Sheffield green belt: How protesters can object to the city council's shock plans

Ordinary folk, who prior to April 24 had no idea what was coming, are now spending hours on research, letters, petitions, drop-in sessions and fundraisers.

The threat of more than 3,500 homes on 14 huge plots has prompted people to look at their beloved green space with fresh eyes and given them fresh energy to try to preserve it.

The Facebook group ‘Opposition To The Planned Removal Of Green Belt Land In S13’ didn’t exist four weeks ago. Today it has 1,200 members.

The most recent post states: “We will soon have 10,000 leaflets to be distributed around S13’s 550 postcodes. We have volunteers able to deliver to the followng roads/estates…”

In Handsworth, land to the east of the village is earmarked for 870 homes and a 49-acre business park, while to the south, fields between the Bramley and Beaver estates could see 880 homes.

Similar Facebook groups have sprung up in Grenoside, with 858 members, Wharncliffe Side, with186, and Chapeltown with 355.

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Sheffield East MP Clive Betts is supporting Handsworth protesters claiming 1,638 homes “in just one postcode” would be unfair when the west of Sheffield is barely affected.

Given the strength of opposition it seems likely that some plans will change.

The next step is a Sheffield City Council-run public consultation from Thursday, May 29 to Friday, July 11.

The responses will be reviewed by government inspectors before a series of public hearings in the autumn.

Inspectors will then publish a preliminary report, with further public consultation early in 2026.

Each development would then need to go through the normal planning process - when people can object again.

Inspectors are expected to issue a final report and the council will decide whether to adopt the Local Plan in July 2026.

The city council says in total the Local Plan will see 38,000 new homes, 265 hectares of employment land and tens of thousands of jobs created up to 2039, to meet government targets.

And it had to choose green belt because all previously-used brownfield sites have been “fully explored, or maximised.”