Sheffield green belt homes: Open letter sent to council boss over controversial plans
Campaigners against plans to build thousands of new homes on Sheffield green belt land have published an open letter to the Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council calling for the proposals to be abolished.
The letter has been sent as a “final plea” to the council to abolish the plans and protect Sheffield’s green space.
The letter, addressed to Kate Josephs, reads: “While we understand that you may be under pressure politically to deliver this plan, the public must not be collateral damage.
“We do not want this to turn into another Sheffield tree scandal.”
This comes after a controversial decision by the council to vote in support of the development plans.
The letter complains that residents had only six weeks to review a “deluge” of material that they feel would take professional level planning expertise to understand.
Concerns are also voiced that a lot of the information about the plans was released in the days and weeks after the vote, and that the council voted blind.
The letter also refers to a consultation event at a church where it is alleged that elderly residents felt intimidated by security, with the presence of guards at the church doors described as “wholly inappropriate and intimidating.”
Jo Tunstall, the secretary of ‘Save our Greenbelt Chapeltown, Ecclesfield and Grenoside’ campaign, said: “The consultation at the church had two bouncers outside. They looked like nightclub bouncers, it was inappropriate and intimidating.
“One lady even said she went home she was so intimidated.”
Ms Tunstall added that it was a “complete waste of time,” and that she came away with more questions than answers.
She said: “These meetings gave no value to use whatsoever due to the council reps not knowing or ever having set foot on the sites, or in the local area before.
“As such they were unable to answer even the most basic questions. I left with an uneasy taste in my mouth that this was a rush job.”
One of the campaign group’s concerns about the green belt plans is the proposal to build three logistic warehouses on a 47 hectare plot.
Ms Tunstall said: “This will be absolutely catastrophic, we do not have the demand for that type of employment.”
The letter also claims that questions submitted by residents under the Freedom of Information Act will not be answered in time before the end of the consultation period on July 11.
Concerns have also been raised that the plan for the development is legally flawed, with one plot - Smithy Wood - neither owned by the council nor up for sale.
The letter points out that Council Leader Tom Hunt had previously stated that no compulsory purchase orders would be issued.
It also states that the council has been asked to check whether there are any conflicts of interest relating to the council, councillors and the plans.
Some extracts from the letter:
“We write to you on behalf of the thousands of residents across nborth Sheffield and beyond who are appalled by the manner in which Sheffield City Council has progressed the latest iteration of the Local Plan, in particular the proposed release of significant green belt land across S35.
“You may have seen in the Sheffield Star that last weekend more than 500 residents joined a peaceful march to demonstrate their opposition to the Local Plan.
“This letter is a final plea and a public record ahead of potential legal and regulatory escalation.
“While we understand you may be under pressure politically to deliver this plan, the public must not be collateral damage. We do not want this to turn into another Sheffield Tree Scandal.
“The communities affected deserve transparency, fairness and proper democratic process. They have received none.”
The letter continues: “The council approved Green Belt allocations just 20 days after the public was first made aware of them.
"The council have uploaded thousands of pages of deeply technical documents, a number of which were provided after the full council vote, which suggests the
decision was therefore made without full facts being available and amounts to a fundamental failure in procedural fairness.
"Councillors cannot claim to have made a sound decision when critical information was not even in the public domain at the time.
“Residents have been given just six weeks to review this deluge of material. For most, it would require professional-level planning expertise, which neither they nor local councillors possess. Key data including viability reports were only released in the days and weeks following the vote. In short, the council voted blind.
“Affected residents have submitted a number of Freedom of Information requests in seeking basic facts, yet the majority of these will not be answered before the consultation ends on 11 July, denying residents the ability to make informed representations.
“We are told these developments are essential to meet housing need. But what metrics is this based on? The birth rate in Sheffield has been falling since 2012 and is one of the lowest in the UK. With such a flat demographic outlook, we question the claim that thousands of homes must be rushed through in this location, particularly at the expense of green belt.
“The proposed scale of development in S35 alone with over 1,000 new homes and accompanying employment land would in effect create a new village or small town, without the necessary infrastructure, governance, or services in place to support it.
“No clear assurance has been given that brownfield land will be prioritised first and the likely reality is that the Green Belt proposals will be the most attractive offering to developers in the proposed Local Plan and are likely to be developed first without the proper infrastructure in place. We ask again: Why release green belt when so many brownfield plots remain idle? Why not build sequentially, while monitoring true need?”
The letter gives the council until 5pm tomorrow (July 9) to provide “a full, satisfactory, written response” addressing matters raised.
It threateans to escalate concerns to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and to the Secretary of State.
It concludes with: “We are willing to work constructively with the council to identify sustainable alternatives, prioritising brownfield land, smaller infill sites and community-supported development.
"The residents of north Sheffield deserve affordable homes and jobs but not at the cost of their countryside, their trust and their voice.
“We urge you to step back, reflect and reconsider. The people are watching and they are not alone.”