Trams will need to cope with 50°C heat, says mayor

The mayor of South Yorkshire says the city's Supertram network is being renewed so it can withstand temperatures of up to 50°C amid concerns over escalating climate change.

Oliver Coppard has spoken about trams, trains, plans for a controversial solar farm and whether it was appropriate for the government to sound the emergency siren over barbecues.

The Labour mayor has been answering questions on BBC Radio Sheffield's phone-in Call Coppard.

On his recent experiences of the heatwaves, Coppard says: "I was outside Doncaster railway station doing an event when the emergency siren went off [to alert people about the dangers of wildfires].

"I thought there was a nuclear explosion because I was surprised to see it. It's important we keep each other safe but I thought it was a stretch to use the emergency alert in that way. The government might need to think again about it.

"On the subject of wildfires, we are going to have to adapt as climate breakdown will only get worse and we will need air conditioning in homes, solar panels on new builds and other new technologies."

The Sheffield Supertram network is being upgraded to cope with hotter conditions.

"Supertram was built to withstand temperatures up to 34°C. Over recent weeks I have been getting messages in the morning telling me what the projected temperature is for the day because if it gets over that we have to stop the tram network.

"We are spending about £500m on renewal of the tram network and the network we're designing for the future has to withstand 50°C. That is what we have to think about in the future."

On GCSE results day, Coppard thinks there needs to be more investment in the region's schools: "The government needs to look at the divide between the north and the south when it comes to educational results.

"London had something called the London Challenge in the late 1990s where a load of investment went into schools in the capital.

"At that point, schools in London were really poor so they invested money in them and it brought them up to a really good standard which they are still enjoying today.

"I think in South Yorkshire and in the north more broadly, we need to look at that divide when it comes to educational attainment and how that's holding us back. Young people have had a raw deal now for a number of years."

On the East Midlands Railway fleet and service disruptions, Coppard says: "When East Midlands Railway made the announcement they didn't give us any warning or information, just a web link. I went straight to their chief executive and government ministers to say it wasn't good enough.

"Hitachi Rail are building new trains but have delivered them three years late and they have failed with doors, air conditioning, safety systems etc so East Midlands are relying on the old trains. Bad management has led us to this position and now we are all bearing the brunt.

"The rail service between Sheffield and London used to be one of our real strategic assets because a lot of companies decide to invest based on whether you can get somewhere within two hours.

"Increasingly we can't rely on that service. I have made very clear to EMR what my expectations look like, it needs to get better quickly and we need that timetable brought back to what we had before."

On government promises to house rough sleepers, Coppard adds: "We should help those people who are living rough on the streets but ultimately we have to have a system that helps people longer term.

"The real problem is mental health, substance abuse, the more complex issues that sit behind the statistics that we need to get into.

"We know there are some people who have a home but are choosing to sleep rough on the streets rather than live at the home they already have.

"It's more complex than just saying, let's take over an empty building and give people a safe place to sleep. That can be a solution but it is complex and it has to be long term.

"You're not just helping the people that are there today, you're helping those people who might be the rough sleepers of the future to avoid that fate."

On local concerns about solar energy developments, Coppard is aware of the impact: "The Whitestone scheme would be, we believe, the biggest solar farm in Europe. It will only create 11 full-time jobs and is going to be there for 60 years. The impact on the community will be absolutely massive.

"I am saying to the government and to the community affected by Whitestone, we cannot let this go forward. It is too big and in the wrong place.

"We have to put solar panels first on homes. We have to look at new small modular nuclear reactors. We have to look at hydrogen, wind and different ways of generating energy. But solar at this scale, in a place like South Yorkshire, is just wrong.

"I'm holding a series of public meetings and we are trying to get as many people signed up to object because the process is complicated and difficult.

"The councils, our MPs and communities are against it but the decision sits with the government."