Badgers & Skylarks; Chapeltown Green Belt Hearing

On Thursday 2nd October 2025, planning inspectors hosted a Stage 4 hearing to discuss the Sheffield Local Plan in regards to building on green belt in the Chapeltown area of Sheffield. This was the fourth hearing of the week, with the first two days covering general matters such as whether communication about the plan was adequate, and site selection considerations. It follows an emotional third day when Mr and Mrs Riddle spoke of their love of, and desire to retain Townend Farm (which is located on a site proposed for development between neighbouring Grenoside and Ecclesfield).

The Chapeltown hearing discussed plans to build 549 homes on a green site bordering Chapeltown Road and Nether Lane (site CH05), referred to locally as "Strawberry Fields". Speakers from CEG (Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, and Grenoside) Community Action Group argued that this would merge Ecclesfield and Chapeltown, contributing to urban sprawl (noting that Chapeltown is a separate town).

Who Attended The Chapeltown Green Belt Hearing?

The hearing was hosted by David Troy, Planning Inspector, with speaking contributions from Sheffield City Council, the CEG Community Action Group, Contsanze Bell (Legal representative for CEG), Ecclesfield Parish Council, Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, Liberal Councillor Mike Levery, and representatives from developers hoping to develop on the land (Read about the Rula Developments plans here).

Mrs Adele Riddle of Townend Farm was in attendance as area CH05 is agricultural land farmed by the Riddles, along with the Acasters.

Heritage, Landscapes, Badgers & Skylarks

Mrs Jo Tunstall, of CEG Community Action Group (CEG), explained that the site CH05 (Strawberry Fields) hosts a Grade 2 farmstead and the land ties in with that farmstead. She commented that the green belt scoring assigned by the Council had been calculated incorrectly and should be 17, placing it as the highest among all the proposed green belt sites in the Local Plan, and higher than some sites that had been rejected.

Mrs Tunstall later explained that Skylarks nest on the site and that over the last two months the group had been monitoring the land with cameras, finding entertaining evidence of resident badgers. (Skylarks are a protected species in the UK and badgers are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992).

"As a community group we have also invested in wildlife cameras... which we have had on for the last two months. There is evidence of badgers. They like to make an appearance and are quite entertaining on the camera. We have also had the South Yorkshire Badger Group out to validate that that's the case - and we've got a written statement from them that badgers are present on that site."

Mrs Davidson of Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and Ecclesfield Parish Council stated that it was irresponsible to not first conduct a thorough ecological report before allocation of sites is decided, and stated that this applied to all green belt sites in the plan.

Skylarks are protected species in the UK

Traffic and Ecclesfield School

Multiple comments were made by those opposing the developments regarding traffic congestion, which is "horrendous" on Chapeltown Road. Ms Travis, Chair of CEG read out a letter from the Headteacher of Ecclesfield School, which lies across the road from the site. An excerpt is below. You can listen to the entire letter by skipping to 1 hour 16 minutes here.

"We are talking about the destruction of vital green belt land that serves as a safe route for our students, a sanctuary for wildlife, and a buffer against the pollution of urban life.....The proposed development threatens to erase this space, replacing it with years of construction disruption and permanent environment degradation and pollution.... I dread to think what the impact will be of increased congestion on this road, with the school roll about to increase to over 2,000 in the next five years...... It is a matter of public responsibility. The green belt is meant to be protected.....There are brownfield sites across Sheffield that could be developed, without compromising the well-being of our students or the integrity of our local environment."

Industrial Development Plans On Green Belt in Chapeltown

Plans to build commercial "employment units" on three green belt sites in the Chapeltown area were also discussed in details (CH03, CH04, and NES36).

A key point made by the CEG Community Action Group throughout the day was that there are numerous commercial units in the Chapeltown area that have been vacant and up for rent for years, stressing there was no need for further "employment" sites. Mrs Tunstall described the amount of vacant sites as totalling "hundreds of thousands of square footage".

Mr Ash of CEG spoke of the impact on residents of Warren Lane, many of whom are elderly and vulnerable, with regards to plans to build an industrial site in this location. Use of Hesley Wood as a central location for Scouts and Guides was also highlighted in the discussion.

Watch the Chapeltown Green Belt Hearing

Many of the documents referred to at the hearing are available here. The agenda for the Chapeltown hearing can be found here. You can watch the entire hearing below.

Donate to Support the Campaign to Save the Green Belt in Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, & Grenoside

The CEG Community Action Group urgently need your support to fund legal advice and representation, independent technical reports (on transport, flooding, ecolofy, heritage and more), and to collate expert evidence. You can make a donation to support the campaign here.