Liberal Democrats | Sheffield Green Party

There has been lots of misinformation about Sheffield Green Party’s position on protecting the Greenbelt. Sheffield Green Councillors are against building on the Green Belt in principle.

This article explains where we stand and why we voted for the Local Plan.

Why do we need a local plan?

Sheffield needs a Local Plan. This is a legal requirement, and we are several years behind schedule (Our current Local Plan dates back to 1998 with a 2009 update!). Without an updated version, Sheffield is open to the whims of big developers, who can put any land forward for development
The rules imposed by successive Governments mean that, by law, Local Authorities need to provide huge housing targets. The first Plan that Sheffield City Council presented (in 2023) was for 34,640 homes, none on the Greenbelt. The planning inspectorate said it was not enough, and the council had to provide 3,539 more. The original ask had been 51,000 homes, so the council have had some success in reducing that ask
Large parts of the Peak District National Park are within Sheffield’s western boundary, and they cannot be put forward for reallocation as they are governed by the National Park’s Planning Authority. This puts more pressure on the rest of Sheffield’s urban area and the Green Belt.
The Local Plan will mean developments are planned better for infrastructure such as roads, public transport, and schools. Also within the Local Plan are higher building standards, minimum room sizes, interventions for wildlife, and targets for social and affordable housing, all of which cannot be enforced under the current planning policy.

What happens if we don’t have a local plan?

If we fail to implement this Local Plan, the Government could exclude local representatives from decision-making and would have a much bigger housing target (estimated 51,000 homes). In Rotherham, where councillors have had to start from scratch on their Local Plan, the target for new homes was doubled (See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3q9w9dye7o)
In Sheffield, having to re-do the local plan could mean a requirement for over 13,000 homes in the Green Belt rather than 3,539 as in the proposed Local Plan. Blocking the Local Plan will not protect any Green Belt land; it will put more of it at risk.
The current proposed Local Plan includes 38,179 homes, of which over 3500 are on Green Belt sites: 80% of housing will be on brownfield sites, with more than 18,000 new homes in the Central area!
All the brownfield sites in the city are accounted for – being built on, listed in the Local Plan, not available or not suitable for building on.
Brownfield sites that are not specifically named in the Local Plan are still accounted for in the “windfall”* sites. A windfall site is a piece of land that becomes available for housing development unexpectedly, meaning it was not identified or allocated in a local council’s development plan or planning process. The government inspectors have allowed a large number of homes in the Local Plan to be accounted for in this way.
Some campaigners said they had identified other brownfield sites to build on – the main one they proposed was to build 1,100 homes on Parkwood Springs on top of the landfill site. This isn’t suitable as the ground will be sinking for decades and is intended eventually for a country park in the city for the benefit of the many people who live nearby with little access to green space.

Why are the Liberal Democrats deceiving the public?

Liberal Democrat councillors know the importance of the Local Plan and have spoken about it many times over the years. (See https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/lack-of-political-leadership-blamed-for-totally-unacceptable-delay-to-sheffields-local-plan-3417765 & https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/stop-kicking-sheffields-local-plan-into-the-long-grass-say-liberal-democrats-3373431 )
Liberal Democrat councillors were laughing after the vote on 14th May 2025. They were saying they get the Local Plan through (with other political groups voting for it) and also get something for their leaflets by voting against the plan. This is the worst of Liberal Democrat politics. Dishonest and selfish. We believe that voting against the Local Plan should require those who do so to propose a viable alternative. Liberal Democrats are buddying up with Reform on this issue. Short-term political gain for long-term pain for Sheffield and its green spaces.
Not implementing the Local Plan to gain short-term political benefit is irresponsible and a dereliction of civic duty by political parties seeking to win votes on this issue. Short-term gain will mean long-term pain for the Sheffield Green Belt.
Reform Councillor John Booker has also opposed the Local Plan.

Sheffield's 14 Green councillors — Sheffield’s 14 Green councillors

Who should I vote for to protect the Greenbelt?

Clearly not Liberal Democrat or Reform. It’s the Labour Party Government’s excessive targets that mean some areas of the Greenbelt will be considered for housing if the Local Plan is agreed after the Local Elections. You can rely on the Green Party to vote for the best possible Local Plan and then oppose any developments in the Greenbelt.

Further Reading

Sheffield City Council Draft Sheffield Local Plan

At Wednesday’s Full Council meeting the Liberal Democrats either voted against OR abstained on the draft Sheffield Local Plan. The Labour group was also split with some voting in favour, some against and some abstaining. Green Party Councillors and the majority of Labour Councillors voted for the Local Plan so it had a majority and was passed. It will now be submitted to the Government’s Planning Inspector for approval. If approved, it will then regulate future planning applications.

Councillor Douglas Johnson, Leader of the Green Group on Sheffield City Council said,

“Without an up-to-date Local Plan, property developers can get away with sub-standard planning applications. The Local Plan may not be perfect but it would have been completely irresponsible for us to vote against it after so much cross-party work has been done on it. National Planning rules mean that Councils without Local Plans are less able to control where development does or does not take place. It effectively makes all land fair play for rapacious property developers and therefore disadvantages socially-conscious businesses.

“It is frankly hard to believe that councillors would vote against the Local Plan when they had – quite rightly – criticised the previous Labour administration for the many years of delay that allowed far too many low-quality planning applications through.

“If there is a local green space in your area that people use for exercise, walking the dog, to enjoy nature or for children to play in, then the Liberal Democrats’ votes put that at risk. . This sort of self indulgent posturing in pursuit of political gain is not the act of responsible local politicians who have a duty to balance the legitimate needs of the whole community.”

The Final Vote was 37 Councillors for the Local Plan, 17 against and 20 abstentions.

Cllr Johnson commenting on the result said,

“Labour was clearly split on the Local Plan, with several Councillors saying they were defying their Party whip. Though many Liberal Democrats spoke against the plan some clearly and quietly abstained, showing they were also split. Greens were clear that without a Local Plan we would be putting developers in the driving seat, our green spaces under threat and losing local control over the planning process.”

There is a lot of misunderstanding – not least from Star contributors and journalists themselves – about how Sheffield has been governed for the past year. After the successful referendum to abolish the anti-democratic “strong leader” or cabinet system where only 10 Councillors made all the decisions, in May 2022 Sheffield moved to a committee system, where all Councillors have a say.

There were then negotiations between the three largest parties resulting in a joint administration of Labour, the Lib Dems and the Green Party, with power shared proportionately by each, based on their respective number of councillors (39 Labour, 29 Lib Dem, 14 Green).

The Conservative and the one independent Councillor were not part of this agreement and not part of the administration.

A politically proportionate committee system – with no Party currently having a majority on any committee – has meant for better policy to be made on a more transparent and consensual basis. Yes, there are things to be improved upon: there needs to be more engagement with local communities, experts and groups impacted by policies. However, the committee system is something to be strengthened and developed. It allows politicians to concentrate on common goals rather than argue about what they disagree on, especially at a time of tough financial challenges.

The biggest threat to the committee system and to a Council which makes good decisions would be a Labour majority in the current local elections. The recent deselection of their candidate for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale for comments they made “about the need for reform, greater accountability and transparency at the council off the back of the Sheffield tree inquiry“* is a warning that the current Sheffield Labour leadership has no intention of learning the lessons of the Tree Dispute.

Cllr Angela Argenzio,

Green Party Councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale

*Sheffield Star 6th April. https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/sheffield-labour-local-election-candidate-deselected-over-tree-felling-comments-4095662

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