Andrew Dowdeswell

Great story, Liam. I've been reporting on this issue for a while in Sheffield and the wider Yorkshire region.

It's a serious issue that needs a solution, as the chart below shows rather starkly.

www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Hi Fiona, could you drop me a message about this, please? I'd be interested to hear more for YorkshireLive. Cheers

Sheffield church leader created cult to sexually assault women, court hears Christopher Brain, 68, denies 36 counts of indecent assault and one count of rape

The court heard how he engineered a cult-like status to sexually abuse tens of women.

The trial will continue for around eight weeks, and I will be covering it at times throughout that period. You can read the summary of the opening arguments here:

www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

I watched the opening arguments of the Chris Brain trial at Inner London Crown Court earlier this week.

Brain is accused of 36 counts of indecent assault and one count of rape. The 68-year-old ran the Nine O'Clock Service in Sheffield from 1985 to 1994.

I also reflect on @mileskane.bsky.social rocking @theleadmill.bsky.social to give a big send-off to Sheffield's most iconic music venue, and touch on the #greenbelt protests.

The Sheffield Drop 💧 Monday, June 30 A bumper edition of The Sheffield Drop to celebrate one month in existence today. A historic new councillor, continued Greenbelt protests, and the end of an era for The Leadmill all feature.

The Sheffield Drop is a month old! 🥳

And we celebrate with a bumper edition! @reformuk.bsky.social secured its first @sheffcitycouncil.bsky.social seat after the party's historic Stocksbridge and Upper Don by-election victory.

open.substack.com/pub/thesheff...

And then there is a bumper load of events at the weekend, including the wonderful @migmatfest.bsky.social drawing to a close.

Northumbria Police is in hot water after the force disposed of documents relating to the miners' strikes in the 1980s, including the Battle of Orgreave -- @orgreavejustice.bsky.social.

Meanwhile, @unitetheunion.bsky.social members have voted to continue the long-running Veolia strike. It means bin collections will continue to be disrupted across #Sheffield.

The Sheffield Drop 💧 Friday, June 27 In today's edition: The council gets a surprise, a horrifying attack on a Sheffield mosque, and the latest update on the long-running Veolia strike.

The latest edition of The Sheffield Drop is here:

@sheffcitycouncil.bsky.social wants an urgent conversation with the government after new legislation -- on which it was not consulted -- may overturn the city's 2021 referendum on how the council is run.

open.substack.com/pub/thesheff...

The turnout was 36.8%, which is significantly higher than average for local elections. Perhaps shows the growing impact Reform is having in areas across the country.

Sheffield has its first Reform UK councillor. Overnight, John Booker won the Upper Don and Stocksbridge by-election, securing 32.9% of the vote.

Mr Booker has been a councillor before, representing UKIP in West Ecclesfield from 2014 to 2019.

All Sheffield MPs have signed to block PIP cuts - except disability campaigner All Sheffield's MPs have signed an amendment to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - except one

MP Abitsam Mohamed did sign the agreement. She said: " Like many of my colleagues, I didn’t become an MP to make disabled people poorer."

You can read the full story, including reactions from more Sheffield MPs here:

www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Dr Marie Tidball, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, has not signed the amendment, despite all five of her Sheffield-based Labour colleagues having done so.

Her office told me they would not be making a comment.

As an increasing number of Labour MPs rebel against the government's welfare reforms, I asked the only Sheffield MP why they did not sign an amendment to potentially reject disability benefit cuts.

The Sheffield Drop 💧 Wednesday, June 18 Water dominates in today's Sheffield Drop, with warnings over how to use less from Yorkshire Water and warnings about swimming in Sheffield and South Yorkshire's many lakes and reservoirs.

There was also a pro-Palestine rally outside a Sheffield factory that may or may not have supplied parts for F-35 fighter jets, and South Yorkshire leaders responded to the child grooming sex scandal inquiry

You can find the latest edition is here: thesheffielddrop.substack.com/p/the-sheffi...

The latest edition of The Sheffield Drop has landed in your inboxes - and it's all about 💧:

- Yorkshire Water is urging residents to limit their usage
- Police are warning kids against open-water swimming
- Meanwhile, South Yorkshire's most senior firefighter is arguing for a water safety minister

The Sheffield Drop 💧 Monday, June 16 A slightly quieter edition today: Oliver Coppard gets to work on the Doncaster Sheffield Airport, an 11-year-old girl is killed by a Ford van, and further road safety measures are announced.

💧Today's edition of The Sheffield Drop is out.

✈️ Progress on the Doncaster Sheffield Airport, updates on the Hillsborough Park development, and a rather interesting football talk all feature.

open.substack.com/pub/thesheff...

The Sheffield Drop 💧 Friday June 6 Two major crime stories lead today's edition, as well as news of The Leadmill's final live performance and the first lines from an FA report into the circumstance surrounding Maddy Cusack's death.

The latest edition of The #Sheffield Drop was published yesterday.

In uglier news, I’m posting this at 1.30am as I’ve been sat in A&E all night with a suspected torn MCL…

open.substack.com/pub/thesheff...

Despite having only launched yesterday, The #Sheffield Drop has reached 100 subscribers already.

Thank you all for joining with me. Please do get in touch about why you subscribed and what you'd like to see from the newsletter.

The Sheffield Drop 💧 Friday May 30 Welcome to the first Sheffield Drop. In today's edition: controversial greenbelt consultation opens, Bryan Adams on his way to Sheffield, and a potential charge to visit the Peak District.

In The #Sheffield Drop today:

Public consultation for the council's plans to build on the greenbelt, a new Rock N Roll Circus headliner, and a possible @peakdistrict.bsky.social visitor's charge.

And there's a little #swimming anecdote...

thesheffielddrop.substack.com/p/the-sheffi...

So, if you're interested, please subscribe and follow along as we build a new community of Sheffield people who love this city and want to learn a bit more about it.

But more than that, we would love for you to be a part of it. We'll have a community noticeboard where we would love to feature submissions from our wonderful members.

It will be curated by me and will deliver a rundown of the biggest and most relevant news from the previous few days straight to your inbox, all to have with your morning coffee.

The Sheffield Drop | Substack The Sheffield Drop provides you with the best coverage of the city. From the headlines making the news to the latest interesting events, we’ll give you the inside track on everything you need to know....

Some exciting news! We are launching The #Sheffield Drop - a bulletin newsletter published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays that will provide you with everything you need to know about the Steel City

thesheffielddrop.substack.com

Anger as controversial plans to build on 14 greenbelt sites greenlit The proposals split the council in two

🏠 I was at a fiery council meeting when the amendment to Sheffield's Local Plan was narrowly voted through earlier this month.

You can read the report from that meeting here:

www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

🟩 The public consultation for #Sheffield Council's plan to build on the greenbelt to meet government housing targets is now open.

You can have your say here:

haveyoursay.sheffield.gov.uk/sheffield-pl...

Love it fellas!

Here is my report from #Sheffield council yesterday - it was a pretty fiery meeting at times, but ultimately, the controversial greenbelt plans were passed

I will have a report from a spicy council meeting this afternoon for @yorkshirelive.co.uk - and there will be plenty of coverage on this issue over the coming weeks and months.