A’ under the Act, and by the local authority in the case of those classified as ‘Part B’. Figure A3.1, Appendix 3 shows the approximate locations of processes within and closely adjacent to the audit area.

In general, Part A processes are those having the greatest potential for giving rise to pollution. The conditions under which they are required to operate seek to control emissions to air, land and water. The conditions which apply to Part B processes are concerned solely with the control of air pollution. These processes are summarised in Appendix 3, along with Part A processes.

Details of prescribed processes including the conditions under which they operate and the levels of pollution which they release are available on a public register. This is located at the Council’s offices at 2-10 Carbrook Hall Road, Sheffield S9 2DB. Most of the prescribed processes in and around the Darnall Audit area are involved in the production or processing of metals.

Details of annual mass releases of key pollutants emitted by Part A processes in the area (Appendix 3.3) have been taken from the Environment Agency website ( www.environment-agency.gov.uk ). Further details of other pollutants are available on the Environment Agency website. Of note is the fact that due to the nature of the work of Heckett MultiServ within the Avesta site, it is not possible to estimate the amount of airborne particulate matter arising from that process.

Part B processes are subject to general operating conditions, and in some cases to limits on the emissions of prescribed substances to the external atmosphere in terms of milligrammes per cubic metre. Their conditions of authorisation are predominantly based on standards laid down in guidance produced by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Mass emissions are not available for these processes.

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10. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Under general public health legislation, Environmental Services of Sheffield City Council undertake a variety of statutory duties. In the main this work is done as a result of requests for service from members of the public.

Environment and Regulatory Services publishes customer service information which describes in full those services offered. These can be obtained from many public information points and the ERS offices on Carbrook Hall Road.

The tables below set out the main areas in which services have been requested in Darnall over the past three years.

Table 11: Requests for pest services in Darnall

Category 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 Rats 69 200 312 Mice 101 245 412 Cockroaches 1 8 39 Wasps 30 67 139 Fleas 13 32 37 Birds 3 7 13 Other insects 22 60 97 Total 239 619 1049

Table 12: Other requests for services in Darnall

Category 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 Accumulations/Litter 39 99 173 Drainage/Sewers 101 126 148 Stray Dogs 44 102 151 Dog Fouling 6 21 38 Fly Tipping 2 3 4 Other Miscellaneous requests 95 174 247 Total 287 525 761

The total number of requests for services indicates a continuing problem in the Darnall area. The statistics alone cannot pinpoint the location of the problems, nor do they give a comparison with other parts of the City. It is known that rat problems have been increasing

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across the City and that fly tipping and dumping are common problems in many areas. Areas of undeveloped and derelict land do not help the situation in Darnall.

Some of the increased demand for services may be due to improved access to council services, resulting in more people knowing who to contact to deal with their problems. However, it is unlikely to account for an almost fourfold increase in service requests in just three years.

The Council alone cannot deal with these problems. What is required is a joint effort by local residents, business interests, the council and others such as the police and landowners. It may, for instance, be possible to deter those responsible for fly tipping by catching and prosecuting some of the perpetrators, but this will require the active co-operation of local residents. There are currently no proposals to target additional resources to preventive work on these issues in the Darnall area, although alternative ways of working towards solving the problems can be explored.

Community research

Community research carried out in Darnall during February-May 2000 found a great deal of concern about the physical environment, particularly in relation to litter, fly-tipping and rubbish dumping, dog mess, vandalism and graffiti, and the general lack of maintenance to public places. People were concerned about the health hazards of mice, rats and insects being attracted by the rubbish. Some people felt their requests to have rubbish removed had been ignored by the council services, whilst others said that no sooner was one lot removed than more was dumped in its place. Many felt that the whole area looked a mess, and respect for the area had declined because it was run down. Shutters on the shops made it look like a “no-go” area, combined with graffiti and groups of youths on the streets with nowhere else to go.

Suggestions about improvements to the environment have been discussed locally and are being incorporated in the Area Action Plan. These include community skips, more recycling facilities, and dog mess disposal bins.

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11. HOUSING The 1991 OPCS Census shows that there were a total of 7397 households in the Darnall ward, of which 64 per cent were owner occupied, 26 per cent were rented from the local authority, 6 per cent were rented from private landlords, and 3 per cent were rented from housing associations. These figures are now considerably out-of-date, and more up-to-date information will be available after the 2001 Census.

For the central Darnall area (a triangle between Greenland Road and Staniforth Road), the New Deal for Communities Profile for Darnall extracted the data shown in Table 13, which show a relatively high proportion of council homes and private rented homes in the area.

Table 13: Housing tenure in Darnall and Sheffield

Tenure Number % City % Owner Occupied 900 39% 57% LA rented 1100 48% 33% HA rented 80 3% 3% Private rented 200 9% 6% Other 40 2% 1%

Source: OPCS 1991 Census, Ward Profile supplied by Central Policy Unit, Sheffield City Council

Fitness

The Census data show that approximately 3 per cent of houses are overcrowded, i.e. with more than one adult per room. A few houses lack or share a bath or inside WC, the highest proportion of these being in the private rented sector. Almost a quarter of houses have no central heating, the highest proportions being private rented (57 per cent) and owner occupied (26 per cent).

Few serious repair problems were reported in Sheffield City Council’s Housing Survey (1999-2000). From the 123 Darnall responses, 7 council tenants and 4 housing association tenants reported problems with condensation inside, and 6 council tenants and 4 housing association tenants recorded broken or rotten doors or windows.

In both the housing survey and the New Deal for Communities Darnall survey, people were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their present accommodation. The combined results (409 responses) are shown in Figure 4 overleaf.

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Figure 4: Darnall residents’ satisfaction with their present accommodation

Very satisfied 55% Fairly satisfied 34%

Fairly dissatisfied 3%

Very dissatisfied 2%

No opinion 6% The Housing Survey asked what people liked and disliked about the area. What people most liked were Darnall’s shops and other amenities (34 responses), the attractive environment (16 responses) and the public transport (15 responses). What people most disliked was that the area was going downhill (16 responses), the environment was not clean (13 responses) and the litter (10 responses).

Figure 5: Darnall residents’ feelings about the area Very satisfied 37% Fairly satisfied 33%

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with this area as a place to live?

No opinion 1% Neither 13%

Very dissatisfied 7% Fairly dissatisfied 9%

Worse 44% About the same 42%

Would you say this area as a place to live has got better, worse or remained about the same during the last 2 years?

Source: Sheffield TEC Community Audit, 1998 Better 8% Don’t know 6%

Many older people interviewed in community research were concerned about fuel poverty and problems of keeping warm enough in poor housing.

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12. HEALTH DATA

Introduction

Darnall, is one of only three electoral wards in the city where mortality rates for the under 75s have significantly worsened over the last 15 years compared with England and Wales15 (Richardson, 1999). The area now has the highest death rates from coronary heart disease in the city and hospital admissions for respiratory disease are well above the city average (Sheffield Health, 1999). Rates of depression are also relatively high, as is infant mortality, and the incidence of low birthweight babies. Women in the area experience much worse health status than men; for example coronary heart disease death rates for females under 75 years are over twice the city average, whereas those for men are about 40 per cent above the city average. In view of intergenerational health impacts (poor early development from conception to the end of a child’s first year is known to be linked to increased risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes in later life) improving maternal and child health is a key local priority. Sheffield Health’s SHAIPS surveys (1994 and 2001) enable comparisons to be made over time. One striking trend is that for some health areas, indicators of health in the most deprived wards of the city are getting worse, whilst more affluent areas show a considerable improvement. It is also possible to see a ‘health gap’ reflected in the results for the four Primary Care Trusts. The results for North and South East PCTs tend to be worse than those for West and South West PCTs (Darnall is located in the South East PCT).

Long-term limiting illness

Sheffield Health’s SHAIPS surveys (1994 and 2001) assessed levels of long-term limiting illness, angina, diabetes and stroke. The data is shown in table 10 below, and shows a slight improvement, except in the case of stroke.

Table 14: Incidence of long-term limiting illness in Darnall

SHAIPS2 (2001) SHAIPS1 (1994) Long-term limiting illness 27.3% 28.0% Possible angina (grades 1 & 2) 11.3% 13.6% Diabetes 4.9% N/A Stroke 3.7% 3.2%

Respiratory health in Darnall

Table 2 in Chapter 2 details self-assessed health data from the Sheffield Health SHAIPS surveys (1994 and 2001) and the East End Quality of Life’s recent postal survey. This data highlights

15 Richardson, A (1999) Sheffield and electoral wards trends 1981 to 1996 for selected causes of death including Our Healthier Nation Topics Sheffield: Sheffield Health.

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the worsening respiratory health of Darnall residents. Rates for hospital admissions for Darnall ward as a whole (including Tinsley) are 13 per cent and 22 per cent higher than city average for respiratory and asthma admissions respectively (Sheffield Health, 1999).

Table 15: Comparison of hospital admissions for respiratory disease, asthma and coronary heart disease for Sheffield City and Darnall Primary Care Groups (1997/98) Hospital Admissions 1997/98 Standardised Admission Ratio

All Sheffield Darnall Darnall (all Sheffield = 100) No. of Admissions No. of Admissions Respiratory disease 4537 296 113.0 Asthma 988 65 122.4 Coronary Heart Disease 2905 233 134.4

Source: Sheffield Health LAPIS5 May 1999

Hospital admissions trend data for 1994-98 by Primary Care Group (PCG) for respiratory, asthma, coronary heart disease and mental health show admissions for respiratory health and asthma are coming down, but coronary heart disease admission rates are rising. Admissions for all 3 are considerably higher than All Sheffield rates. Hospital admissions for mental health problems are below the All Sheffield rate, but now rising.

Figure 6: Hospital Admission Trends 1994-98 Darnall PCGs

180.0

160.0

140.0

120.0

100.0 = All Sheffield 100.0

80.0

60.0

Standardised Admission Ratio 40.0

20.0

0.0 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98

Respiratory Asthma Coronary Heart Disease Mental Health Source: Sheffield Health (LAPIS5)

34 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998

Standardised Mortality Trends (standardised to England and Wales at 100) show relative changes in mortality for all causes (below age 75), circulatory disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, and suicide/undetermined cause of death.

All causes (below age 75)

Rates for females have consistently been worse for females than for males. The rate is beginning to rise again after a fall, and remains above the national rate.

Figure 7: Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 all causes below age 75

160

140

120

100

40 SMR - rolling 4 year average

0 1981 - 84 1982 - 85 1983 - 86 1984 - 87 1985 - 88 1986 - 89 1987 - 90 1988 - 91 1989 - 92 1990 - 93 1991 - 94 1992 - 95 1993 - 96 1994 - 97 1995 - 98

Male Female Male & Female Source: Sheffield Health (LAPIS5)

35 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

Coronary Heart Disease

Rates for females have consistently been much worse for females than for males. Rates are worsening for both males and females, and are above the national rate.

Figure 8: Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 coronary heart disease

250

200

150

100

50 SMR - rolling 4 year average

0 1981 - 84 1982 - 85 1983 - 86 1984 - 87 1985 - 88 1986 - 89 1987 - 90 1988 - 91 1989 - 92 1990 - 93 1991 - 94 1992 - 95 1993 - 96 1994 - 97 1995 - 98

Male Female Male & Female Stroke

Rates for stroke have fallen, but show a slight rise for females, and are still above the national level.

Figure 9: Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 stroke

250

200

150

100

50 SMR - rolling 4 year average

0 1981 - 84 1982 - 85 1983 - 86 1984 - 87 1985 - 88 1986 - 89 1987 - 90 1988 - 91 1989 - 92 1990 - 93 1991 - 94 1992 - 95 1993 - 96 1994 - 97 1995 - 98

Male Female Male & Female

36 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

Circulatory disease

Rates for females have consistently been much worse for females than for males. The rate is beginning to rise again after a fall, with rates remaining above the national level.

Figure 10: Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 circulatory disease

200

180

160

140

120

100

60 SMR - rolling 4 year average 1981 - 84 1982 - 85 1983 - 86 1984 - 87 1985 - 88 1986 - 89 1987 - 90 1988 - 91 1989 - 92 1990 - 93 1991 - 94 1992 - 95 1993 - 96 1994 - 97 1995 - 98

Male Female Male & Female Suicide and undetermined cause of death

Whilst it is not easy to detect any pattern, the latest figures show a sharp rise for males, taking the level to above the national rate.

Figure 11: Standardised Mortality Trends 1981-1998 suicide and undetermined cause of death 250

200

150

100

50 SMR - rolling 4 year average

0 1981 - 84 1982 - 85 1983 - 86 1984 - 87 1985 - 88 1986 - 89 1987 - 90 1988 - 91 1989 - 92 1990 - 93 1991 - 94 1992 - 95 1993 - 96 1994 - 97 1995 - 98

Male Female Male & Female

37 DARNALL ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH AUDIT

Mental Health

Sheffield Health’s SHAIPS1 Survey (1994) found that 8.4% of those surveyed in Darnall had depression, above the Sheffield average of 7.4%. SHAIPS2 (2001) found that although 8.3% of Darnall residents had depression, overall in Sheffield there had been a slight improvement to 6.9%. SHAIPS2 also assessed severe social isolation, with 13.7% of people in the Darnall electoral ward rated as suffering this, compared to the Sheffield average of 13.3%.

Asthma

A recent survey of all Y4 schoolchildren in Sheffield will compare data with that obtained from a similar survey in 1993 was conducted. In Darnall data was obtained from Phillimore Park Primary and Greenlands Junior Schools. Due to the low numbers (29 children at Phillimore and 57 at Greenlands), the data must be interpreted with caution, but a higher prevalence for nocturnal cough than the average for the city (Phillimore 10.3 per cent, Greenlands 42.9 per cent, Sheffield 8.2 per cent) was found. This correlates well with levels of deprivation. Asthma diagnosis rate is lower in these schools, for example for those ever diagnosed with asthma: Phillimore 24.1 per cent, Greenlands 20.7 per cent, Sheffield 29.7 per cent; and currently diagnosed with asthma: 10.3 per cent, 12.3 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. (Source of data: Dr Rob Primhak and Georges Ng Man Kwong, Sheffield University, 2000)