Sheffield green belt: Alarm at plan for 3,500 homes in green belt to meet government quotas

People said they were worried about the impact on traffic, infrastructure, services, loss of green space, wildlife - and a bias towards building in the north of the city.

Sheffield Council says the government asked it 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.

And it had to choose green belt because brownfield sites have already been ‘maximised’.

On The Star’s Facebook page, Dannii McKeen said: “Green belts are supposed to be protected. There are plenty of brown belt areas to build on. Use that lot up first!”

Helen Passmore said: “It’s so sad, so much wildlife killed and disturbed, why can’t they build on brown belt? I get that we need housing but surely all our green spaces are what makes the UK special?”

Locations of all 14 sites and the number of planned homes are in this article. They include Handsworth and Dore.

Sam Millington focused on the distribution of the potential sites.

He said: “So, essentially north and east Sheffield becomes over developed with major housing (Parson Cross, Handsworth and Grenoside) and employment (Chapeltown, Ecclesfield and Handsworth), while the more affluent south and west see very little in terms of development.”

Forge Lane in Oughtibridge is earmarked for 69 homes in the green belt.

Nicki Mccaslin said: “I live in Oughtibridge we just had hundreds of houses built on the old mill site we don’t have the schools or doctors to take anymore on. We were a village if they build on green belt it won’t be a village any more.”

The proposal includes 259 homes on land between Lodge Moor Road and Redmires Conduit.

On a local Facebook group Justin Seaman wrote: “It’s a government directive, so I doubt any objections will be taken into account. It’s going to spoil a very nice area, and cause major disruption. The homes will not be affordable to our kids either.”

Jane Norburn urged the council to use compulsory purchase powers on developers.

“I think it's time to start compulsory purchasing all the brownfield sites off the developers who can simply afford to sit on them waiting for government grants and handouts.

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“Our green belt will be gone in 20 years at this rate.... and the private brownfield sites will then be worth fortunes. This is not looking after our planet, this is reckless box ticking.”

But Damian Ronksley defended the plans.

“The sites are all fields next to current housing estates, so all they are doing is making current housing plots bigger. The sites may be classed as green belt, but there are houses there already.”

Graham Ward is also a supporter: “As long as they build them with bicycle parking bays and without garages along with new cycle lanes for all the new residents to use I'm all for it.”