Dear councillor,

It is the Cathedral’s understanding that on 7 December Sheffield City
Council will debate a motion in support of the Occupy Sheffield protest. As
you prepare for the debate, as Dean of Sheffield I would like to draw your
attention to the Cathedral’s perspective on the protest, which is currently
located on the Cathedral Forecourt without our permission. Our points are as
follows:

· Since the protest began there have been a number of health and
safety concerns, with both members of the protest and members of the public
put at risk. We have raised these concerns with representatives of Occupy
Sheffield, but most of them have not been dealt with appropriately.

· Sheffield Cathedral is a relatively small third sector
organisation that provides significant subsidy and support for the Cathedral
Archer Project and receives no funding from the City Council. Managing the
protest has placed a significant strain on the Cathedral’s limited
resources, as a significant proportion of the Cathedral’s small staff has
had their attention focused on the legal, health and safety, media,
operational and financial implications of the occupation. This has
compromised the Cathedral’s ability to deliver its mission and provide
continued support for the Archer Project. The protest has also come at a
time when the Cathedral has been in the final stages of the preparation of a
significant funding bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund; this application has
been jeopardised because the Cathedral has not had the resources to deal
with the protest and the bid at the same time.

· The ongoing use of the Cathedral Forecourt into the new year will
put at risk a number of initiatives that the Cathedral is seeking to
deliver, including vintage markets and a food and drink festival, that are
critical to the Cathedral’s financial sustainability. The financial impact
of the presence of Occupy Sheffield in 2012 will be £30k to £40k. This
income is necessary for the Cathedral to break even.

· Twice the Cathedral’s main Sunday service has been significantly
disrupted by protestors (on 6 November and 4 December). On the second
occasion the congregation was subjected to significant verbal abuse from a
protestor linked to Occupy Sheffield. These two acts are contrary to the
stated aim of Occupy Sheffield not to disrupt the life of the Cathedral.

· Occupy Sheffield’s engagement with members of the public has been
very limited, the focus of the protest is unclear, and there has been
increasing misreporting and misrepresentation of the Cathedral’s position by
members of Occupy Sheffield in the local press and social media.

The protestors wish to raise issues that the Cathedral would in principle
also support. However, they have shown themselves to be neither competent
not capable of conducting their protest in an appropriate fashion. The
Cathedral has been left with no option but to ask them to leave the
forecourt immediately.

In the context of the motion you will be discussing on Wednesday, even if
the Council supports the raising of important issues by Occupy Sheffield, I
ask that you urge the Council to express disapproval of the illegal
occupation of the Cathedral forecourt, and support for the Cathedral’s
request that the protestors move on.

Yours faithfully,