Sheffield housing: City council rules out homes on Parkwood Springs brownfield site to spare green belt

The authority issued a statement on Parkwood Springs after campaigners suggested it should be included in a list of plots to be developed.

The government has asked Sheffield City Council to earmark land for 38,000 homes and 654 acres for business to meet government targets up to 2039.

It is proposing to build 3,529 homes on 14 green belt sites, including almost 1,000 on three plots in Grenoside, as well as two schools and a graveyard.

The council says it chose green belt because brownfield sites have been “fully explored, or maximised.”

But Grenoside resident Ian Pearson suggested Parkwood Springs, which stretches from Rutland Road to Herries Road at Wadsley Bridge, could be used.

The huge brownfield site has had a variety of uses over the decades including housing and a power station.

But he said he had now been told it was to be developed for leisure.

He said: “So rural areas at Grenoside and Handsworth can be decimated by new housing estates in order for Kelham Islanders to keep fit.

“Do those residents not realise they are five minutes from Hillsborough Park and Crookesmoor by car, perhaps they could walk there to keep fit!

Make sure you don’t miss any of the breaking news and biggest headlines from Sheffield and South Yorkshire with our free daily newsletter.

“The city centre is literally on their doorsteps. A city centre that now consists of bars, clubs, gyms, leisure centres and the like.

“Were the residents dragged kicking and screaming to live at Kelham Island or did some of them choose to live there?

“Well, we chose to live in a green Grenoside but our views and opinions rate lowly with the Labour hierarchy.”

A Sheffield City Council spokesperson said some of Parkwood Springs had been used as landfill which was unsuitable for housing.

A “significant part” was a designated Local Wildlife Site, and part of it was set to be developed as an “Urban Country Park,” capitalising on the site’s natural, cultural and heritage assets and supporting Sheffield’s position as the UK’s ‘Outdoor City’.

They added: “This will enhance recreational opportunities for inner city residents, as well as people in the city more widely.

“The area is relatively accessible for people living in the city centre, where a large amount of new housing is proposed, as well as other established communities in this part of Sheffield.”