The Place of the Polytechnic Available to Purchase

You will have been aware of change during your time with us — change in the social and economic life of the City, change in the Polytechnic itself. You will have seen the serious devastation of the Don Valley, and will have read of closures and redundancies in local manufacturing industry — of Tinsley Park, Jonas Woodhead, and Viners, of the restructuring of Sheffield Forgemasters. You will have lived close to the miners' strike and read of local pit closures. You will also be aware of new retail outlets opening in Sheffield: a new Sainsburys, Presto, Texas, B&Q. You will know that, contrary to its traditional image, Sheffield is now predominantly a service sector city with the major employers to be found in the public sector — City Council, Health Authority, Manpower Services Commission, University, and Polytechnic.