The Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) has objected strongly to plans for a new township of up to 300 homes in the heart of the Loxley valley.
Developers Patrick Properties want to build on the site of the abandoned old factories below Damflask, on the edge of the Peak District.
The PDNPA voices serious concerns about the impact on the national park.
These concerns include carbon footprint, air pollution, public health, unsustainable car journeys, possible tree felling and the impact on biodiversity.
The park authority says Sheffield City Council has failed in its duty to consult over the impact on the Peak District.
It also says Patrick Properties claim wrongly to have consulted the national park about their plans.
“The applicant’s Statement of Community Involvement document states … that there has been direct engagement with the National Park Authority on this application,” says the PDNPA.
“This isn’t the case, and gives us cause for concern”
The PDNPA’s detailed concerns
The national park authority sets out its fears in a 2,000 word statement of objection.
It’s key concerns are as follows:
- It says the developers and the council have failed to recognise the potential impact on the national park, even though the township would border the park boundary.
- The PDNPA says it is “surprised” that Sheffield City Council is prepared to consider only an outline planning application. It says this means too much is left vague, to be agreed later between the applicant and council officers. “We consider this unacceptable for such a significant development in the green belt”.
- There is uncertainty about how many trees will be felled. “This is not acceptable for a greenbelt site where tree cover is an integral part of the character”.
- The development would do little to reduce carbon. Rather, it would increase polluting car journeys, harming air quality and public health in an already congested area.
- New residents would be too dependent on car journeys. They would then try to avoid the notorious Malin Bridge bottleneck. This would encourage rat runs on small country roads.
- Sustainable alternatives such as cycling are unrealistic because of hills and distance from the city centre.
- The impact on the green belt is not justified by shortage of housing land elsewhere in the city.
- The development would be in a priority corridor for woodland and wildlife, and the developers have produced no evidence that biodiversity would be protected.
MPs, councillors and and other organisations are also objecting
The PDNPA’s concerns follow detailed objections from the Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake and from the Brightside and Hillsborough MP Gill Furniss.
Bradfield Parish Council are objecting too, as are local ward councillors in Stannington and Hillsborough.
Organisations objecting so far include CPRE South Yorkshire/Friends of the Peak District, the South Yorkshire Bat Group, Sheffield Friends of the Earth, Sheffield Climate Alliance, Sheffield Environmental, and the Walkley Green Party.
And at the time of writing, over 550 concerned local people have added their own objections. Thank you for your support! We’re so proud of our community!
- Click here to read or download the Peak District National Park Authority objection
- Click here to read the objection from Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake
- Click here to read the objection from Brightside and Hillsborough MP Gill Furniss
You can object too!
If you share our concerns, please make your views known. Every single voice will make a difference!