Pub which “survived two world wars, the Sheffield floods, and the pandemic” risks “almost certain closure” due to active travel plans, according to owner; Managerial merry-go-round; Giro d’Italia Women Mountain TT + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Pub which “survived two world wars, the Sheffield floods, and the pandemic” has a risk of “almost certain closure” due to active travel plans, according to owner
Business owners in Sheffield are opposing plans for a new active travel scheme, claiming it could lead to the “almost certain closure” of a historic local pub.
Local business owners have raised concerns about the £23.5 million Connecting Sheffield scheme, which they believe threatens the future of the Carlton Hotel pub in Attercliffe.
They said: “The Carlton Hotel Pub on Attercliffe Road, established in 1864, has survived two World Wars, the Sheffield floods, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now, however, it faces almost certain closure due to proposals being put forward by Sheffield City Council and the Connecting Sheffield scheme.”
The project aims to improve links between the city centre, Attercliffe, Darnall and the Lower Don Valley through new cycle routes, upgraded pedestrian crossings, public realm improvements and Sheffield’s first Red Route. The route covers sections of Attercliffe Road, Attercliffe Common and Worksop Road, with restrictions on waiting, loading and parking intended to keep traffic moving.
A major concern for the pub is the proposed closure of Oaks Green, the road currently used for deliveries.
Landlord Jim Callaghan claims the closure would prevent one of the pub’s main drinks suppliers from making deliveries. The supplier has described the council’s alternative loading arrangements as “outrageous and dangerous”, arguing they would require vehicles to perform complex manoeuvres near pedestrian and cycle crossings. The company has said it will cease deliveries if the closure goes ahead.
Local residents have also spoken out in support of the pub. Rufus Meakin said: “I have seen that businesses are going to be severely affected. It reminds me of the way that Sheffield Council handled the tree demolition, which turned into an utter fiasco that still rumbles on years later. This Attercliffe development has all the same hallmarks – a massive public backlash, but the council carrying on regardless because they can’t find a way to unwind it without losing face.”
Ruth Oldfield added: “A great pub which deserves great support. I really hope the council reconsiders its plans to avoid closure. Jim and Kerry are genuine people who go out of their way to make you welcome.”
The Attercliffe Business Community is calling on Sheffield City Council to:
- Reconsider the implementation of the Red Route on Attercliffe Road;
- Reverse plans for the permanent closure of Oaks Green and Shortridge Street;
- Commit to supporting local businesses by ceasing plans for additional parking restrictions, providing improved directional signage to existing car parks, and ensuring that currently free car parks remain accessible without fees in the future.
They added: “Businesses within Attercliffe have consistently supported initiatives aimed at investment and regeneration. Their advocacy for improved infrastructure and revitalisation spans several years.
“However, implementing a Red Route under current conditions threatens irreparable harm to local livelihoods by triggering job losses, business closures and increased property vacancies – outcomes that are in direct conflict with the funding objectives of Connecting Sheffield, which are intended to foster economic growth and enhance community vitality in the area.”
Giro: Van der Breggen takes the lead with Stage 4 victory
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Anna van der Breggen produced an impressive performance to win stage 4’s individual time trial, beating world champion Marlen Reusser by over a minute.
She effortlessly covered the 12.7km race in 31:38, which was enough to see her swap the blue mountains jersey for the pink jersey of the race leader.
Demi Vollering finished third on the stage at 1:10, while Antonia Niedermaier and Monica Trinca Colonel rounded out the top five.
At the finish, Van der Breggen was warmly congratulated by Reusser, still wearing the rainbow skinsuit as reigning world time trial champion.
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Ruesser said: I had doubts anyway about my time trial, I was thinking I might have to leave [the hot seat]. I think I missed the moment to go really deep today, just felt too good, I really missed the moment and I think it was way too easy TT. Not so good from my side.
“A minute that Anna was faster is a lot, chapeau, really good performance.
“If you’re slower then of course, you’re thinking you should have chosen the other bike so when I was watching, I was thinking I should have chosen the other bike. It’s always easy to decide [after].
“I think I did but not a really good TT. I wouldn’t say if I had a TT bike that I would have won.”
The results for the general classification after stage four are:
- Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) 11:31:32
- Marlen Reusser (Movistar) +1’04”
- Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) +1’10”
- Antonia Niedermaier (CANYON-SRAM zondacrypto) +1’26”
- Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco) +1’31”
- Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-SUEZ) +1’38”
- Femke de Vries (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1’39”
- Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) +1’51”
- Urska Zigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) +1’54”
- Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) +1’55”
Giro: Incredible time trial from Van der Breggen
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Anna van der Breggen takes an impressive 1:04 off world champion Marlen Reusser’s time. Wearing the mountains jersey, she powered up the climb on her time trial bike, making her effort look comfortable and controlled.
After retiring from professional racing and later returning to the peloton, the four-time Giro champion continues to add to an already extraordinary legacy. Incredible effort!
West Midlands embraces Lime e-bikes as one rider completes more than 240 trips in two months
New figures released by Lime suggest the West Midlands has quickly embraced shared e-bikes, with the operator announcing an expansion of its service into Sandwell and Wolverhampton.
According to the data, 86% of people using Lime bikes in the region have never ridden a Lime bike in another city. More than one in three users also returned to take another trip within a week of their first ride.
One rider in the West Midlands has also completed more than 240 trips since the launch on the first of April.
These figures also highlight the popularity of bikes among students and commuters. Some of the most common destinations include Birmingham Moor Street station, University College Birmingham and major student accommodation sites across the city.
Tom Newham, Senior Manager of Public Affairs, Lime UK&I, said it has been “fantastic to see so many people” use the scheme. He added that “We’ve seen riders quickly make shared e-bikes part of their everyday routines, whether that’s commuting, connecting to public transport, meeting friends or travelling around the city centre.
“As we expand into the Black Country from June 1, we’re excited to bring the benefits of shared and affordable transport to even more communities across the region and continue working closely with local partners to support active travel.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, also said: “Lime’s new e-bikes have already proven a hit in Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull and I’m sure they will be just as successful in Sandwell and Wolverhampton.
“These new bikes with e-powered pedalling open up active travel to even more people, especially those who thought their cycling days were behind them.
“Alongside our ongoing investment in safer cycle routes, this will help people choose cycling as an affordable, cleaner and greener way to get around our towns and cities.”
Following this successful launch period in Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull, the company has now expanded into Sandwell and Wolverhampton from 1 June.
Managerial merry-go-round: leadership reshuffle across WorldTour teams ahead of Tour de France
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Ahead of the Tour de France, there seems to be a noticeable managerial shake-up among staff and leadership.
The most significant reported change involves Visma-Lease a Bike, sporting director Grischa Niermann, who is said to be leaving the team to join Lidl-Trek. In this reshuffle, Niermann will be replacing long-standing general manager Luca Guercilena, who is widely credited with helping build Lidl-Trek into the modern WorldTour outfit it has become.
Marc Reef is expected to step into Niermann’s role at Visma. He is already an established sports director at the team, and has been part of the group guiding Jonas Vingegaard through recent major success, including the recent Giro d’Italia win
CEO Richard Pugge said: “I’m very sad that Grischa is now leaving. I’m disappointed to see him leave, because as a person and as a great sports director, I have a lot of respect for him, and together we achieved exceptional success, including multiple Grand Tour victories, and most recently our victory in Paris-Roubaix, which was the pinnacle, maybe, of what we tried to achieve.”
At Lidl-Trek, this change follows a wider period of reshuffling that began with Lidl’s majority acquisition of the team in October last year. Alongside Niermann, Andy Schleck is set to take on the role of general manager. The 2010 Tour de France winner, awarded retroactively in 2012, will return to the team after several years away from management.
Earlier this spring, his brother Fränk Schleck also rejoined the organisation in a management role within the women’s programme, following his retirement from professional racing in 2016 after a long career with Trek.
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“It feels amazing to be back,” Frank Schleck said. “This team means a lot to me, and there’s a real sense of pride and familiarity returning to a place with so many good memories.
“Coming in from the outside, I could immediately see the energy and direction of the project. The October camp showed me how committed everyone is to pushing standards, and it’s exciting to now be part of that process.”
Meanwhile, at INEOS Grenadiers, CEO John Allert reportedly left last month, but it hasn’t been officially announced.
Lime U-turns after allowing delivery cyclists to exceed ‘go-slow’ speed limits in busy London parks and high streets
Lime Bikes introduced a Delivery Pass that enabled Deliveroo cyclists to travel through London without the same speed restrictions as other people who hired the electric hire bike.
Leaked WhatsApp messages shared with the London Centric newsletter showed the company had created exemptions as part of an effort to attract delivery riders, who would normally use an illegally-modified electric motorbike, with unrestricted speeds. In contrast, ordinary Lime Bike users must navigate “go-slow” areas of the city, where the bike is capped at 8mph.
Read more on the link below.
Bike trailer for 13ft paddle board
Reddit user Dexter2700 has shared the trailer for his paddleboard, saying he uses the trailer to travel the 2 miles he lives from a local lake.
My paddle boarding setup
by
u/Dexter2700 in
carryshitolympics
Gravel racing is coming to your TV screens: Will live coverage take cycling’s buzziest discipline to even loftier heights?
After the Marly Grav, has gravel finally arrived on the cycling main stage? We chatted with UCI Gravel World Series Manager, Erwin Vervecken to find out all about live gravel racing on the big screen, and what that could mean for the sport.
“It’s really depressing that in 2026 we’re still making basic mistakes when it comes to cycle parking”
Ade Chapmanlaw on Facebook has shared some images of cycle parking, that is, yet again, overly complicated and not under cover.
He shared the images saying that “the frustrating thing is that we already know what works. Simple Sheffield stands are. Cheap, durable, secure, and accommodate almost every type of bicycle, from road bikes to cargo bikes and everything in between.”
> Worst bike racks — from the useless to utterly unusable places to park your bicycle
He explained that the cycle parking was tucked away around a corner and out of sight.
He added that “Getting people onto bikes isn’t just about cycle lanes. The journey has to work from start to finish, and that includes having somewhere secure and convenient to leave your bike when you arrive.”
100s of cyclists ride through Kennington to pay respects
It was organised in honour of a cyclist in her 20s who died in a collision with a lorry in Kennington.
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Yes I do the same. Slow down and cover brakes whenever near a refuse lorry, bus, school collection / drop off areas, takeaway outlets. Presumably the worker would have received training in how to behave around traffic. It was indeed a rubbish manoeuvre.
It definitely was a dumb move from a worker, but I'm always covering the brakes anyway when passing a bin lorry - especially if I'm overtaking traffic waiting to pass while I can squeeze through. They're like school buses, there's a strong chance someone will suddenly cross the road from behind the truck. Good job by Mark anyway, I'd usually expect people to walk across the road, not run/roll!
@Mr Blackbird And the evidence that Spalding BID are a wunch of bankers is overwhelming.
@IanMK Many years ago, HSE decided that cycle helmets were not PPE. Not sure if their position has changed since then.
@Rendel Harris Thanks for digging all that up. That link is of the 'this is the answer, now put it in your own words' variety. As for Spalding BID, this is interesting: "Spalding BID Ltd is a registered company with a Board of Directors who volunteer their time to provide performance monitoring and strategic oversight of the delivery of Spalding BID Improvement Plan. Its Directors must be members of the registered company and in general appointed because they are business owners, business partners or have another vested interest in the town. It is important to note that Spalding BID Ltd is an independent company which is not owned, governed or operated by South Holland District Council." It raises £170k/year by taxing local businesses, which as you point out, they can't avoid, and they can't vote them out until 2029. "Spalding BID 5-year term of operation runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2029, after which businesses will be invited to take part in a new ballot to determine whether Spalding BID will run for a further 5-year term." I got curious about what exactly BIDs are so I googled and found some stuff, amongst which the ballot information was particularly interesting: "The Ballot Process • Postal Vote: Ballots are conducted entirely by post via the local authority's returning officer. • Dual Majority: Approval requires a simple majority of those who vote, and a majority of those votes must represent a majority of the aggregate rateable value."
I imagine the 105,000 figure is the estimate for the top of high season., not the number of full-time jobs. The trouble with this job is that you are overworked for 4 months a year and then don't always work enough to stay in the black for the other 8. So many mechanics may need another job for the rest of the year, but then they can't keep up to date with the industry. Catch 22.
@Rendel Harris hmm... wonder if this organisation has received some journalistic attention? It could just be wording but yeah that reads "we've decided x, now let's come up with 'evidence' to prove that..."
@Rendel Harris do you think they got any evidence - or was it just anecdote?
@Chris RideFar I think because the over complexity of what bikes have become over the last decade it puts off many who may of been prepared to service their own bikes in the past but are now not so confident. Disc brakes are the obvious one for me. Its no longer a simple task of swapping a brake cable and putting in new pads, there is the bleeding, cutting of hoses, fitting barbs etc, its 3 new tools just for that 1 job if your needing to replace the parts. Even bleeding alone put off many, cos if you mess it up youre left without functioning brakes. a simple cable pull is easy to see and understand. hydraulics can be poor but you dont know until you come to use it and it can just fade and become spongy mid ride. Thats before we get into internal routing, headsets, the million and 1 different BB standards etc.
@eburtthebike I'd be genuinely surprised if this didn't fall under the remit of the HSE and they hadn't done an investigation. Imagine if a forklift hit a cyclist on a large industrial site. Having said that, although the HSE are unlikely to give specific advice, the 'staff are encouraged to wear helmets' doesn't sound like the outcome of a competent risk assessment.
28 thoughts on “Pub which “survived two world wars, the Sheffield floods, and the pandemic” risks “almost certain closure” due to active travel plans, according to owner; Managerial merry-go-round; Giro d’Italia Women Mountain TT + more on the live blog”
If putting in active travel infrastructure is so devastatingly powerfull that it beats the effects of natural/human disastrophes, can we use it to solve other problems around the world?
It’s always possible that it is badly designed. Not familiar with the area. And certainly that people *genuinely believe* the council is going to stuff things up. But…
If it will completely stop supplies perhaps we should campaign for cycle infra in deprived areas to stop the drugs getting in?
Are they claiming cycle infra will stop customers getting there (including stopping intoxicated people driving home)? Hang on – if it will do that perhaps we can also get populist support for a national coastal cycle path to stop people arriving by boat?
@chrisonabike StOp tHe BoATs – with a dedicated cycle lane along the Kent coastline.
Or just fortify the Cantii Way (an excellent route). I’m all for heavily armed cycle infrastructure.
And the best thing about the Cantici is that they were here before the English!
@mitsky I was in Amsterdam at the weekend. Not a single pub/bar/coffee shop left since they installed the cycle lanes
It’s the same here in Paris. Not a single cafe, bistro or boulangerie survived the cycle cycles. They survived the guilotine, the franco – Prussian war, the Great War, 4 years of Nazi occupation, the Paris uprisings . . . . . but the cycles lanes did for them.
@mitsky If Trump had any sense (obviously doesn’t) then the current Gulf crisis could be solved possibly by Oman & Iran planning an active travel corridor somewhere in the Gulf of Hormuz. Job done, they’d all object (obviously) and agree to a safe shipping lane instead of a bike lane.
I’ve often wondered what Sunny Jim did after the 1979 general election. Mind you, I’d have thought with a MP’s pension on top of the allowances a former PM can claim that Mr Callaghan would have done more with retirement than running a pub. Mind you, he was always a man of the people. All of which makes about as much sense as this landlord’s whinging.
I wonder how businesses including pubs and restaurants could have possibly survived on the streets of historic York, where the narrow lanes and alleys were built before HGVs were invented?
Everyone knows about the Quaker and temperance heritage of York, but few realise that this was through necessity. After the Vikings arrived and drank the town dry there was no way to replenish supplies (especially with the walls and narrow Bars). Even allowing for the York Brewery within them.
This is also why Belgium beer is so strong: the Flemish streets are too narrow for barrels to be moved (once parking has been accommodated), so beer with ABV at wine-like levels became the norm for logistical reasons.
I would have thought that brilliant active travel plans for Sheffield would be the hook to this story in a pro-cycling publication.
Instead we get the usual negativity: “a pub landlord opposes this, wah, wah, wah”. It’s a shame.
Let me get this right …. The pub needs their customers to drive in, drink how much or how little as they want, and then DRIVE away. Their slogan should be “We Need You to Drink and Drive”!
To be fair, the report suggests the issue is not with customers being able to drive there, but with the council closing the road they use for deliveries. “The supplier has described the council’s alternative loading arrangements as “outrageous and dangerous”, arguing they would require vehicles to perform complex manoeuvres near pedestrian and cycle crossings.” Doesn’t seem to bother others just up the street:
The paddleboarding setup is cool. I haven’t done that yet, but I have combined my Alpacka inflatable packraft with my Brompton to get to my brother’s island cottage. It’s about 0.3 miles across the St. Clair River, and took me a little over ten minutes each way. It was fun, and I avoided the $5 ferry charge.
Inflated.
En route.
Made it!
Arrow.
Awaiting “This content doesn’t belong on road.cc, there are no roads! Please post on bikepaddling.cc”
(Looks like a good adventure BTW – bike and boat seems rather Dutch… only they would take the ferry as that would often be free)
@chrisonabike it’s a private island ferry. It’s free (well, included in the HOA bill) for owners and their minor children, but not guests.
“Survived two World Wars?” Excuse my Yankee ignorance, but was there some point during the War to End All Wars that the Germans made it across the Channel? Or did they have some sort of cannon that allowed them to lob artillery in from the point of their westernmost advance near Paris?
Sheffield was bombed in 1916 during a Zeppelin raid on the city.
Presumably it was targeted in a “zeppelin raid” in WW part 1 and featured in the Bierkeller Blitz in WW part 2?
* Apparently over 50 raids were made in the UK during WW1.
@cmedred A Zeppelin raid in 1916 dropped 36 bombs on the city, destroying or damaging 150 buildings and killing 28 people.
Also, several units of elite Spezialfahrradswehr forces infiltrated under cover of darkness and launched a number of devastating raids before being forced back into the North Sea, but the government hushed it up due to concerns about the effect on public morale.
True.
Of course nowadays none would get beyond Handsworth on the Parkway before being wiped out by the traffic.
… despite wearing helmets and riding in the gutter. “It was only not wearing hi-vis that saved me,” commented the sole survivor, “the others just blended in to the low sun and yellowed autumn leaves”.