'Building thousands of homes on green belt feels like a bad dream'

Campaigners said they are "shocked and angry" after government inspectors allowed controversial plans to build on Sheffield's green belt to proceed to the next stage.

Thousands of residents have objected to proposals to develop 3,500 homes, as well as schools, cemeteries and industrial units, on 14 green belt sites across the city.

This week HM Planning Inspectorate said that following a public hearing, Sheffield City Council's Local Plan document was "sound", subject to some modifications to slightly reduce the housebuilding figures.

The council will now hold further consultation events before final decisions are made, but campaign groups told the BBC that the outcome "feels like a bad dream".

Andrew Robinson is objecting to an allocation of 600 houses, a new school and a burial ground in Chapeltown, Ecclesfield and Grenoside.

He said: "The first response from everybody is total shock and anger. We have been through a long process over 10 months and we did so much work.

"We put forward so much information, lots of facts and figures and reasons why the proposals are going to be a disaster."

Those against the proposals have argued that the S13 and S35 postcodes had been allocated a disproportionate amount of new housing.

Mr Robinson added: "We were pretty optimistic there was going to be some requirement to reduce the numbers and spread the housing further around the city but this very short, 10-page document isn't saying any of that.

"We can't believe it, it feels like a bad dream. We're so surprised."

Sadie Charlton was one of the lead campaigners in Handsworth but said she had withdrawn after the fight left her "exhausted and burned out".

She said: "The most disappointing thing for me is this is not about housebuilding in Sheffield, people understand homes are needed. We're not NIMBYs and we're not arguing against the need for these homes.

"But you don't solve a housing crisis by deepening inequality and here in S13, and in S35, communities have been highly affected by this proposal.

"They are being asked to absorb a disproportionate share of the green belt loss while wealthier areas remain largely untouched.

"We are hearing from people who are disengaging, they are saying, what's the point if decisions are already made?"

Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, called the Local Plan "wrong and unfair".

He said: "I am incredibly disappointed the inspectors have not understood the profound impact this will have on the poorer areas of Sheffield.

"The decision to effectively keep the plan as it is represents a monumental disservice to the communities who will be burdened with yet further development with no significant improvement to the surrounding infrastructure.

"At the same time affluent parts of the city have little to no encroachment on their green belt."

Council leader Tom Hunt said the next stage of consultation was "an important opportunity" for residents to comment on the proposed modifications before the inspectors issue their final report to the council.

He said: "The Plan has a clear focus on developing brownfield land that has already previously been built on.

"Continuing without a Local Plan means remaining at risk of speculative, unplanned development and developments built without any infrastructure and without affordable housing."

The consultation will resume in March and public responses will be passed to the inspectors to be considered in their final report. There will then be a six-week period for the Plan to be approved by the council before the conclusion of the process in July.

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