Sheffield City Plan – We Urge You To Have Your Say

CPRE PDSY URGES SHEFFIELDERS TO HAVE THEIR SAY ON THE CITY’S 15-YEAR PLANNING BLUEPRINT

The local branch of the countryside charity, CPRE, is urging Sheffield people to make their voices heard as public consultation gets underway on the city’s planning vision for the next 15 years.

CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire strongly endorses the vision for the city that the council has set out in its draft Sheffield Local Plan.

The draft Plan was approved by the city council last month and is now subject to public comments before it is submitted to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

The Planning Inspectorate will then examine the plan, and consider public representations, before deciding whether to approve the plan or require modifications.

Once adopted, the Sheffield Local Plan will form the city’s strategic blueprint for 15 years, shaping how Sheffield will develop, and where new housing and businesses will be built.

Public consultation begins today (Monday, January 9^th) and will run for six weeks, closing on February 20^th.

Why we support the city council’s ambitions

CPRE PDSY backs the city council’s vision for a “compact, sustainable city” that meets its development requirements within the current urban area, and largely on brownfield sites.

We urge local people and organisations to back the city’s vision, and to make sure that the Planning Inspectorate is left in no doubt about the strength of public support.

CPRE PDSY chief executive Tomo Thompson said the council has heeded public demands to protect the city’s cherished green space, biodiversity and countryside.

“Sheffield is taking a bold ‘brownfield’ approach to finding the necessary land to meet the needs for new houses, employment, and services,” said Mr Thompson.

“In so doing it aims to protect the city’s precious countryside, open spaces, and Green Belt, and to focus on compact and more sustainable growth.

“But we know that this approach will be challenged, potentially most strongly by those seeking the allocation of large tranches of easy to develop unsustainable greenfield housing sites.

“Developers will no doubt argue that the city should give up more of its countryside, even though there is enough development land across the wider City Region to meet the most optimistic growth targets.

“Local communities must not assume that the Plan is a done deal. Now is the time to speak up and make sure that your views are recognised and reinforced!”

How you can find out more

Details of the draft Sheffield Plan will be available for the next six weeks online and in local libraries.

The city council is also organising five public drop-in sessions and seven Local Area Committee consultation events.

Full details of the consultation process are available via this link on the Sheffield City Council website: https://haveyoursaysheffield.uk.engagementhq.com/draft-local-plan

What we will do next

CPRE PDSY will work with partner organisations and local communities to support the council through the Planning Inspectorate examination process.

Our goal is a final adopted Sheffield Plan that protects the city’s Green Belt and helps sustainable, compact communities to tackle the climate emergency and become carbon neutral by 2030, while also reversing biodiversity loss.

“That’s a vision worth speaking out for, and the next six weeks give us all the chance to do just that. It’s an opportunity we need to grasp for the future of the city that we all know and love,” said Tomo Thompson.