MP calls for pause of controversial Sheffield greenbelt housing plan as "homes are in the wrong places"
“This isn't about stopping housebuilding. It's about getting the homes we need in the right places”
An MP is calling on a pause to the controversial Local Plan for Sheffield which could see thousands of homes built on greenbelt land in the city.
Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Marie Tidball said that she wants “Sheffield to build more homes” but has raised concerns over how the current draft Local Plan is progressing.
Campaigners have strongly opposed the plan, which has been undergoing public consultation over the past few months.
It is a blueprint for development in Sheffield, including the construction over over 30,000 new homes.
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Ms Tidball said she has been working with constituents and has formally submitted opposition to the use of three plots of land near Ecclesfield and Grenoside which have been proposed for around 1,500 homes.
She said: “I am calling for a pause to the Sheffield Local Plan process.
“I want Sheffield to build more homes, especially the social and affordable homes that local families desperately need. But I believe too many of the homes in this plan are in the wrong places.
“The latest evidence shows that seven of the nine Greenbelt parcels across Sheffield now assessed as likely to contain our best agricultural land are in my constituency. This includes Town End Farm, which I raised in Parliament last week. That new evidence cannot simply be acknowledged and then set aside.
“For more than a year, I’ve consistently argued for five practical changes: a fairer distribution of development across Sheffield; greater use of brownfield land and empty homes; bringing forward the old Collegiate Campus site; building more homes where better public transport can serve them; and easing the pressure on communities like Grenoside, Chapeltown and Ecclesfield.
“Now I’m adding a sixth: a pause to the process, so the new evidence can be properly considered, our urban housing capacity independently reviewed, and residents given clear answers about the numbers behind the Plan.
“I’ve listened to more than 1,500 constituents about these proposals, and I've heard time and again how worried people are about the loss of our countryside and the impact of new development on roads, schools and GP services.
“This isn't about stopping housebuilding. It's about getting the homes we need in the right places, with the transport and public services to support them, while protecting the productive farmland and countryside that make our communities special.
“I want to work constructively with Sheffield City Council, the Planning Inspectors and local residents to get this right. Our communities deserve a Local Plan that reflects the evidence and delivers the homes Sheffield needs with a fair distribution across the authority. That is what I will continue fighting for.”