Marie Tidball MP, the Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge, has called for a pause to the Sheffield Local Plan process, following new evidence raising serious questions about the proposed release of productive agricultural land and whether alternative sites for housing have been properly considered.
Marie has written to the Leader of Sheffield City Council, Councillor Fran Belbin, asking the Council to pause the Plan and request a pause to the independent examination by Planning Inspectors. The letter accompanies Marie's formal submission to the latest Further Main Modifications Consultation, which closed on Wednesday 28 October.
Since 2025, Marie has corresponded with more than 1,500 constituents about the Local Plan, hosted a public meeting attended by around 150 residents in Grenoside, and held advice surgeries and community meetings across the affected areas.
Throughout the examination, Marie has consistently supported the need for more homes in Sheffield, particularly social and affordable housing, while challenging the unfair distribution of proposed development and the pressure it would place on communities in the S35 area.
The call for a pause follows the publication of updated agricultural land assessments from Inspectors, as part of the Further Main Modifications consultation. The Council's new evidence indicates that seven of the nine Green Belt allocation parcels across Sheffield now assessed as likely to contain the highest-quality agricultural land are in Marie's constituency.
This includes Town End Farm in Ecclesfield, which Marie recently raised in Parliament on behalf of her constituent Adele Riddle. The farm is part of proposed allocation NES37, which would accommodate 592 homes. The updated assessment now identifies the land as likely to be among England's best and most versatile agricultural land, despite previously receiving a neutral assessment.
In her submission to the Further Main Modifications Consultation, Marie has called for Town End Farm and the two remaining Grenoside housing allocations, NES38 and NES39, to be removed from the Plan. Together, these sites are proposed to accommodate 928 homes.
Rather than reducing Sheffield's housing ambitions, Marie has proposed that these homes should instead be accommodated through identifying further appropriate urban and brownfield sites, including the Collegiate Campus, more efficient use of land already proposed for development, and increased housing density on transport routes, high streets and retail spaces.
Marie has also questioned whether Sheffield has made sufficient use of its existing urban areas, in particular sufficient use of long-term empty properties. The Council's Brownfield Register was last updated in December 2023, while the Local Plan's housing density assumptions are considerably lower than those adopted in some comparable cities.
In her letter to Councillor Belbin, Marie has called for an independent review of urban housing capacity and density, an updated Brownfield Register, and a full reconsideration of the proposed Green Belt allocations in light of the latest agricultural land evidence.
She has also requested greater transparency over the housing figures being presented to councillors and residents, particularly claims that Sheffield could be required to accommodate as many as 51,000 homes if the current Plan is not agreed.
Her submission to the consultation additionally seeks changes to protect agricultural land, strengthen safeguards for the Green Belt and wildlife at Hesley Wood, address outstanding concerns from residents about site CH03 at Warren Lane in Chapeltown, and ensure that new housing delivers the affordable homes local people need.
Marie Tidball MP said:
“I am calling for a pause to the Sheffield Local Plan process.
“I want Sheffield to build more homes, especially the social and affordable homes that local families desperately need. But I believe too many of the homes in this Plan are in the wrong places.
“The latest evidence shows that seven of the nine Green Belt parcels across Sheffield now assessed as likely to contain our best agricultural land are in my constituency. This includes Town End Farm, which I raised in Parliament last week. That new evidence cannot simply be acknowledged and then set aside.
“For more than a year, I've consistently argued for five practical changes: a fairer distribution of development across Sheffield; greater use of brownfield land and empty homes; bringing forward the old Collegiate Campus site; building more homes where better public transport can serve them; and easing the pressure on communities like Grenoside, Chapeltown and Ecclesfield.
“Now I'm adding a sixth: a pause to the process, so the new evidence can be properly considered, our urban housing capacity independently reviewed, and residents given clear answers about the numbers behind the Plan.
“I've listened to more than 1,500 constituents about these proposals, and I've heard time and again how worried people are about the loss of our countryside and the impact of new development on roads, schools and GP services.
“This isn't about stopping housebuilding. It's about getting the homes we need in the right places, with the transport and public services to support them, while protecting the productive farmland and countryside that make our communities special.
“I want to work constructively with Sheffield City Council, the Planning Inspectors and local residents to get this right. Our communities deserve a Local Plan that reflects the evidence and delivers the homes Sheffield needs with a fair distribution across the authority. That is what I will continue fighting for.”
Marie has asked Councillor Belbin to discuss her concerns and involve local residents' groups in further discussions about the Plan.
The Local Plan remains under examination by independent Planning Inspectors, who will consider representations to the Further Main Modifications consultation before completing their final report.
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