Campaigners protest over green belt homes plan

The campaigners held signs at the side of the road in Handsworth

Campaigners opposing the building of 1,600 houses on green belt land in the Handsworth area of Sheffield took to the streets on Saturday to stage a roadside protest.

Under Sheffield Council's local plan 3.6% of the city's green belt would be developed, including homes offices and industrial buildings.

Actor Sean Bean, who grew up in the area, previously objected to the Handsworth plans stating they would "practically obliterate the character and nature of our area".

Handsworth resident and Save S13 Green Belt campaigner Debi Dent said Bean's assistance in raising the profile of the issue had been "amazing".

"Sean is a local lad. He used to walk on those fields to school because his parents lived on this main road here," she said.

"We fully understand the government policy and the local authority's policy that we do need housing, but Sheffield has vast swathes of brownfield sites that can be reused."

Sue Smelt said the green land was an "oasis"

Fellow campaigner Sue Smelt said much of the area's green space would be destroyed.

"This is a lovely little oasis that's surrounded by housing estates already," she said.

"S13 is a densely populated area and whilst we're not disputing that people need somewhere to live, we don't think it's appropriate that 44% of all the new houses will be built on our green belt."

Sheffield City Council leader Tom Hunt previously said the homes were needed to "tackle the housing crisis".

The council added that greenbelt land would only be considered because there were no suitable brownfield sites.

The consultation period on the plans has ended and a decision is expected later this year.

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