Sheffield: Police to use newly opened Page Hall community base

Police officers will use a newly-opened community centre in a deprived area of Sheffield as a base for their work.

A team of officers was set up in Page Hall in October over concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime, South Yorkshire Police said.

Now an empty property on Robey Street, renovated by Sheffield City Council, will be used by several agencies.

Sgt Tony Cartlidge said it would be used by "my officers, council staff, health workers and others".

Page Hall is home to a large Slovakian Roma community and the force previously said a significant amount of people living in the area do not speak English as their first language.

Sgt Cartlidge said: "We know this area gets a lot of scrutiny, but since starting work last October we really have made progress.

"My officers are down here as much as possible, talking to people, dealing with incidents and being visible.

"It's about taking baby steps, encouraging people to work with us and it's changing attitudes."

Any crime could be reported to the new Page Hall Community House and officers would be able to respond quicker, he added.

The centre will also be used by Sheffield City Council's environmental teams, responsible for dealing with litter and noise problems, as well as for council advice sessions.

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