On Wednesday 14 December the Sheffield City Council is expected to approve the long-awaited Draft Local Plan for public consultation.

The “Draft Sheffield Plan” – if and when adopted ( earliest – end of 2024) – will have a major role in determining the siting of and standards for new development in the city for the next 15 years.

The aim is to earmark enough land for business use and to encourage the development of “brownfield” sites, many of which are, thanks to Sheffield’s industrial history, on contaminated land and thus requiring remediation before they can be built on. The only major incursion into the Green Belt is the proposed development of the former Norton Aerodrome. There is emphasis on the concept of the 20 minute neighbourhood in which most journeys can be made on foot or cycle.

The Draft Sheffield Plan will be available for Public Consultation from Monday 9 January to Monday 20 February 2023. This is a massive document in several parts. Copies will be available for inspection in libraries as well as on line.

The big question is – how far is this Plan going to enable Sheffield to reach its net zero carbon target? Could and should it do better?

The SCA Planning Group is aiming to draw up some guidelines for response, especially on the suitability or otherwise of the provision for green energy generation, standards set out for carbon emission reduction and improved biodiversity, and adaptation to increased frequency of severe weather events.

We’ll have more information in our January newsletter (you can sign up below) and at our monthly meeting in January we’ll be discussing how to respond.