The Hearings: Day 2 recap
Day 2 of the Local Plan Hearings at Sheffield Town Hall finished at 6pm today.
Once again, S13 was represented by James Bailey Planning Ltd and Rowan Clapp of Cornerstone Barristers.
The morning session focused on transport. The Council admitted that problems with site access and traffic would only be assessed later, when planning applications are submitted. In other words, the land could be released from the green belt but still never get planning permission - meaning the plan might not actually deliver the number of homes it promises.
Also on transport, the Council claimed these new sites would not generate more traffic because they are “promoting alternative transport”. But, of course, “promoting” alternative transport is not the same as people actually using it.
The afternoon’s hearing turned to green space. One eyebrow-raising moment came when the Council argued that fenced-off school grounds and private playing fields count as “open space” - simply because no houses have been built there 🤔. By that logic, Handsworth supposedly has plenty of “open space”… even if residents cannot actually use it.
In the same session, it became clear the Council had not considered buffer zones for on-site hedgerows - until a “10m” figure was agreed on the spot. Watch below.
The afternoon session moved to site selection. Our barrister was especially interested in the flood risk assessments of sites, particularly those in Handsworth and asked some sharp questions on modelling of their flood risk to the Inspector.
Finally, the Council revealed that 11 additional sites - including five in the green belt - had been promoted during the June-July 2025 consultation, but none of them had been appraised.
👉 So new sites were found - as Tom Hunt requested - but the Council hasn’t bothered to check if they’re suitable, which makes the process incomplete. The inspector asked for that work to be undertaken. Watch that below:
Correspondent’s Opinion
Today’s discussions - covering traffic, green space, flooding, and site selection - were far more engaging and accessible than yesterday’s dense legal technicalities. Once again, Sheffield City Council appeared to be missing key information at points, asking for extra time to produce documents. It’s a clear sign of how rushed and disorganised this whole process has been.
A curious detail almost slipped through at the end of the session: new green belt site SWS19 (“Land to the north of Parkers Lane, S17 3DP”) happens to sit just 300 metres from Dore Moor Garden Centre - a site a developer has been asking to develop for years.
So instead of looking at land that’s already built on, Sheffield City Council thinks it makes more sense to rip up nearby untouched green fields. Inspired.
Mike Johnson, Head of Planning, didn’t look particularly happy today.
Watch Day 3
Day 3 (tomorrow) is specifically about the Grenoside (S35) sites, so S13 won’t have representation and James Bailey Ltd and Rowan won’t be attending.
👉 However, if you want to watch, we’ve set up a dedicated page with the full agenda and YouTube livestream links so you can follow the sessions remotely:
https://saves13greenbelt.org.uk/hearing-streams
This stage of the hearings runs until 17 October, then pauses before concluding on 21 November.
We were on ITV Calendar!
While the hearings were underway, ITV Calendar visited both green belt sites in Handsworth to interview Andy, Cheryl, and Debi about what their potential loss would mean.
Watch Calendar’s piece at the link below:
👍 Support the cause
Photo competition
Don’t forget our photo competition. We’re looking for photos of our beautiful S13 green belt to include in our 2026 calendar.
See competition details on the website.
Details on how to buy the 2026 calendar in local shops, ready for Christmas, will follow shortly.
Related news articles
You can read all the news coverage of our campaign on the website’s Press Articles page. New pieces are added daily as we receive them.
Contact
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.
