Sapphire McCarthy: Campaigner's passionate pleas to save Sheffield green belt hours before tragic death

The video was taken ahead of a packed public meeting which Saph organised against the controversial plan by Sheffield City Council which would place around half of all proposed greenbelt development in this one postcode. Tragically after the meeting the mum-of-two returned home and unexpectedly passed away aged 39.

Today (Monday) the group released the video showing Saph’s impassioned pleas - made just a few hours before she passed away - to ensure she would have a presence at the first day of the local plan hearings - as she wanted, and in tribute to her setting up the campaign group.

In the footage, taken ahead of a meeting in June which saw 200 people pack into Handsworth Social Club, she said: “This evening local residents are meeting with our local MP Clive Betts the head of the council Tom Hunt as well as our local councillors to ask questions about the proposed development of 90% of S13s greenbelt. It will be ripped away without consideration for thousands of residents' opinions who have signed our petition.

“Whilst young professionals in the west of the city are crying out for affordable housing which is not being offered to them because the council has focused 44% of nearly all the greenbelt building in our postcode alone.

“Why should clean air, community boundaries and the chance to enjoy nature and all it has to offer be a privilege of wealthier areas only.

“Unfair doesn’t come close…what we can see today is just a section of people who are against these plans and they believe the council needs to re-consider their half baked plans.”

The campaign group which Saph set up has now been renamed in her honour ‘Save S13 Greenbelt - The Sapphire McCarthy Campaign’ with supporters vowing to continue the fight in her memory.

The group was formed after Sheffield City Council controversially proposed building on two areas of greenbelt land in S13 - 868 homes off Bramley Lane and another 870 on farmland off Finchwell Lane - which are well used by residents in neighbouring Woodhouse and Stradbroke and are a haven for diverse plants and wildlife.

A spokesperson for the group said: “We were all absolutely devastated by what happened to our fabulous group leader who understood from the off that this plan is so unfair on the whole community and would see it robbed of 90% of its greenbelt, leaving local communities without boundaries - - which is exactly why greenbelt areas were first introduced.

“We pledge to carry forward the mission Saph championed and will ensure her legacy to safeguard S13 will live on.

“We will explain our concerns to the independent Government inspectors from today.

“We have felt let down from the off that the council had no desire to listen - even the so-called consultation was floored on so many levels. Most people were unaware of the plans until we knocked on doors - there were no leaflets or letters sent - the first we knew about it was when a media report came to light.

“It has been completely unfair and yet the council continues to relinquish responsibility for their actions.

“Our local MP Clive Betts has dedicated his support to us and we are grateful that he understands just what this means to our community - especially in his role as Chair of the Government’s Leveling Up, Housing and Communities Committee - and he is prepared to help us fight. This is the fight which Saph started and although it is very emotional for us - we are very proud that her presence is here with us today.”

Last week actor Sean Bean, who has thrown his weight behind the campaign, paid tribute to Saph in a video interview with the campaign group - calling her a ‘resistance fighter’.

The Handsworth-born Game of Thrones star - who is appalled at the plans he called ‘wicked’ - said: “I spoke to Sapphire some months ago and we discussed everything and I just remember her being so passionate and becoming very quickly a kind of ‘resistance fighter’ because of the necessity of someone to be one.

“This city of Sheffield was built on people standing up to things, resistance and not being afraid to speak their mind and Saph was such a person.”

The star of ‘Sharpe’, whose image from the hit show has been used on campaign posters, accused the council of being unfair to the S13 area.

He said: “They thought the objections and protests against it wouldn't be as vociferous as they would be in more affluent other areas of the city like Dore and Totley. I suppose a lot of these people - perhaps councillors and developers - live there and they wouldn’t put up with it on their doorstep - they just want to put it ours and we are not putting up with it and we are going to fight back.”

The group, which has collected 4,000 signatures against the scheme, has a website ‘Save S13 Greenbelt’ to keep people up to date on what is happening which shows key dates going forward. They have raised around £10,000 so far to support any future legal action with a GO Fund Me page but will need to raise more to carry on the fight.

Government planning inspectors begin hearings into Sheffield’s Local Plan, which includes the S13 sites, on Monday.

The plans - the biggest green belt development proposal in years - were drawn up after the Government asked Sheffield Council to identify land for 3,529 homes and 130 acres for business as part of the city’s Local Plan - a blueprint for development over the next 14 years.

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The authority says it had to choose green belt because brownfield sites have been ‘maximised’.

Government inspectors recognised the importance of the green belt but said meeting housing and employment needs was also an “important objective,” a Sheffield City Council spokesperson said previously.

They added: “Since then, the council has been looking into additional areas of the city that could be used to meet the increased need. The council has always explored site options with a ‘brownfield first’ policy; however, all of those options have been maximised already. As a result, sites within the green belt have been looked into.”

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