Green belt ‘relaxation’ in Sheffield is a 'disgrace'

14 green belt sites have been earmarked as potential plots for thousands of new homes needed in Sheffield.

John Hesketh, a former Sheffield City Council cabinet member for planning and highways and a former chairman of Sheffield’s Planning Committee, has aired his thoughts.

“I’ve worked since 2013 with the Upper Don Action Group (UDAG) to resist inappropriate development impacting upon the green belt in Stocksbridge, Oughtibridge, Deepcar, Bolsterstone and Wharncliffe Side.

Last month, the Government’s Planning Inspectorate delivered appalling news for residents who live in 14 rural sites scattered around Sheffield - their little piece of unspoilt countryside is to be downgraded from green belt. The result? All these attractive locations will now be built on.

The sites are located across Sheffield - Handsworth, Gleadless, East and West Ecclesfield, Lodge Moor and Wharncliffe Side where UDAG has been campaigning.

All these beautiful sites have one thing in common - they were chosen by Sheffield City Council to be removed from the green belt. Unless the council changes tack, they will be built on shortly.

In many of these locations, residents came together to fight the council’s move to allow building on their bit of countryside.

Despite campaigning by local residents to have their bit of green belt maintained, the council thought otherwise.

All 14 will now likely be removed from the green belt, despite the shallow promise of further consultation.

How does the vouncil present this dreadful news for the people of Sheffield?

From a BBC report in late January, it is hard not to conclude that the Council Leader, Tom Hunt, wants Sheffield people to believe the green belt decision is just down to the Planning Inspectorate.

The inference is that the council that he leads is simply a bystander in this decision, the old ‘nothing to do with us’ excuse. The facts say otherwise.

I’m a former Sheffield City Council cabinet member for Planning & Highways and formerly the chairman of Sheffield’s Planning Committee. In my experience, it is just not believable that Councillor Hunt and colleagues do not have their fingerprints on the decision to remove all 14 Sheffield sites from green belt protection.

The origins of this green belt relaxation lie with a Council Committee that Councillor Hunt chairs.

A report of the council’s Strategy and Resources Committee in April 2025 set out all the 14 sites that the council wanted to be deleted from green belt planning protection. This was followed on 14 May 2025 by a vote at Full Council.

Councillor Hunt and most of his Labour colleagues supported the move. So did all Green Party councillors.

It became official council policy to ask the government’s Planning Inspectorate to approve removing 14 Sheffield sites from green belt protection. It’s no good trying to pin the blame elsewhere. The real Green Belt hammer blow was delivered by councillors at Sheffield Town Hall.

Other than some token further consultation, the Planning Inspectorate has largely rubber-stamped the Sheffield Council request. Whatever the council’s spin, those are the facts.

It is disingenuous for Sheffield City councillors to pretend that they did not start the ball rolling to build on these 14 sites.

The underlying issue facing the council is that its long-awaited planning ‘bible’ update, The Local Plan, has not identified enough house-building sites. The reason for this is simple - the council has allocated far too much land to uses that fit political and ideological fashion, rather than employ commonsense.

Local residents have already pointed this out.

The answer, of course, is to create a Local Plan devoid of fashionable notions but full of sensible housing uses in undeveloped parts of the city that lie outside the green belt. Hard work, but better than biting chunks out of our precious green belt.”