Sheffield Council told to look at non-green belt housing land options

Six non-green belt sites should be investigated as possible new housing land, government inspectors have told Sheffield City Council.

The inspectors have responded to the council following the latest public hearings on the plan, which sets out what types of developments can take place across the city until 2039.

There has been huge controversy over the inspectors’ decision that the council had to put forward green belt sites in order to provide enough housing land.

The inspectors said that the plan must include land for another 3,539 homes, to bring the total figure up from 34,473 to 38,012 over the lifetime of the document.

The vast majority of the proposed green belt sites are in the S13 and S35 postcodes.

Campaigners citywide have joined forces in the Greenbelt Alliance.

Inspectors now say that six urban, non-green belt sites put forward by developers or landowners last May should be assessed by the council as potential housing land.

The four green belt sites identified have already been assessed.

The council has also been told to reassess agricultural land using a new Department for Food, Rural Affairs and Environment tool. Lower-grade land should be prioritised for housing use, the inspectors say.

Other issues mentioned involve site boundaries and access, including a proposal of heritage listing for a bridge on to land at Handsworth Hall Farm, and changes to wording on the plan on environment-related issues.

A further set of public consultations on the latest Local Plan modifications should run for at least six weeks, the inspectors say.