What Sheffield needs: Shops, trees, help for the homeless, better buses and a 'good football team'

You took to The Star's Facebook page to tell us what would make the city better, from shops and sport to crime and transport.

If you live in Sheffield, chances are you will have thoughts about what would make it better. Many, many thoughts. And we love to hear them.

We asked on Facebook 'What Sheffield needs most is…' and were inundated with replies, with some recurring themes.

Top of your to-fix list is the council.

Linda Barrett was just one voice among many saying that what the city needs is "a decent council who will help us develop the areas needing help".

Also high on the local agenda is the retail situation in the city centre. Many are still smarting at the loss of John Lewis, and Julie Conley wants "some decent clothes shops".

"I really miss Debenhams," she said.

Meanwhile Mark Murfin suggested any shops would be good, as long as they’re not "restaurants or coffee shops".

Then there’s transport, and a particular bugbear is the Clean Air Zone. Sarah Reeder summed up the thoughts of many when she said: "Clean Air Zone (stealth tax) needs removing".

Buses were another focus, with James Hudson saying the city needs "more bus drivers" and Mazzer Muhammad pleading for the bus services to "stop changing times". 

There was some debate about whether cycle lanes are friend or foe. John Farrell-Smith advocated for "cycle lanes… no traffic", but Kathleen Hassanali replied "no, cycle lanes are not used anyway".

Mark Murfin said "more free car parks" would help the city centre compete with Meadowhall.

A few posters highlighted Manchester as an example of where the city should be headed. Paul Clarke said: "Some radical ideas about regeneration" were needed, to which Steve Bullcock replied "benchmark Manchester and Barnsley".

Meanwhile Jonathan Jones said Sheffield needs "Andy Burnham", and Nicola Milnes said "compared to cities such as Leeds and Manchester, Sheffield is a very poor shopping experience".

Lisa Rodgers and Tracy Marples both commented that the city centre needed to feel "safer".

Some of the most pessimistic contributors agreed with Tracey Tomlinson, who said the city needs "demolishing and then rebuilding". Others, like Gracie Cole, think that all it needs is "a good clean".

"Try a lick of paint, collect the rubbish that’s building up on every estate, cut the grass, remove graffiti," suggested Michael Peacock.

And Rory Liam added that "more trees in the centre" would make a difference. He wrote: "Sure, there’s bigger problems, but it makes a difference for not much effort."

Ian Houghton had a long list of practical suggestions, like more hostels for homeless people, as well as some advice for Sheffield residents: "At the end of the day, people make a great city to live in, so if it’s bad, then we have to look to ourselves. Stand as a councillor or even as an independent, or write letters and get involved. The ripple effect of being a good neighbour is larger than you know. Your efforts, no matter how small, can have a chain reaction."

And we’ll leave the last word with Dave Lee, who just wants "a good football team"!