View we don't want: a £42million shed

The multi-billion pound company is pushing plans for their six-storey National Engineering Centre, National Stores Depot, National Offices and National Training Centre to be built in Beighton.

But they've got to get past disabled gran Sylvia Sellars first.

50-year-old Sylvia and her fellow protestors are battling to save the bats, grass snakes, newts, kestrels and an abundance of plants and insects that will be under threat if building goes ahead.

The Stop Them In Their Tracks protest is also battling against the extra traffic and air, light and noise pollution the building may create. And they are battling to save their view of the grazing Highland cattle, trees, and fields of Woodhouse Washlands and Beighton Marsh.

"There is just no way they should be building that thing here," said Sylvia, of Woodhouse Lane. "We heard about in April when we got a glossy brochure through the letter box and we were appalled. Then we saw the pictures on the plans and we were just gobsmacked.

"We got in touch with MPs, councillors and John King of the Campaign For The Protection of Rural England who is backing our campaign.

"A lot of people thought they would just be replacing the existing derelict building down there but this thing is massive. When we saw the plans we were all shocked. It's just too much."

Sylvia, who retired through ill health last year, decided she and the rest of the village would take on the might of Network Rail (annual profits 1 billion last year).

Network Rail are adamant that their centre will create 150 jobs and will not have an adverse effect on the environment but Sylvia and the Stop Them campaign are not impressed.

"No wildlife survey has been done. It will be like having St Pancras station in the middle of a field," said former florist Sylvia.

"You just won't see anything else. I think Network Rail thought it was just a rubber stamping exercise because they owned the land and had a building on it already, but it's in the green belt.

"Most of the jobs will be transferred from places like Doncaster, York and Derby.

"There might be 30 new jobs here. Is it worth losing all that for 30 new jobs?

"We can't understand why the council are even considering it."

Sylvia insists that she is only one in the campaign and that she has done nothing special.

But she is the one who went knocking on doors in the spring to tell people what they had coming if they didn't get off their backside.

"I went door to door round the new estate in Swallownest that overlooks the area – they had not been told because they are in Rotherham and the development is in Sheffield.

"But they have paid up to 450,000 for their houses and they don't want to be looking at THAT."

Sylvia took email addresses from people on the estate and her computer became the centre of the campaign.

"Without the internet we would not have been able to do all this." We were able to see the plans and spread the word."

Now, according to Stop Them In Their Tracks, the 2,000 letters of complaint make this the second biggest protest ever in letters terms after the anti-Heathrow Terminal Five campaign.

But today Network Rail insist that the project will be a positive development for the area.

"The new national engineering centre will bring 40 million investment to regenerate an area of operational railway land and bring employment to the area," said a spokesman.

"We are aware that some local residents have concerns, however before the planning application was submitted to Sheffield council we held two open days and distributed 4,000 leaflets in the area, inviting people to give us their feedback and over 60% of those responses were supportive of our proposals.

"We are continuing to work closely with the council to resolve any outstanding issues."

The Stop Them In Their Tracks campaign have held three public meetings and a protest march to the site.

"We can't believe that this is the most suitable site in the country for a project like this," said Michael Spurr of Starbuck Farm who owns land adjacent to the proposed develpopment.

"We are not anti-railway and if they had wanted to knock down the derelict shed and build something twice as big there would not have been any argument.

"But this should go into an industrial area and it would have been better in the old Tinsley Marshalling Yards."

The fight goes on and Sylvia insists that, win or lose, the campaign has been good for the area.

"We believe we are in the right and that we will win but we know things don't always happen as they should. Even if we lose, the fact that people are talking to each other and getting together has made us a real community again.

"Some of the people in the new houses would go to work, come home and never see their neighbours. The campaign has changed all that. That has to be good for all of us."