The Hearings: Day 3 recap
Day 3 of the Local Plan Hearings at Sheffield Town Hall finished at 5:30pm today.
Today the Inspector heard representations on three sites in Grenoside.
It was a challenging day, with most of the focus on Townend Farm - earmarked for 609 homes, four hectares of multi-faith burial ground, and seven hectares for a new school.
The farm has been worked by the same family for three generations, under a lifetime lease on the land. Yet Sheffield City Council admitted today they are examining a clause in that lease that could allow them to evict the family in order to sell the site.
The Chapeltown, Ecclesfield and Grenoside (CEG) Action Group’s barrister, Constanze Bell, said:
If it really is the Council’s intention to serve notice, that should be clarified at the earliest opportunity so they can take the legal advice they need … from what I have seen there’s every reason to think the tenants would prevail.
Watch that exchange below.
In the afternoon, the Inspector heard evidence on two further sites in Grenoside - one located almost directly across the road from Townend Farm.
Both sites face serious problems, with access and traffic congestion at the top of the list.
Towards the end of the session, there was perhaps a glimpse into the Inspector’s thinking. While discussing the “landscape sensitivity” of the site opposite Townend Farm, she asked the Council whether they had considered “a smaller site” and if a field could be “pulled out”. Watch below.
Correspondent’s Opinion
It’s hard to see how Townend Farm could realistically be made available - or whether the homes, burial ground, and school will ever be built.
That leaves a major gap in the housing numbers promised by the proposed green belt sites, far beyond the small buffer of homes the new plan had allowed for.
And on top of that, removing a field from another site would mean even fewer houses in the plan.
Watch Day 4
Day 4 (tomorrow) is specifically about the Chapeltown/Ecclesfield 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.
👍 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.
