Sheffield City Council plans to build offices, industrial buildings and homes on protected green belt land as part of the local plans to develop the city.
On May 30, the Council’s strategy and resources committee agreed that 3.6% of Sheffield’s green belt land would be developed.
Sheffield has a brownfield first policy however these options have been exhausted, prompting plans to build on 14 green belt sites which will lead to the biggest loss of protected land in reported history.
The strategic planning service manager Simon Vincent said: “The city has been very successful in developing brownfield sites meaning Sheffield’s green belt has remained virtually unaltered for over 40 years”.
This decision is a result of the city’s local plan to build 38,012 affordable new homes from 2022-2039. The Sheffield Plan Inspector’s report stated that the housing requirement has risen from 3,539 and therefore the need for 539 extra houses per year justifies the use of the green belt site.
Additionally, the inspection requires the council to find 53 hectares for employment uses.
Mr Vincent said: “It has reached the point where some limited green belt release is needed to provide land for more homes and jobs.”
The strategy and resources committee agreed that these exceptional circumstances justify the release of the land for new development as with the current land supply this goal would fall short.
Councillor Ben Miskell said: “Young people should have the ability to build a life, to afford a home in the city that they love but too many people don’t have that opportunity.”
While they agreed expansion is needed many councillors were concerned over the particular sites being chosen such as the land near Parkers Lane, Dore.
Cllr Joe Otten said this land was “environmentally far more sensitive” given its proximity to Haythornthwaite Woods. He described these plans as “cutting down an ecological corridor” between the countryside and the woods.
A council meeting will be held on May 14 to determine whether the plans will move forward. A public consultation will also be held over the summer along with further examinations of the plan by government inspectors.
