Townend Farm Green Belt Hearing

As part of the Sheffield Local Plan, Sheffield City Council has proposed allocating a tenanted, working farm within Sheffield's green belt for development.

On Wednesday 1st October, planning inspectors hosted a stage 4 hearing to discuss plans to build 609 homes, a SEND school, and a multi-faith burial ground on the site of Townend Farm, S35. This is referred to as site NES37 within the Sheffield Local Plan.

The land in question lies between Creswick Lane and Wheel Lane on the borders of Grenoside and Ecclesfield, in very close proximity to Parson Cross (S5).

Thousands of written objections were submitted to oppose the plans, and the planning inspectors will take the contents of these objections into consideration alongside the evidence presented at the hearings.

Who Contributed to the Townend Farm Green Belt Hearing?

The hearing regarding site NES37 (Townend Farm) was hosted by planning inspector Katie Child and attended by representatives from Sheffield City Council, Carter Jones (acting as legal representative for Sheffield City Council as the landowner), Limes Developments, CEG (Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, and Grenoside) Community Action Group (including legal representative Constanze Bell), Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, Ecclesfield Parish Council, and Liberal Democrat Councillor Mike Levery. A couple of local residents also attended as contributors in addition to long-term tenants of Townend Farm, Mr and Mrs Riddle.

Topics Raised at the Townend Farm Hearing & How to Watch It

You can watch the hearing in its entirety here. Many documents are referenced in the hearing, most of which can be found via this link. The day's agenda can be found here.

Highlights of the Townend Farm Green Belt Hearing

The hearing ran for a number of hours, so it is not practical to cover every detail here. Many valid points were raised with regards to increased traffic, infrastructure, flood risk, and the value of natural green space in the area. I have highlighted some other key quotes and points below, which may be of general interest.

The Contribution of Townend Farm to The Local Community

Townend Farm is a working farm and it also hosts a cattery and livery. Mrs Riddle highlighted how the local community benefits from the farm and the support she has received from local residents:

"We host the Brownies, the Scouts, the Guides. We have the preschool children from Stepping Stones Nursery. When our children were at Ecclesfield Primary School, we used to have children come and look around the farm.... We supply milk and eggs to the local community, especially to elderly residents up the road.... And all the local children are always welcome and we always see them on the footpaths through the farm."

"We greatly appreciate the community spirit in the village. We absolutely love our house and farm...... That community spirit has been absolutely marvellous. I have been inundated with cards, flowers, bottles of wine, cakes. You name it, it has come to my door since April, when we first found out about this. We have had phone calls and fantastic messages of support from the local community."

"The local young farmers club come and do their training on the farm.... It also produces food, and we like to show local children where the food comes from.. so they can see where beef, eggs, and milk come from."

Skip to 2 hours 32 minutes to view Mrs Riddle speak here.

Ownership & Tenancy of Townend Farm

The owner of the green belt land proposed for development is Sheffield City Council. Tenants of Townend Farm, Mr and Mrs Riddle were not notified directly by Sheffield City Council that their farm was included in the Sheffield Local Plan.

Legal representation for Sheffield City Council stated there was a break clause. Constanze Bell, the legal representative for CEG Community Action Group, responded:

"...[Townend Farm] have a lifetime tennancy plus two generations so that would be three generations in total... and their understanding and expection is that they will enjoy the full currency of that lifetime tennancy and they have made considerable efforts to plan and manage their farm on that basis, investing considerable sums in the upkeep of the farm, which when they first took it on, was derelict. And if it really is the council's intention to serve notice, that should be clarified at the soonest opportunity so that they can take the detailed legal advice they need. But that is not something that would happen without a fight, and certainly from what I have seen, there is every reason to think that the Riddles would prevail in any private law arguement that might ensue..... I think the fundamental point for your consideration, ma'am, is that the council has the burden of demonstration that this site is deliverable. It has a lifetime tenancy plus two generations. It is being actively farmed by a tenant who does not want to relinquish that tenancy.... and who has invested significant expense in this property. And as such, there is absolutely no basis for the council to try and contend at present that this is an available and deliverable site. And certainly not on the basis that they have put out in their representations (a lead-in of seven years and a build-out over 6 years, that is fundamentally at odds with the lifetime tenancy). Of course, if steps were taken to evict them, there would be a distinct legal process there as well."

Carter Jones (representing Sheffield City Council as landowners) stated they do not have the details regarding the tenancy with them today and said the Statement of Common Ground would show that the plan is deliverable if the farmhouse is excluded. In reaction to this, Constanze Bell said:

"... It is frustrating that this [statement of common ground] isn't available before today, not least of all because... my client has paid for me to be here on the expectation that these matters will be thoroughly discussed. But also because we are in a position here, ma'am, where the council is acting both as promotor of this plan, and as landowner. And in my submission, that does place on them ownerous obligations to act fairly and reasonably, and holding back information of this significance is unfair."

Whether the site is deliverable or not is a key aspect of whether this land is approved as a site allocation for development. Skip to 4 hours 15 minutes onwards to see this aspect of the discussion here.

Urban Sprawl & Green Belt Site NES37 (Townend Farm)

The primary purpose of green belt land is to prevent urban sprawl. Plans to build on green belt surrounding Grenoside include sites NES37, NES38, and NES38 (more details here). Building on these sites would merge Grenoside with Ecclesfield and Fox Hill, connecting the village of Grenoside with the wider urban area of Sheffield.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) refers to grey belt as “For the purposes of plan-making and decision-making, ‘grey belt’ is defined as land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and/or any other land that, in either case, does not strongly contribute to any of purposes (a), (b), or (d) in paragraph 143. ‘Grey belt’ excludes land where the application of the policies relating to the areas or assets in footnote 7 (other than Green Belt) would provide a strong reason for refusing or restricting development.”

Paragraph 143 of the NPPF states that green belt serves five purposes:

1. to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;

2. to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;

3. to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;

4. to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and

5. to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.

At the hearing contributors against the plans argued that NES37 serves multiple purposes, including preventing urban sprawl. Read more about this aspect of the discussion re: urban sprawl, and whether Grenoside is a historic village or just another suburb of Sheffield here.

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

The CEG Community Action Group is a group of local volunteers who have come together to try and save the green belt in Grenoside, Ecclesfield, and Chapeltown. They 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. It is very possible that the stage 4 hearings are not the end of this fight, and further action will be needed. You can make a donation to support the campaign here.

Watch the Townend Farm Hearing