Residents angered by Sheffield City Council’s controversial plans to build almost 1,700 new homes in the S13 postcode have met with South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard on one of the greenbelt sites which has been put forward for development.

The group ‘Save S13 Greenbelt: The Sapphire McCarthy Campaign’ was formed after the council’s plans were disclosed in April for the building of 1638 new homes on two areas of green belt land in S13.

In a subsequent interview about the scheme many local residents were left upset by comments by Mr Coppard championing the housing schemes in which he stated: “when I think of the greenbelt I think of The Peak District…often the greenbelt is not brilliant land for nature.”

Angered by this residents called on him to visit the Bramley site at Handsworth which he did yesterday (pictured middle front) along with MP for Sheffield South Clive Betts who is supporting the group (second from left)

The well used greenbelt in S13 on the Bramley site

placeholder image — The well used greenbelt in S13 on the Bramley site

Under the housing scheme on this site 868 homes built on farmland and paths which locals say is a vital area of green land for both the community and nature as the area is home to a vast array of wildlife. They also argue this would exacerbate pressures to existing services such as GP’s, schools and transport - in an area which they say is already highly polluted.

The other proposed site is for 870 new homes on farmland off Finchwell Lane - less than a mile away - and next to the new Waverley housing development which has already added major pressures to services in the area.

Sue Smelt, a local resident and environmentalist, led the walk in which Mr Coppard was shown the stunning orchard in the area, rare plants including Handsworth Holly, the vast farmland, natural beauty and nature of the area as well as the ancient Shirtcliff woodland.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Mr Coppard was given a tour of the Bramley site and we spoke to him about our huge concern for these two housing schemes which will see almost half the entire city’s house-building on greenbelt land take place in this one postcode.

The campaign group vows to continue their fight

“We showed Mr Coppard the natural beauty of the area, spoke to him about how it is well-used by residents for walking and helps both their physical and mental health. We also expressed concerns for the impact such developments would have on the infrastructure of the area which is already struggling with residents finding it difficult to access health care and education services for their children.

“There is already a massive health inequality in this side of the city compared to the affluent parts and residents here have a lower life expectancy and we fear the extra pollution from an extra 3,000 cars will widen this already unfair divide.

“We also discussed the lack of consultation over the scheme from Sheffield City Council who literally dropped the plans on us from nowhere and we only had six weeks to digest the information and object. This is not about NIMBYism - we agree houses need to be built but Handsworth has already taken on a lot of extra pressures from the nearby Waverley development and to ask us to suddenly take on 3,000+ more residents with no plans for improving infrastructure is appalling and unworkable.

“We felt Mr Coppard took on board our concerns and are grateful he took time to meet us. We are also incredibly grateful for the help our MP Clive Betts is giving us in supporting our campaign and we plan to continue to fight the scheme."

The housing proposals are part of the council Local Plan, which is the blueprint for future development in the area. Thousands of residents have written letters of objection - these will then be considered by Government Planning Inspectors who will make a final decision on the scheme.

The campaign has been renamed in memory of mother-of-two Sapphire McCarthy who launched a fight against the scheme in April when she found out about the plans.

Sapphire was instrumental in setting up the group and organised a well attended public meeting as well as forums and a funding account to help finance any future legal battles against the scheme.

The spokesperson added: “We will honour Sapphire’s memory by ensuring that the campaign she poured her heart into continues with the conviction and compassion she exemplified."

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard meets greenbelt campaigners (centre) with Clive Betts (second left)

The group have a website ‘Save S13 Greenbelt’ to keep people up to date on what is happening and have raised more than £8,000 so far to support any legal action going forward with a GO Fund Me page which Sapphire set up.