Spat over greenbelt housing as Sheffield MP and Green councillors fail to align on future developments
Greenbelt housing plans continue to cause friction in local politics
A Sheffield MP claims the city’s Green Party has “refused to meet” with him to discuss a controversial plan to build on greenbelt land - however the councillors have claimed they are set to meet with campaigners “in the near future.”
The Sheffield Green Party has been heavily criticised by campaigners for voting in favour of the Local Plan, which is set to build more than 3,500 homes across greenbelt sites.
It even prompted party leader Zack Polanski to state he would “look into” the voting stance on a visit to Sheffield on July 5.
Now, Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts claims his invitations to the city’s newest Green Party members have gone ignored.
In a statement released on July 10, Mr Betts says he wrote to “all new Green councillors” in June asking to meet with them to discuss the Local Plan.
“Only one councillor - Mustafa Ahmed, Burngreave - responded, but then failed to respond further when a date and time was offered,” the statement reads.
Mr Betts has been a outspoken critic of the Local Plan, which he says “unfairly” distributes the greenbelt land earmarked for development to his constituency - especially to poorer areas.
He states areas like Handsworth are set to lose “over 90 per cent” of their green belt, while contributing over 40 per cent of the whole city’s green belt allocation.
The statement reads: “Eventually the Green group leader, Angela Argenzio, responded ‘on [the party’s] behalf’ indicating that they would not be meeting with the MP or residents.”
However, Sheffield’s Green Party has hit back at this, claiming that coun Argenzio is set to meet with campaigners in Handsworth as she voiced opposition over the loss of greenbelt space.
"I am due to visit Handsworth campaigners in the near future and very much look forward to them showing me the site,” she added.
“My colleague, coun Douglas Johnson, previously met with them and said it was very helpful to see the area with residents. I will be going with the leader of the council [Fran Belbin], so Clive Betts might want to talk to her instead as she is in the same party as him.
“Clive hasn’t actually approached me directly and instead was only lobbying the newly elected Green councillors. Unlike Clive, who supports building on the Green Belt, we oppose it. We are advised it is necessary to get the local plan adopted.
“This is the single most important thing to protect the whole of the city for years to come, including the Green Belt elements."
In his original statement, Mr Betts said it was “bitterly disappointing” he had not received a stronger response to his requests.
He went on to say: “The Green Party repeat that they are free to do what they want as individual councillors and are not bound by collective responsibility in the way other parties are, yet when I gave them the opportunity to engage in the Local Plan they refused to and instead I had their group leaders responding on their behalf.
“To now hear the Green Party leader Zach Polanski wants them to look again at the current proposals shows how confused their position is at the moment. At a time when we need engagement and consultation we are being met with contradiction and refusal.
“With all that says my offer remains open and I hope the Greens are finally willing to engage meaningfully on this issue and do the right thing by the poorer communities in the North and East of Sheffield.”
Campaigners from the Sheffield Greenbelt Alliance have previously claimed they have struggled to get their objections to the Green Party.
A spokesperson for the alliance said: “When we challenge the party about this on their social media their reaction is to delete the comments. They will not engage with us despite repeated attempts from us to try to contact them.
“Why are they not engaging with the electorate on such key issues - are they embarrassed because quite frankly they should be?
“We hope their leader Zack Polanski can help and make them see how this is not in line with the national party manifesto and grossly unfair and against their founding principles.”