Green, green grass…and homes?

Sheffield Council had been hoping to avoid it, but have reluctantly accepted that they have no other option: we are going to have to build homes on the Green Belt. In the long-awaited Local Plan, which dictates where development should take place over the next 14 years, the council had pursued a brownfield only strategy. However, government inspectors have ruled that we need an additional 3,529 homes. With brownfield sites already maximised, the only option was releasing some of the Green Belt, but which parts? That’s our big story today.

As well as that we have an update on the Harvey Willgoose case, a lovely apartment at Victoria Quays, and Bat Out Of Hell returns to the Lyceum.

In case you missed it

For our weekend read, Dan tried to find out how Sheffield’s new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was working. While the city centre’s streets are noticeably quieter, concerns remain that the problem is merely being moved somewhere else. The piece provoked a lot of debate on our website, where most people were supportive of the PSPO. “So as far as I'm concerned, well done to the council — and I don't say that very often,” wrote one person. “Obviously the homeless people have problems that are not solved by the PSPO [but] what is not clear to me is why opponents consider the city centre a suitable place for people with these issues and why the rights of citizens to go around safely unaccosted aren’t considered at least as important,” wrote another. This is clearly an important topic where readers have strong feelings, and one we’ll be returning to in future reporting.

Last week, we sent out two great newsletters to our more than 2,500 paying members. In the first Daniel Timms visited JÖRO in Oughtibridge, the restaurant thought to be Sheffield’s best chance of getting a coveted Michelin star in the next few years. Members can see what he made of it here. Top comment goes to Rod, an Old Norse scholar, who told us: “There is no such word as "jöro" in Old Norse. Old Norse for "earth" is "jörð", but somewhere a (bad) decision was made to convert the last letter into an "o".” (Which just goes to show what a varied and interesting bunch Tribune readers are.). In the second, Victoria visited Sheffield City Hall to find out how the venue is faring under the new leadership of giant events company ASM Global. Lots of changes have taken place in the four months since the Los Angeles-based firm took over, the most noticeable of which is the price of drinks — a bog standard pint of Madri now sets punters back an eye-watering £8.25! An extract from that second piece is below:

That’s the first thing the woman behind the bar points out, when I ask what’s changed since Los Angeles-based ASM Global — “the world’s leading producer of entertainment experiences” — took over both this venue and the Arena in January. “The prices have gone up,” she says, with an apologetic wince. A disappointed Tribune reader, who wrote in after visiting City Hall last week, puts it far more strongly. “It’s ridiculous,” she wrote, referring to both the cost of drinks and the price of a ticket to see Greg Davies this week. “This publicly-built and publicly-owned venue is now only for the wealthy, and it’s shameful.”

The big picture: Snooker loopy 🎱

The snooker has turned Tudor Square into one of the most vibrant places in the city centre at the moment, and this picture by Steel City Snapper shows it off to its best. There’s been a lot of talk of late about the World Snooker Championships possibly leaving Sheffield, but lots of people here obviously don’t want that to happen. Can Barry Hearn and the World Snooker Tour be persuaded to stay?

The big story: Green, green grass…and homes?

Top line: Sheffield City Council has unveiled the 14 sites on the city’s Green Belt where it wants 3,529 new homes to be built by 2039. The council had hoped to avoid building on the Green Belt, but government inspectors say they will have to. Where are the sites?

Background: The city council has been putting together its Local Plan for years. In 2023 it unveiled the Sheffield Plan, a proposal to build 34,680 new homes in the city by 2039. However, while praising the city’s ambition, government planning inspectors said this wasn’t enough.

• They concluded that 38,012 additional homes were needed to meet Sheffield’s needs, meaning land for an additional 3,529 homes needed to be identified.
• While the council’s plans have always been for a “brownfield first strategy”, the extra homes can’t be accommodated, meaning Green Belt land will need to be identified.

Where on the Green Belt? The law says that Green Belt land can only be developed in “exceptional circumstances”. The council has now identified 14 sites on the Green Belt where they say residential and employment development will need to take place. These include sites in Grenoside, Oughtibridge, Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, Gleadless Townend, Handsworth, Wharncliffe Side, Dore and Lodge Moor. These sites are shown in red, purple and blue on the map below.

History: Sheffield’s Green Belt was the first in the country and dates back to the 1930s when the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) lobbied Alderman J. G. Graves to buy Blacka Moor from a developer for the people of Sheffield. It is currently 9,061 hectares in area, while the latest plans would reduce this by 327.45 hectares, or 3.6% of the total area.

Golden rules: Any planning applications for the sites have to follow the latest National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) guidance, which introduced the concept of “golden rules”. These rules introduced enhanced requirements in relation to the provision of affordable housing, infrastructure and open space.

• The Sheffield Plan proposed setting a 30% requirement for affordable housing in the southwest, south and northwest of the city, and a 10% requirement in all other areas.
• However, under the NPPF, on former Green Belt land the requirement is now that at at least 50% should be affordable, unless this would make the development unviable. In some of the less affluent areas where development is being proposed, developers are likely to push back strongly for viability reasons.

What happens now? The new sites will have to be approved by Sheffield Council’s strategy and resources committee on Wednesday, 30 April, before going before the Full Council on Wednesday, 14 May. They will then go out to public consultation later this summer before the government planning inspectors continue their examination of the plan later this year. 

Bottom line: Sheffield’s local plan was originally meant to be finished by 2018, before being delayed until 2023. It’s now unlikely to be in place until summer 2026 at the earliest. 

Of course, it's more important to get it right than to do it quickly. If no more brownfield sites can be found, then it probably makes sense to make some modest incursions into the Green Belt. However, when the sites go out for public consultation this summer, you can bet on there being a big political fight over them.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

School stabbing 🏛️ The 15-year-old accused of murdering Sheffield schoolboy Harvey Willgoose has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder. Appearing at Sheffield Crown Court for a trial preparation hearing on Monday morning, the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted he stabbed 15-year-old Harvey to death at All Saints Catholic High School on 3 February this year, and also pleaded guilty to a second charge of carrying a knife in a school. However, as he pleaded not guilty to the more serious charge of murder, his trial will go ahead as planned on 30 June this year.

Dig delay 🏗️ The new park in Castlegate won’t now be completed until the second half of 2026 due to a significant redesign of the plans. The £15 million project to create a new park and events space on the site of the former Castle Market, and uncover a section of the River Sheaf, was due to be completed early next year. However, after archaeologists found much more evidence of the long history of the site than they anticipated during last year’s dig, the plans have had to be significantly rethought. The council say the new plans will also cost £5 million more than originally budgeted for, so the hunt is on to find some new cash.

Gang wars 🚨 A plaque has been unveiled on Princess Street in Attercliffe commemorating the life of a man who was murdered 100 years ago during bitter gang warfare that led to one part of Sheffield being nicknamed Little Chicago. William Plommer, an army PE teacher and boxer, was killed in 1925 by brothers Lawrence and Wilfred Fowler, two members of the notorious Park Brigade who would later be executed for their crime. His death led to the creation of the “flying squad” and the end of gang rule in the city. The unveiling was 100 years to the day since his death in the presence of his grandson, who had flown to Sheffield from Canada. To find out more about the Sheffield gang wars (think: Northern Peaky Blinders) check out J. P. Bean’s wonderful book on the topic.

This week’s weather ⛅️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say this week will be dry, settled and increasingly warm, with sunny spells by day.

Monday ⛅️ Hazy spells of sunshine and light west to southwest winds. Highs of 21C.

Tuesday 🌤️ Further spells of sunshine, hazy at times. Light and variable winds with highs of 23C.

Wednesday 🌤️ Little change with sunshine largely dominating. Light southeast winds and highs of 24C.

Thursday 🌤️ Staying fine and very warm with sunny spells and light winds. Temperatures perhaps peaking at 25C.

Friday ⛅️ Likely to be a little cloudier at times with the chance of a light shower later. Cooler breeze from the northeast. Highs of 20C.

Outlook: A lot of dry weather into the weekend though temperatures will be cooler than in the week. The odd shower possible, but sunshine too.

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

The weekly Whitworth ✍️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on Sheffield restaurant Joro’s new premises — a former paper mill in Oughtibridge.

Home of the week 🏡

We love this one-bedroom apartment in the Grade II-listed terminal warehouse at Victoria Quays. The flat is filled with original features including exposed brick walls and timber, and has beautiful views over the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal. It is on the market for £170,000.

Things to do 📆

Theatre 🎭 Starting on Monday at the Lyceum is the classic Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf musical Bat Out Of Hell. The newly reimagined production features an eight-piece rock band playing the show’s legendary songs including I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), Paradise By The Dashboard Light, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, Dead Ringer For Love and of course Bat Out Of Hell. Tickets are £15-£58 and the show runs until Saturday.

Debate 🏛️ The Festival of Debate continues on Wednesday with a discussion at Weston Park Museum about whether museums should return objects. Museums around the world hold objects acquired through various means, including colonial appropriation. There is a growing movement to repatriate these objects to their places of origin. Should they or shouldn’t they? If so, which objects? The two-hour debate is free and begins at 6pm.

Music 🎸 On Thursday, Sidney and Matilda welcome whimsical psychedelic popsters Melin Melyn to their subterranean space. Previously signed to Sheffield-based label Bingo records and often heard on BBC 6 Music, the Cardiff and London-based six-piece describe their music as “vintage-country-surf-twang tunes packed with a cast of curious characters”. Their debut album Mill on the Hill is out now. Tickets are priced £12.50 and doors open at 7.30pm.