The council have controversially voted to build on 14 green belt sites following a vote at the town hall.
Protestors gathered yesterday at the town hall to dispute the 15 year Sheffield Local Plan which leader of the council, Tom Hunt, claimed to be a ‘brownfield site first’ plan, despite 3.6% of the city’s existing green belt being made available to build on.
Cllr Hunt acknowledged in the meeting that building on Sheffield’s green belt was a contentious decision but one which was necessary to meet the city’s housing targets.
He said: ‘’This is an emotive subject and I understand the depth of feeling. Everyone needs to have their say. People of Sheffield will always have their say, they will be willing to listen and be fair.
‘’How many of us know adults who are living at home with their parents? How many of us worry that our children and grandchildren will not have the same opportunities as us?
‘’It is so important that people have their say. Today is the beginning of that process, not the end.’’
Leader of the Green council and head of the Housing Policy Committee, Douglas Johnson, said: ”We oppose building on the green belt. There are developers who are circling and wanting to profit from it, but the council’s current plan is very out of date.”
A much larger percentage of the green belt would have been at risk of being built on if the council failed to agree on a new plan.
Mr Johnson said: ‘’The consequences of voting against a new local plan would be disastrous to the city. It would mean developers can carry on relying on the old, out of date local plan, and they would be able to run rings around the council.’’
Susan Housley, Warren Lane, attended the protest against the council’s decision to build on the 14 greenfield sites.
She said: ‘’A couple of months ago there was no mention of building on any of the green belts. I don’t know where this U-turn has come from.
‘’I know there is pressure from the government for the council to produce plans which will meet housing targets. The council keep saying they want to build ‘affordable housing’ but that means something different to everyone.’’
The plan will help build 3,500 new homes as part of the central government’s plan to build 370,000 new homes every year.
