Where is Sheffield going to put 35,700 new homes?

Good morning readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.

It has been a long time coming, but finally it’s here. When the draft version of Sheffield’s long-awaited Local Plan goes before councillors this week, it will mark the beginning of a two-year long process that should see the final plan adopted in December 2024. What’s so important about it, you may ask. Well, the plan will do nothing less than guide the way Sheffield develops for the next two decades, and determine where 35,700 houses will be built between now and 2039. Today, we look at what’s in the plan and what the implications might be.

As well as that, the box-office Labour race for Sheffield Central gets more coverage in the nationals, a beautiful stone cottage in Totley comes on the market, and a photography exhibition begins at the Winter Garden.

Catch up and coming up

Lots of you enjoyed our Halloween-themed weekend read about why the Stocksbridge bypass may be the most haunted road in Britain. You can still read that piece here.

Last week we sent two great newsletters to our 878 paying members. The first was a piece about an 88-year-old city photographer who has just donated a treasure trove of old photos to the Sheffield City Archives. And the second was a great story by Harry Shukman about a row over trans rights which is threatening to tear apart the Sheffield Green Party. An extract from that first piece is below.

But these are not just snap shots. Because of Ray's skill, they are a treasure trove of images recording an important era in the city’s recent past. When we think of history, we think of kings and queens and the drama of war, but many people who shape our understanding of the past are more ordinary than that. The images prove you don’t have to be important to be remembered — and that you can document history taking pictures on your lunch break.

This week we’ll send out two more including my first editor’s edition in which I’ll talk about the things that are currently winding me up about the city (and some of the things I like as well!). And we’ll also have a piece about Sheffield’s plans to create more human-focused public spaces — a process called placemaking. To get both of those and help fund a new way of doing journalism in Sheffield focused on serving readers rather than advertisers, please consider subscribing using the button below. It costs just £1.34 a week if you pay upfront for a year.

Editor’s note: The last month has been The Tribune’s best for member growth since we started. A total of 103 of you joined in October and it really feels like a turning point for our attempt to bring back a kind of journalism to Sheffield that focuses on the things that really matter to people rather than endless clickbait and celebrity tittle-tattle. Thank you to everyone who has become a member so far — and if you haven’t subscribed yet, please join us.

The big picture: The final flight ✈️

The final commercial passenger flights have begun leaving Doncaster Sheffield Airport ahead of its closure at the beginning of November. Flight B738 to Tenerife (pictured) was the last TUI aeroplane to leave the airport on Friday evening, while the final Wizz Air flight left on Saturday. DSA will welcome its final inbound flights on Friday, 4 November.

This week’s weather ⛅️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say low pressure continues to dominate our weather, situated to the west or northwest of the UK. The changeable pattern continues.

Monday ⛅️ Dry by day, with bright spells and cloud increasing later. Heavy and showery rain likely late evening and overnight. Highs of 15°C.

Tuesday 🌦 A wet dawn gives way to brighter spells developing but also some blustery showers. Not quite as mild as recent days with highs of 14°C.

Wednesday 🌦 A gusty day from the south with cloud thickening through the day. A sharp cold front brings late afternoon rain from the west. Highs of 14°C.

Thursday ⛅️ Bright and breezy post-Wednesday's fronts with the odd shower but some sunny spells too. A cooler feel with highs of 13°C.

Friday 🌦 Similarly showery at times but some decent drier spells likely, too. Still windy at times from the southwest with highs of 12°C.

Outlook: The weekend looks unsettled with further fronts bringing the threat of rain or showers as well as gusty winds. You can tell it's autumn!

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

The big story: Where is Sheffield going to put 35,700 new homes?

Top line: A draft version of the document that will guide development in the city for the next two decades — Sheffield’s Local Plan — has finally been unveiled. What’s in it?

Sheffield’s future: The draft plan includes proposals that would allow 35,700 homes to be built in Sheffield between now and 2039 (2,100 homes per year from 2022 to 2039). These new homes will be located on 317 separate sites split up between nine “sub-areas” of the city, with the majority of them being built in a central sub-area in and around the city centre.

City centre vs suburbs: Just over half the new homes (18,465 or 52%) will be built in the central sub-area. This area will itself be split up into six neighbourhoods, with much of the new building taking place in five “priority areas” (Neepsend, Wicker Riverside, Castlegate, Furnace Hill and Moorfoot). The remaining 17,235 (48%) homes will be built in the rest of the city. Key sites include Oughtibridge Paper Mill (311 homes), Attercliffe Canalside (596 homes), Norton Aerodrome (270 homes) and Steins Tip in Deepcar (428 homes).

Brownfield vs green belt: Earlier this year, councillors voted overwhelmingly to avoid building on greenfield sites within the city’s precious Green Belt.

• However, some developments could still be located on greenfield sites in urban areas and “sustainably located” brownfield sites within the Green Belt.
• Sheffield City Council leader Terry Fox says that this will ensure enough homes will be built without undermining the “green character of the city”.

Building up: This will be achieved by increasing housing density in existing built-up areas like the city centre. However, there have been worries for years that too many very small flats are being crammed into central Sheffield. The council says the Local Plan will also include policies on improved space standards for new homes — but will these be legally binding?

The road to Net Zero: The need for Sheffield to eliminate its carbon emissions by 2030 is a key element of the Local Plan. This will be done in part by shifting away from private car journeys and towards more sustainable ways of travelling — meaning the active travel schemes that are currently being rolled out all across the city are definitely here to stay.

• The plan is designed to support the creation of “20-minute neighbourhoods”, where most people’s everyday needs are only a short walk or cycle ride away.
• But the plan says Sheffield cannot do this alone and will need significantly more support from the government to deliver improved public transport.

What happens now? The draft plan will be opened up to public consultation late this year before being submitted to a planning inspector next July. Public hearings in December 2023 will be followed by a preliminary report in March 2024. Modifications will then take place between May to June and the final inspector’s report will be published in September 2024.

Bottom line: Local Plans are devilishly difficult and complex documents to create and Sheffield City Council should be commended for getting to this stage (even if it has taken them a very long time). But the plan as it stands is only in draft form and there is still a long way to go. Expect lots of arguments before the plan is finally adopted in December 2024.

To read the full draft Local Plan click here.

Home of the week 🏡

This two-bedroom two-bathroom terrace cottage in Totley dates from the mid-18th century and is within walking distance of stunning countryside. It is on the market for £400,000.

Tribune Tips: If you want to tell us about a story or give us some information, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity. Get in touch.

Our media picks 🎧

Eddie Izzard the joker takes on Paul Mason the firebrand 🗳️ The box-office contest to be the Labour candidate for Sheffield Central is certainly ensuring that the city is getting a lot of column inches in the national newspapers recently. The latest in The Times catches up with Izzard as she meets with party members in the Frog and Parrot on Division Street. Reporter Josh Glancy also speaks to journalist Paul Mason and race frontrunner Abtisam Mohamed.

The truth about food courier pay 🍔 A good piece on the BBC website about Life in the Fast-Food Lane, a new BBC documentary which follows three food couriers as they embark on delivery shifts across Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool. Walkley councillor Tom Hunt was interviewed last week about the documentary on Toby Foster’s breakfast programme on Radio Sheffield (listen from 2hr24min). For our piece on Sheffield’s food couriers, click here.

‘There’s no place for arms companies at our university’ 💣 For five days last week, student demonstrators occupied the Diamond lecture theatre on Brook Hill to protest against the University of Sheffield’s alleged links with companies that make arms including BAE Systems, Boeing and Rolls Royce. Now Then give the protesters from the Sheffield Action Group who organised the occupation a platform to explain why they did what they did.

Sheffield in ruins 📸

A new Sheffield publisher is asking for support to publish a book filled with photographs of decaying city buildings. Revelations 23 Press (which is run by well-known photographer Martin Dust, whose other books can be found here), needs £5,500 to cover the initial production costs of Sheffield In Ruins, a collection of 128 photographs by Sheffield-based urban explorer Denzil Watson.

Watson has been exploring Sheffield’s discarded spaces for 30 years, photographing the decaying insides of iconic city buildings including the Old Town Hall, Cannon Brewery, the George Barnsley factory at Cornish Works and Hallam Tower Hotel. The full-colour, hardback book runs to 180 pages and also contains a foreword by Jon McClure from Reverend And The Makers.

Things to do 📆 

Photography 📸 Beginning today at the Winter Garden is Sheffield Photographic Society’s 18th annual Perspectives exhibition. The exhibition is an opportunity for up to 30 society members to show a selection of their own work, with each member’s panel including a short narrative about themselves alongside their images. Also included in the exhibition will be some historic images of Sheffield by Ray Brightman, who we featured a story on last week.

Comedy 🎙️ Appearing at The Leadmill on Tuesday, 1 November is Irish funnyman David O’Doherty with his new show whoa is me. O’Doherty is a regular on shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Live At the Apollo. His new show, which was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival, includes “lots of talking, some apologising and some songs on a glued together plastic keyboard from 1986”. Doors open at 7pm and tickets are priced £23.

Drama 🎭 In 1828, a boy named Kaspar Hauser appeared in Nuremberg town square claiming to have been held prisoner in a darkened cell for 17 years. The strange, true story has already inspired books, films, and music. Now, in this brand-new stage adaptation at the Drama Studio on Wednesday, 2 November, Animikii Theatre draws you into the heart of the mystery with song, playfulness, strong physicality, and mesmeric music. Tickets are £13.