Loxley Valley: Campaign group issues statement on £40m plan for 'Center Parcs' homes in Sheffield's green belt

A campaign group has issued a statement in response to £40m plans for Center Parcs-style woodland homes costing up to £1.5m in Sheffield’s green belt.

Friends of Loxley Valley says it has studied the proposal by Sky-House to build 60 houses on the 70-acre Hepworth refractories site along the River Loxley.

It is a new attempt to redevelop the area after a 2021 plan for 300 homes faced huge opposition - including from the Friends - before being refused.

Now the group has put out a statement urging people to comment.

It said: “FoLV will consult its membership as things progress. We also trust that Sky-House will consult the many people and organisations who offered views on the earlier planning application.

“We hope they will listen carefully to a wide range of opinions, and that these will be reflected in a carefully considered planning application.

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“Once a planning application is submitted, everyone will have the right to read it and to send their views to planning officers before councillors meet to decide whether to approve it.

“At this early stage, we think it’s really important that everyone takes the opportunity to have their say.”

Factory operations ended almost 40 years ago and trees have grown up among 20 crumbling buildings which are popular with urban explorers.