‘Why did Sheffield City Council sent me a Loxley valley planning letter just before Christmas?’
It’s a good question, and one that many people around the Loxley valley will have been asking as this official letter arrived with the Christmas cards at the end of last year.
So we’ve posted this web page to try to explain, and to provide some guidance on how you might want to respond.
Patrick Properties have appealed against the council’s refusal of planning permission
Sheffield City Council refused planning permission for a township of up to 300 homes on the old ‘Hepworth’ brickworks site in the Loxley valley.
The developers, Patrick Properties Strategic Land, are appealing against that decision.
They hope to persuade a Planning Inspector that the council got it wrong, and that the decision should be overturned.
They will present their case to a public planning inquiry starting on Monday, April 12th. It is likely to last for ten days.
The council will fight the appeal. They will present their own evidence, arguing they applied planning policies correctly. They want the refusal to stand.
Friends of the Loxley Valley intend to support the council. We hope to present our own evidence too. We think a huge unsustainable housing scheme would be disastrous for the Loxley valley.
So, back to the question: ‘Why have I got this letter?’
You will have received the letter if you made your views known to the council before the original planning decision.
Over 900 local people and organisations objected to the planning application and wrote to the Sheffield planners to air their concerns.
The council has written to you now so that YOUR views can be made known to the planning inquiry if you want this to happen.
You can do this in two ways.
Firstly, if you are happy with your original objection, you do not need to do anything. The council will pass your objection on to the Planning Inspector. He will read it, and he will take it into account with all the other evidence.
Can I make additional points to the Planning Inspector?
Yes. If you want to add to your original objection, you can do that too. This is the second way of making your views known.
We have drafted a guidance note to explain how you can do that, and how to make sure your views are taken into account.
But you must now act quickly! The deadline for representations is Wednesday, January 20th.
You may also want to read the detailed Statement of Case that forms the basis of the appeal by Patrick Properties. We think many of their arguments are weak, and we intend to challenge them at the inquiry.
You can download both documents here:
- Please click here to download our FoLV guidance note
- Click here to download the Patrick Properties Statement of Case
Can I make my views known if I didn’t object to the original planning application?
Yes! Everybody has the democratic right to make their views known to the Planning Inspector.
It is not too late to set out your concerns. A huge housing development would affect all our lives locally, for example through the impact on local roads and services.
If you are worried about this, you have the right to make your case heard.
But if you do write, try to set down evidence to support your fears. For example, if you feel Loxley Road is already carrying too much traffic, set out your experiences and concerns.
Please see our guidance link in the previous section of this post.
Please help us by donating to our Fighting Fund now
Friends of the Loxley Valley is run entirely by community volunteers. We’re happy to provide the guidance and information on this website free of charge.
But we will need expert professional help so that we can present strong evidence at the planning inquiry.
We need to raise thousands of pounds so that we can pay for professional planning experts. They will help us to prepare and present our case.
The more we can raise; the stronger we hope our case will be. And the more we raise, the more professional expertise and representation we can secure.
We and our campaign partners CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire have set up a fighting fund appeal to raise the money.
- Click here to learn more about our fighting fund appeal
- Or, please click here if you’d like to donate money NOW
Thank you! We know how hard everyone’s finances are pushed at the moment. But every donation, however small, will really help us on our way!
I put in objection on the planning website but have not had a letter or email – do I assume my objection will go forward or should I write again?
Hello Lizbeth. If your objection was received and logged, you should have received a notification letter about the appeal. Have you contacted the planning officer to ask if they can acknowledge receipt of your objection? As a failsafe, it may be a good idea to send your objection directly to the Planning Inspectorate, asking for it to be read and considered as part of the case against the appeal.