Sheffield council leader asks for government to rethink on controversial green belt housing plan
“But this is Sheffield's plan, not the inspectors' or the government's, and Coun Belbin is accountable for it”
Council leader Fran Belbin has called for a government rethink on the Sheffield Local Plan over the controversial issue of using green belt land for housing.
Coun Belbin announced (September 23) that she wrote to the government on Monday to ask for discussions on movement to avoid allocating green belt land in the city to meet the requirements of government planning inspectors.
The draft Sheffield Local Plan sets out what types of development will be allowed in the city until 2039. Before it is adopted by the council, it has to go through public hearings run by inspectors who are examining the plan.
Huge controversy broke out last year when the inspectors said the proposed supply of land for housing and industrial needs was insufficient and green belt sites must be considered.
The council then earmarked 14 green belt sites for housing or industrial development, mainly in S35 and S13.
Coun Belbin's action follows meetings she and Green Party leader Coun Angela Argenzio held with campaigners.
She said "90 per cent" of the plan involves brownfield land: "I think it's completely uncontroversial and we absolutely want to get on with delivering the new housing that this city needs by building on brownfield.
"Having said that, I went out and met campaigners over the summer. I've spent a lot of time in recent months listening to the concerns of campaigners, and I think it's really important that those concerns are taken very seriously.
"We're working within quite a difficult, imperfect framework that really constrains some of the decisions that we can take.
"So I want to meet with government ministers to see if there is another way through this and whether there is any flexibility that will allow us to get on with the 90 per cent of the plan that we all agree is uncontroversial, but see if we can find a way to work differently around those green belt sites that are causing such anxiety amongst our communities."
Coun Belbin said it is not practical to restart the process. "If we scrap it and start again, we're going to end up with a bigger housing target.
"We'll be looking at a new plan that looks at the next 15 years, so rather than going up to 2039, we'll be going into the 2040s.
"We will certainly end up with a higher housing target. And that likely would mean including even more green belt, which I don't think anybody wants to see."
She added: "I don't think it's a U-turn. I think we are still proceeding with trying to get this plan through and trying to make sure the plan is as fit for purpose for Sheffield as possible.
"My background is in communities. I can't go out and listen to all the fantastic work that has been put together by those campaign groups — I genuinely admire the way they have come together; they put all their time, energy, and expertise into this process — without trying my best to see if there's a way that we can make sure that their needs and wishes are taken into account as well."
Save S13 Green Belt Campaign said it welcomes the leader's comments and the time she has spent with residents visiting sites.
"But this is Sheffield's plan, not the inspectors' or the government's, and Coun Belbin is accountable for it. She does not need government's permission to act.
"The council controls the plan. It can ask for these sites to be removed, or ask the inspectors to pause the examination to sort this out, citing new evidence.
"The council owns the fields at Bramley Lane and Beaver Hill Road. Those fields and Handsworth Hall Farm, also in S13, make up about 44 per cent of all the green belt land in the plan and concentrate development in communities Coun Belbin herself says she's worried about.
"The council's evidence, published this month, now rates both as high-quality farmland.
"Asking for the sites to come out is not the same as starting the plan again. The council can make that request now, and we ask the leader to see that it does before the inspectors issue their final report."
The draft plan has undergone three years of public hearings. The latest main modifications, following on from hearings held earlier this year, are out for public consultation until October 28.
Responses can be made online here: https://haveyoursay.sheffield.gov.uk/sheffield-plan-further-main-modifications