Latest news with #SadieCharlton
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sean Bean criticises green belt housing plan in area of Sheffield
Actor Sean Bean has said a plan to build homes on green belt land in the area where he grew up would "practically obliterate the character and nature of our area".Sheffield City Council approved plans to build more than 1,700 homes in Handsworth as part of the city's local plan, which council leader Tom Hunt previously said was needed to "tackle the housing crisis".In an email of objection seen by the BBC, Bafta-winning star Bean said: "It seems the council sees us as second-class citizens who will just have to put up with it."Sheffield City Council has been contacted for comment. Sadie Charlton, a member of a campaign group fighting the plan, said: "It's really boosted our morale and everybody's so thankful for him to take the time to put his voice forward because what he says in his objection is how we all feel."The 36-year-old occupational therapist contacted Bean following the death of another campaigner, Sapphire McCarthy, who had previously been in touch with him."He was really interested in keeping in touch about how the campaign is going because obviously he cares about Handsworth," she 66, who can currently be seen in gritty BBC drama This City Is Ours, submitted his objection less than two hours before the end of the consultation said: "It seems like this working-class community and its surrounding areas has been specifically targeted, while other more affluent, genteel areas on the other side of Sheffield have escaped lightly." Ms Charlton added: "Before 24 April I didn't even know what a local plan was, and that really highlights in S13 we're not as politically engaged as areas of the west of Sheffield."She said the campaign group was now called Save S13 Green Belt - The Sapphire McCarthy Campaign, in tribute to Ms McCarthy."Without her, none of this would have happened," Ms Charlton said."Not one person ever met her and didn't instantly just love her, and I suspect that Sean felt the same when he had conversations with her."She said Bean had first phoned Ms McCarthy when she was shopping at a supermarket, and she told him to call her his objection email, Bean paid tribute to Ms McCarthy's "valiant and impassioned campaign".Although the consultation period closed on 11 July, Ms Charlton said the campaign group would "rally on, carry on forward, get more people involved"."The community have really rallied around and come together, so this is just the beginning for us," she said. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plans to build on 14 green belt sites criticised
Plans to build homes, offices and industrial buildings on areas of green belt land in Sheffield have been criticised by residents. About 3.6% of the city's green belt land, across 14 different sites, would be developed under the council's proposals. Campaigners said the plans were "insulting" and raised concerns about increased pollution and damage to the environment. But government inspectors said the council must build more homes and green belt land could be considered for development, according to a Sheffield City Council spokesperson, who said a consultation would be launched on the plans. The proposals are part of the city's Local Plan - a document outlining where new homes and businesses should be built. Government planning inspectors concluded the council would need to build 3,529 more new homes than its initial target - bringing the total to 38,012 homes to be constructed by 2039. They also asked the authority to find an additional 53 hectares of land for employment uses. The council said it had explored all opportunities to develop brownfield sites first, but these options had already been exhausted. Inspectors said there may therefore be exceptional circumstances that would justify the use of green belt land, the council said. The plans are due to be voted on at a council meeting on 14 May, with a public consultation expected to take place in the summer and a further examination of the proposals by government inspectors later in the year. Handsworth resident Sadie Charlton says she finds the council's approach "cowardly" [Tom MacDougall/BBC] Sadie Charlton lives in Handsworth - one of the areas where green belt sites have been proposed for development. She said the community had been "blindsided" by the plans, which she branded "insulting". "In S13, we're one of the most deprived areas within Sheffield, we have least access to our beautiful spaces in the Peak District, we're on the other side," she said. Attempts to contact councillors about the plans had been met with "the same copy and paste reply," Ms Charlton added. "Nobody's speaking to us, nobody's listening to us. They're waiting for this vote to go through so it's out of their hands - it's cowardly." Chapeltown residents Deborah and Richard Nutbrown say the proposal has been "forced upon" them [Tom MacDougall/BBC] Chapeltown is another area in which areas of green belt land have been shortlisted for development. Deborah and Richard Nutbrown said they worried that the green belt "buffer zone" between their home and the M1 could disappear as a result of the proposals. Mr Nutbrown said there had been "very little information about what's going to happen". "It's extremely frustrating, it feels as if it's totally been forced upon us," Mrs Nutbrown said. "Once the green belt's gone, the green belt's gone - the more that's taken, the more grey Sheffield will become." She said she understood the demand for housing but feared the plans would create more traffic and harm wildlife. Matt Sieczkarek and his partner Matthew Pegler started a petition to protect Chapeltown's green belt [Tom MacDougall/BBC] Matthew Pegler, who also lives in Chapeltown, said he felt the situation had been "handled behind closed doors, without the knowledge of the people that it will affect most". He launched a petition against the plans, which had been signed by more than 1,500 people. The green belt represented a "boundary line" between Sheffield and Barnsley, and its erasure would "merge" the two urban areas, Mr Pegler said. His partner, Matt Sieczkarek, said he was not convinced the option of redeveloping brownfield sites had been fully explored and he wanted the council to provide evidence. The proposals will be examined by planning inspectors following a public consultation [BBC] Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council, said the Local Plan was a "crucially important" document that would help to shape the city. "The overwhelming majority of homes will be built on brownfield land, which means land that has previously been developed," he said. "The Local Plan will help to deliver more affordable housing, support regeneration and investment and enable the delivery of infrastructure to support communities." The plan had been "shaped by the cross-party Labour, Lib Dem and Green council administration," he said. A six-week public consultation was planned for the latest changes and would be launched in late May, he added. Planning inspectors would the use the feedback to set the agenda for hearings on the proposals. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North. More on this story Related internet links
