Sheffield green belt row between rival parties opposed to plans
A row has broken out between LibDem and Reform councillors over their opposition to building on Sheffield green belt land.
The disagreement took place at the North Local Area Committee (July 7) when green belt campaigners asked questions about the draft Sheffield Local Plan.
The plan, which outlines what development can take place across Sheffield until 2039, hit huge controversy last year.
Government planning inspectors decided there was not enough land allocated for housing and industrial use. They told the council to look at green belt sites.
Sheffield Green Belt Alliance asked questions about the availability of brownfield land, overloading the road network and the threat to ancient Hesley Wood.
Councillors were asked: “Do members of this Local Area Committee support the removal of these green belt allocations from the Sheffield Plan?”
Unprecedented
LibDem Councillor Mike Levery said that he supported the questions and called for a response from council leader Coun Fran Belbin, who is not on the committee.
He said: “We’ve had three consultations so far, we’re likely to have a fourth. This is unprecedented in this country for a Local Plan.”
Coun Levery said the plan was “not fit for purpose”, which was why questioning continues. He said the council didn’t do its homework but thought it could force the plan through.
Reform UK group leader Coun John Hesketh said the council is likely to vote on the local plan in October.
He asked: “What price do we put for our children and grandchildren of building on the green belt versus a bit of inconvenience and difficulty, red faces at the town hall?”
Coun Hesketh invited other parties and councillors to join them and believed they could win.
Detriment
LibDem Coun Rob Reiss asked Reform councillors: “Where were you at the hearings?
“Coun Mike Levery spent a lot of his life in the past year at those hearings, to the detriment of his lovely wife, but I didn’t see any of you three at the hearings, nor did you ask any questions at full council a couple of weeks ago.”
He said: “We need to take this plan down with evidence, we need to take it down in a way that is legally sound.”