Agenda item

8.1

It was moved by Councillor Ian Auckland, and seconded by Councillor Mike Levery, that this Council:-

(a)       is concerned that the publication of the Sheffield Local Plan, for consultation, has been delayed for over a year, arguably several years, and there is still no official publication date;

(b)       believes that this consultation plan is completed and the decision to delay the publication is a political decision by the Leader of the Council;

(c)        is dismayed that this Administration would leave such an important document unpublished and leave the city development open to exploitation by developers and the green belt unprotected;

(d)       believes the lack of a plan will mean that the tenures and types of homes Sheffield so desperately needs will not get delivered in favour of bigger more expensive homes that are the most profitable to developers;

(e)       notes that Sheffield is not meeting the need for social and affordable housing and, furthermore, is short of a significant amount of homes every year;

(f)        believes that these homes need to be in areas that are well serviced by local amenities, schools and public transport so they are sustainable places to live;

(g)       believes that the delay in publishing the plan has increased uncertainty for local business and is therefore hindering economic growth across the city;

(h)       believes that the plan should protect green spaces that communities value and avoid concreting over fields and woodlands in the green belt;

(i)         affirms that a Liberal Democrat plan would be a community-led plan and informed by the results of a meaningful consultation with the people of Sheffield; and

(j)         demands the Administration publish the Sheffield Local Plan immediately.

8.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Bob Johnson, seconded by Councillor Mazher Iqbal, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council”, and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       confirms that the Local Plan is a 20 year document outlining a spatial framework for how the city will develop over that period and notes that requirements are imposed on the Council set by the Government through the National Planning Policy Framework developed in 2012;

(b)       believes that regardless of national policy it would not be right to bring forward a plan that is not right for Sheffield and believes it is essential that the plan encapsulates the vision and ambition for housing in the city;

(c)        recognises the importance of the local plan in meeting Sheffield’s housing needs and delivering the affordable homes we need as a city, whilst at the same time protecting our Green Belt and also ensuring the City’s development addresses some of the fundamental challenges we face as a city, such as the inequality that is brought about by the housing market;

(d)       confirms that the Council is still developing a plan that meets these ends and work is being undertaken to review our approach to the local plan and how we can ensure any forthcoming local plan meets the ambitions set out above and also comes with a comprehensively considered plan of how any infrastructure needs of new housing and other development can be met;

(e)       further confirms when ready, there will be a full consultation on the Council’s draft plan, following which, there will be a further period of consultation on the Council’s final proposals before the plan is considered by the Government’s independent Planning Inspector; and

(f)        believes that it is of the upmost importance that Sheffield gets the right plan to build homes in sustainable locations by maximising the use of brownfield sites and avoiding development of Green Belt land and it would be foolish to publish a plan to meet a government target that does not deliver these objectives and, therefore, due to the emerging work it is not envisaged that any consultation or plans will be ready for several months and confirms that an updated timetable will be published shortly outlining updated timescales taking into account the current work that is being undertaken.

8.3

It was then moved by Councillor Bob McCann, seconded by Councillor Kevin Oxley, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of new paragraphs (k) to (p) as follows:-

(k)        notes that Owlthorpe Fields has been marketed to sell to developers and 500 houses are set to be built;

(l)         notes that Sheffield City Council promised to build a loop road to connect the area to Sheffield Road, the road has never been delivered and congestion in the area has increased further;

(m)      notes that 900 people signed a petition opposing the new development and wants the area to be left as an area for wildlife including bats and rare species of birds;

(n)       believes it is not necessary to build houses on an area which is so well used by the local community, including dog walkers, walking groups and young people playing sports, when there are many brownfield sites that could be used for housing;

(o)       believes this is another example of this Labour council not listening to local people and there has been no meaningful public consultation on selling off the fields; and

(p)       believes without publication of the Sheffield Local Plan more of our green spaces will fall victim to developers who currently see Sheffield as a ‘free for all’.

8.4

It was then formally moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson, and formally seconded by Councillor Peter Garbutt, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the insertion after paragraph (f) of new paragraphs (g) and (h) as follows, and the re-lettering of remaining paragraphs accordingly:-

(g)       notes that the effective deployment of concentrated housing, with transport and environmental infrastructure, in the city, are critical means to address the climate emergency but bring into play the need for the most careful balance of the needs of different groups of residents and businesses;

(h)       regrets that this Administration voted against carrying out a review of supply and demand of student accommodation;

8.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Bob Johnson was put to the vote and was carried.

8.6

The amendment moved by Councillor Bob McCann was then put to the vote and was negatived.

8.6.1

The votes on the amendment were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

(Note: The recorded vote above incorporates the alterations made at the meeting of the Council held on 3^rd July 2019 when approving the minutes of its meeting on 12^th June.)

8.7

The amendment moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson was then put to the vote and was carried, except for paragraph (h) of the amendment, which was negatived.

8.8

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

8.8.1

The votes on the Substantive Motion were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

(Note: The recorded vote above incorporates the alterations made at the meeting of the Council held on 3^rd July 2019 when approving the minutes of its meeting on 12^th June.)