NWS31 is a small site, but the risks are enormous. Unlike other proposed developments in the Sheffield Plan, this site raises serious concerns about ecology, heritage, access, and viability—yet contributes only marginally to the city’s housing needs.

1.Threat to Our Natural and Historic Landscape. NWS31 borders ancient woodland and sits in a visually sensitive rural fringe. Building here would destroy important wildlife corridors, harm local biodiversity, and disrupt cherished community space. The Heritage Impact Assessment confirms damage to heritage assets, yet no proper justification has been provided.

2. Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land at Risk. This land may be Grade 3a – protected, high-quality farmland. National policy says such land should only be used as a last resort. No soil survey has been done, and other, less valuable land is available elsewhere.

3. Green Belt Scoring Is Flawed. NWS31 was wrongly marked as weak Green Belt. In truth, it plays a vital role in:

  • Stopping urban sprawl
  • Separating rural communities
  • Protecting open countryside
  • Supporting urban regeneration

Reassessing even one of these factors would make NWS31 ineligible for release.

4.Undermining flood protection initiatives. Developing NWS31 undermines local and strategic flood resilience. Required SuDS infrastructure would reduce site capacity. The location fails the Sequential Test, borders a functional floodplain, and directly conflicts with planned flood storage initiatives. Given these factors, the site should be removed from the allocation on flood risk and drainage grounds alone.

5. Unviable and Unsuitable. On paper, the site allows for 103 homes—but after accounting for woodland buffers, steep slopes, hedgerow corridors, sustainable urban drainage, right to light and heritage constraints, far fewer homes are realistically deliverable. This makes the site functionally unviable.

Better Options Exist

Larger, better-connected, and less constrained sites are available elsewhere in the plan and on brownfield sites not in the plan. Sheffield doesn’t need to sacrifice NWS31.

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