A determined community have rallied together to fight plans to build over 3,500 new homes on six green belt sites in the north of the city.
Sheffield City Council has been working with planning inspectors to deliver the ‘Sheffield Local Plan’ , a 14-year plan from the central government for housing development.
This aims to combat Sheffield’s housing crisis, which holds 25,000 people on its council house waiting list, a 23-year wait under current circumstances. There are a further 12,000 actively looking for homes, and just over 2,000 in temporary accommodation.
It was expected for only brownfield land to be built on, however there was a lack of space for the remaining 3,539. These are to be built on 3.6% of Sheffield’s green belt land, decided after a 8-5 vote from the Strategy and Resources Committee on Wednesday.
This has been met with strong opposition from Grenoside residents, and councillors with many of them worried about the impact this will have on infrastructure, traffic, services, and the local environment.
At a meeting of Grenoside Parish Council on Tuesday at Grenoside Reading Room, one resident said : “For me, it’s not even about the traffic, it makes me really sad when I see them cutting trees down.
“It just seems so unsustainable as a project.”
Councillor Alan Hooper said: “I’ve lived in Grenoside for 55 years, It’s a wonderful place to live.”
A change.org petition ‘Prevent Development on Grenoside’s Green Belt’ , organised by resident Vickie Fletcher, has reached over 1,500 signatures in seven days and has been recognised by local councillors.
Councillor Mike Levery said: “The problem is uneven distribution. It’s not fair, its not balanced, and the rest of the city is not picking up the slack.”
37% of the housing quotas, and six out of fourteen green belt sites, have been decided for the north.
He added: “We will not accept a plan with this level of development.”
A final decision will be made at full council on 14th May, and if agreed, a subsequent six-week public consultation process will begin.
Coun Levery made a strong plea for residents to get involved: “Your views and your voices need to be heard.
“This is a problem we are facing as a city and we are trying to find a solution to it.”
