Sheffield green belt: MP brands controversial housing plans as 'simply not fair' as public consultation begins

Public consultation on Sheffield City Council’s Local Plan - a blueprint for development over the next 14 years - began earlier in the week, asking the public for their opinions on the divisive scheme.

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The plan itself would see more than 3,500 homes built and 14 green belt sites released for housing and was approved by the council on May 14.

Responses sent in as part of the consultation will be reviewed by independent government inspectors and could see amendments to the proposals made.

Now, Sheffield East MP Clive Betts has spoken out and is calling for land owners and developers to put forward alternative sites to more equally distribute the developments.

His response comes after it was revealed that 1,638 homes - 44 per cent of the total proposed - would be built in Handsworth, a single community in his constituency, if current plans go ahead.

According to Betts, this decision unfairly affects his district while leaving the other parts of the city mostly unaffected.

He said: “My constituents are not NIMBYs, but they do have a clear sense of fairness, and this current proposal is not fair.

“Under the present proposals 44 per cent of all new housing development is not just in one constituency or ward, but one community - Handsworth.

“The idea that one area can take this level of housing on green belt while others take none is simply not fair.

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“That is why I am calling on any and all developers across Sheffield to use this public consultation to put forward their sites so we can have a fairer distribution across the city.

“There are plenty of areas the council has likely missed due to not considering a further call for sites. We can try and fix that now.

“We absolutely need to be ambitious and hit the housing target to deal with the crippling housing crisis we are in, but this way of going about it just places the greatest burden on an area that has already been stretched in terms of infrastructure and services. “

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