Development is in the wrong place

We are writing in response to your article of February 22, to express our opposition to the proposed housing development on the corner of Hollin Busk Lane and Carr Road between Deepcar and Stocksbridge.
A site off Hollin Busk Lane and Carr Road, near Royd Farm between Stocksbridge, Deepcar and Bolsterstone, where Hallam Land Management wants to build 93 homes. Photo: John HeskethA site off Hollin Busk Lane and Carr Road, near Royd Farm between Stocksbridge, Deepcar and Bolsterstone, where Hallam Land Management wants to build 93 homes. Photo: John Hesketh
A site off Hollin Busk Lane and Carr Road, near Royd Farm between Stocksbridge, Deepcar and Bolsterstone, where Hallam Land Management wants to build 93 homes. Photo: John Hesketh

As residents of Deepcar, we are opposed to this development for the following reasons:

The site has very poor road access and this funnels down to what is already an overused bottleneck at the junction of Carr Road and Manchester Road. The amount of traffic using this junction, particularly at rush hour already means long queues and there is simply no way to accommodate up to an extra 200 cars.

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In addition, access to and from the valley in which Deepcar and Stocksbridge sit is limited to two main roads and a few narrow country roads.

At rush hour, there can be queuing traffic on the Stocksbridge bypass of up to a mile and a half. The extra traffic resulting from the proposed development would only exacerbate this situation.

The extra residents would swamp local services such as schools, doctors and dentists and have a real impact on the lives of residents.

Sheffield Council have already discounted extending the existing services so increases in waiting times at health facilities and in class sizes in our local schools are inevitable.

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The proposed development would have a catastrophic affect on wildlife that inhabits this site and the adjacent Fox Glen.

The housing would also affect the natural beauty of the area.

This land is a very important natural break between Stocksbridge and Deepcar, its development would represent a turn-around on the part of Sheffield City Council who stated in their core strategy: “12.8 The land at Hollin Busk is a large and integral part of the countryside south of Stocksbridge, prominent in local views and providing an important visual break between the settlements of Stocksbridge and Deepcar.

“Its rural character is greatly valued locally and there is no need to develop it, as new housing can be provided on previously developed land within the urban area. Indeed, protection of the area makes a significant contribution to the character and distinctiveness of Stocksbridge.”  

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Deepcar and Stocksbridge are defined by the geography of the valley in which they sit and the potential for appropriate development has a limit. There is already a large new development under way in Fox Valley and another one promised on the site of the old sewage works.

This would be an inappropriate development in the wrong place.

Samantha and Malcolm Jolly

Deepcar