Vonny Watts in Fulwood.

Vonny is a resident of Ranmoor and has lived there for 7 years with her husband and 9 year old daughter. She grew up on the Lowedges estate and battled to make her way through Sheffield University. She then taught in schools throughout South Yorkshire for over ten years and has sharply focused ideas about education needs in Sheffield. In particular she wants to maintain the standards of excellence in our local schools and protect them from being diluted by over-stretching their resources. She also believes that the right to a place at those schools should be given to children in our area as a first priority. The recent farce around school places, where many children have had to be redirected to schools outside their area, should have been monitored and anticipated by councillors in our areas.

Vonny is now a director of a small engineering firm in Sheffield and is well placed to know exactly what our manufacturing base needs to thrive. Currently the demand for apprenticeships is outstripping supply. Vonny says, "There will come a time, in the not too distant future, when we will quite literally run out of engineers. Firms are telling me that what they need is shop floor staff who can work a lathe or a milling machine so that they can have confidence to grow their business. These skills will die out unless we properly invest in practical, workplace-based apprenticeships. I fear that too much money is being skimmed off by training companies when firms themselves are best placed to use that money to train apprentices the way they want."

In Fulwood, Vonny has worked tirelessly on many planning issues. She has had success in the Blackbrook area in particular where planning applications have become unsustainable. Plots originally designed as small retirement bungalows are being raided by developers to extend footprints to 5 bedroom homes and this is simply not in keeping with the area. Vonny will continue to fight these kinds of applications on behalf of residents.

She is also working on parking problems around Hallam Primary School, Notre Dame School and Lodge Moor Surgery. 

Vonny has also tidied up problem areas in the ward such as the steps in Storth Lane. She is happy to take further reports of blackspots that need attention.

Vonny is now working to secure funding for the Westminster residents who have sought her help after carpets were removed from communal areas and not replaced leaving them noisy, cold, and unattractive. Vonny is supporting residents in their bid to obtain money for improvements through the "Going Local" funds which will shortly be available.