Statement on the Local Plan
Danny Allsebrook, my statement on the Local Plan:
I know our elected councillors, Mick Rooney and Alison Norris, have been working hard alongside campaigners from the Sapphire McCarthy Campaign and other residents to save our green belt sites. They have:
- 1Regularly met residents and campaigners, at working group and public meetings
- Attended all the public local plan consultation events in the ward
- Walked the sites with residents to understand their ecological value and the practical problems of building so many homes, including flood risk and access
- 4) Sent in their written objections to the planning inspector
- Raised objections at council meetings
- Pushed the Liberal Democrats to say where they would plan to build the new homes Sheffield needs (and so far have not been given any answers)
- Got help from a planning professor at Sheffield University who has met residents, answered questions and advised us
- Worked with campaigners to make a clear and powerful case against release of our sites at the tribunal hearings. You can see for yourself here, starting from 1 hour 18 minutes: https://youtu.be/GvsBr87TtQY?si=zCZXQAT8A_3NyIwp&t=4680
- Met residents recently to discuss the best way to raise more objections in the current round of consultations, which ends on the 5th May.
We need a fair and sound local plan.
We need more homes of all kinds in Sheffield. More than half the casework in our ward is about housing problems. Adult children and grandchildren can’t move out. Private ownership and rising private rents are beyond many hard-working people, so we need more council homes.
Residents have always seen the need for a good local plan. Without one, we are stuck with hodge podge developments all about short term profit not decent neighbourhoods. No one objects to the main plan, which puts nearly 60% of the new housing in the city centre and gives us a fighting chance to re-develop eyesore brownfield sites into thriving neighbourhoods. This is already happening in Attercliffe.
What we oppose is the loss of all the remaining greenbelt in our ward to help meet the extra housing targets the planning inspector has added. We have already taken our fair share of development and there are other sites that could be used.
Residents tell us this is our Peak District, this is our happy place, where we can sit in peace in the sun after a long shift in a noisy factory, this our kids’ safe route to school, this is where we see bats and deer and buzzards, this is good quality farm land that can grow the food we’ll need in future. We are listening.
No one from any other party has put in any formal objections. The Lib Dem member voted against in a full council meeting where he knew our votes could not stop the plan. Your Labour councillors have been taking action where we have a chance of changing the plan.
I will work with Mick and Alison to continue to raise our very serious concerns with the planning inspector and the council leadership. I have already:
- Supported the S13 campaign
- Signed petitions
- Put in objections to the Inspector
The final version of the plan is still being decided. We are still putting in our objections and encourage you to do the same.
Thank you for reading, Danny Allsebrook