Council accused of ‘hypocrisy’ over plans to build homes on green belt
Sheffield Council has been accused of “wanton hypocrisy” for pushing ahead with plans to build thousands of homes on the city’s green belt after saying they would learn from the lessons of a notorious tree-felling scheme.
A plaque unveiled in recent days in the lobby of Sheffield Town Hall recognises the "courageous campaigners who saved thousands of trees from wrongful felling” saying it served “as a reminder to all that such failures of leadership must never happen again”.
Sheffield Council axed more than 5,000 trees between 2013 and 2018 as part of a street improvement programme and had planned to cut down around 12,000 more.
But an independent inquiry later found the council had misled the public and courts and had plotted to kill healthy trees as well as diseased ones, while protesters were threatened with legal action.
Campaigners fighting to save 800 acres of greenbelt from being “destroyed” for more than 3,500 homes accuse the council of similarly failing to listen and pushing ahead with an "unfair" scheme.
Hollywood actor Sean Bean who was brought up in the S13 area of Sheffield – an postcode where protestors say the council plans to take away 90% of its greenbelt – said it felt like history repeating itself.
The Game of Thrones star, who has donated £5,000 to the campaign, said: "This should have been a moment of reflection. Instead it feels like history repeating itself and we have to remember when areas of greenbelt have gone - you cannot replant them they are gone forever."
Various action groups are coming together to create a Sheffield Greenbelt Alliance” in a bid to get the authority to withdraw their plans and seek alternative sites.
They say large areas of greenbelt farmland will be lost, ancient woodland habitats are threatened and many species of wildlife will be at risk. Last month Government planning inspectors found the proposals acceptable, with minor reductions in the number of homes (a total of 160) on three sites.
A further round of consultation will be held around the "modifications” but the blueprint – known as the Local Plan - is set to be approved this summer.
Campaigners say key concerns - particularly about green belt loss, infrastructure capacity and alternatives – have not been fully addressed.
An Alliance spokesperson said: “For many residents, this has created a feeling of being excluded from decisions that directly affect their communities, which clearly echoes concerns highlighted during the Street-Trees dispute.
“The residents concerned about the greenbelt destruction do not seek a blue plaque and an apology in five years time from the Chief Executive.”
In an earlier statement Sheffield Council said there’d been a strong focus on developing brownfield sites, with just 3.5 per cent of the city’s greenbelt proposed for development, not all of which would be developed.
They said “new accessible open spaces will be provided as part of new developments and important areas for nature will be protected”.