Object to the S13 Green Belt sites by 5 May
As many of you know, we have reached the final consultation stage of the Sheffield Plan examination.
These “Main Modifications” would formally allocate the two major S13 Green Belt sites:
- Bramley Common (SES30): 827 homes, a school and a burial ground
- Handsworth Hall Farm (SES29): 870 homes and 20 hectares (49 acres) of factories and warehouses
Together, this is a double-whammy: 1,700 homes and the loss of almost all remaining Green Belt in S13.
If you have signed the petition and asked, “What else can I do?” - this is it:
Send your response to the Main Modifications consultation
The petition is important. Not everyone will be able to send a response as well, but if you can, it is one of the most effective things you can do.
The Inspectors must consider every individual response they receive. The more people who respond, the harder this is to dismiss.
The deadline is 5pm on Tuesday 5 May.
What to do
We have produced a simple guide explaining:
- the strongest city-wide objections
- the specific problems with SES29 and SES30
- exactly what to write
- where to send it
You may be wondering: what is the point?
Thousands of people took part in the earlier consultations, yet many felt our concerns were not reflected in what followed. That frustration is completely understandable - we share it.
We cannot promise that one more response will change the outcome on its own. But this is still the final formal chance to put objections directly in front of the Inspectors before they make their decision.
If people stay silent now, it becomes easier to suggest that the community’s concerns have fallen away. A response now helps show that the objections remain serious, widespread and unresolved.
The quick version
Email SheffieldPlan@sheffield.gov.uk and include:
- MM410 (SES29) and/or MM411 (SES30)
- That you consider the modification unsound
- One or two reasons why, in your own words
- That you want the site removed from the Plan and kept as Green Belt
That is enough. You do not need to be a planning expert. A few paragraphs in your own words are enough, and every response matters.
What can I say in my response?
The full guide explains the evidence in detail. But in short:
📊 The Council’s own assessment says the modified Plan is worse for landscape, biodiversity, soil and transport.
🚗 Access problems are serious. Even the Council’s own modelling shows unsustainable traffic pressure in the Beaver Hill Road/Retford Road/Rotherham Road area, turning Handsworth Grange Road into a rat-run.
🌿 Ecology is being downplayed. Important habitats will be harmed or lost, yet the sites are still being pushed for development.
🏗️ The housing numbers are overstated. The real buildable area of the sites is much less than the Council assumes, meaning the justification for releasing this land has not been made.
🚪 This is Green Belt release by the back door. Land earmarked for a school and burial ground is not guaranteed. If those uses do not happen, it becomes more housing - pushing SES30 past 1,000 homes.
👉 Read the guide here
If you have not yet signed the petition, please do that as well.
This is the final chance to put objections directly in front of the Inspectors. Please send your response before 5pm on Tuesday 5 May.
What else you can do
☑️ Contact your councillors. The decision to adopt the Local Plan will be taken by a vote of all 84 councillors. Ask them to vote against adopting a plan that sacrifices Green Belt land in communities that were never consulted. Ask your family and friends across Sheffield to do the same - every councillor vote counts.
📣 Share this email - Forward it to friends, family and neighbours. The more people who know, the stronger our voice.
Contact us
If you want to get in touch please email us at either:
info@saves13greenbelt.org.uk - email the working group.
website@saves13greenbelt.org.uk - suggestions/additions to the website.
