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In case you missed it<\/strong><\/p>\n On Wednesday, Victoria took another look at a story published by The Star earlier this year about a prowler terrorising Ecclesall Road. In the piece<\/a>, she questioned whether social media and the desire to \u201craise awareness\u201d has earned the prowler an outsized reputation he doesn\u2019t deserve.<\/p>\n Later in the week, Dan traipsed around the rural surroundings of the Rother Valley, where, if plans are approved, the biggest solar farm in the UK<\/a> will be built, covering 3,500 acres and producing power for 250,000 homes. However, many locals in the villages of Harthill and Kiveton Park are unhappy with the plans, arguing they will destroy the countryside and won\u2019t directly benefit their community. The piece sparked a lively debate in the comments section<\/a>.<\/p>\n And over the weekend<\/a>, Mollie met Sheffield\u2019s longstanding Yemeni community, to understand why thousands of people from the sun-drenched villages of Aden and Yafa\u2019a chose to stay in the Steel City after the mass industrial layoffs that forced many Yemeni steelworkers into redundancy. \u201cExcellent article,\u201d wrote Tribune reader Jim Coleman. \u201cEspecially important at this time when immigrants and the value they bring to the UK economically and culturally is being challenged.\u201d Thanks for all your lovely comments on the piece.<\/p>\n As always, you\u2019ll need to be a paying member of The Tribune if you want to read all of these stories. Stories like this take a lot of work and the way we fund that work is from the subscriptions from our more than 2,800 paying members. If you\u2019re not a member already and you\u2019d like to support the renaissance of this kind of journalism, join up today. Small outfits like ours need strong financial backing, not least when we\u2019re reporting on organisations that can hire expensive lawyers. Right now, it\u2019s just \u00a34.95 a month for your first three months \u2013 that\u2019s just \u00a31.23 a week.<\/p>\n The big picture: Old and new \ud83c\udf06<\/strong> We love this photo of Sheffield old and new by top Instagram snapper Anita Ku\u0107ma<\/a>. The newly-refurbished Old Queens Head is the oldest surviving domestic building in the city.<\/p>\n The big story: The debate over Sheffield\u2019s Green Belt is finally over. Or is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Top line: <\/strong>Last Friday, the council\u2019s lengthy consultation process on which parts of the green belt it should allow developers to build on came to an end. The decision to chip away at any of the city\u2019s protected green space has been hugely controversial but the council has long insisted that it has no other choice if it wants to meet its government-mandated target for new homes. However, if the idea was to put this issue to bed, it\u2019s fallen far short \u2014 and whether the plan will meet the government\u2019s approval remains an open question.<\/p>\n Do the numbers add up? <\/strong>Sheffield\u2019s draft Local Plan aims to set out where in the city developers will be allowed to build from now until 2039. However, according to the government, any Local Plan worth the paper it’s written on must prove it sets out enough available land to meet the area\u2019s housing target for the next five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n The initial draft the council produced, before it started chipping away at the green belt, failed to clear this hurdle; if followed to the letter, it only set out sites for the first 4.3 years. After adding on the green belt sites, things looked slightly better, but not that much. This second draft only showed Sheffield could meet its target for 4.41 years (link here<\/a>), as many of the green belt sites would need more than five years to get off the ground.<\/p>\n Step-by-step: <\/strong>Two weeks ago, the council proposed another way<\/a> of looking at things \u2014 they could underdeliver during the first five years of the plan, but then overdeliver in the following five. Describing this as a \u201cstepped housing trajectory\u201d, it would essentially short-cut the usual requirement for the sake of getting the plan actually done.<\/p>\n That seems to be in line with the government\u2019s thinking. In a letter from Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook to the Planning Inspectorate, he wrote that he welcomed \u201crecent pragmatic decisions to proceed toward adoption, in instances where a five-year housing land supply cannot be evidenced at the point of adoption but where the plan significantly boosts supply and still meets housing needs over the plan period\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wheel of fortune: <\/strong>But for Sheffield to clear this slightly lower bar, the council needs to get all the green belt sites it has added to the Local Plan approved \u2014 an outcome that is far from guaranteed.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the most important sites for hitting the council\u2019s housing target is \u201cThe Wheel\u201d, a 30 hectare site in Grenoside and Ecclesfield, where it reckons there is room for new 609 homes. The site is owned by the council, and currently let out to tenant farmers Mr and Mrs Riddle, who have been working the land for over four decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the farmers aren\u2019t willing to relinquish their land quietly. At the final session of the council\u2019s consultation on Friday, a lawyer representing the Chapeltown, Ecclesfield and Grenoside Community Action Group revealed that they had taken specialist agricultural legal advice, which had \u201cunequivocally confirmed\u201d that the council\u2019s belief that they could be evicted with three months\u2019 notice was incorrect. \u201cAny attempt to remove them would require a long and complex legal process with multiple avenues of appeal, each of which would take years, well beyond the local plan period,\u201d he added. “There are still big question marks over the availability of that site,\u201d a senior figure in the city\u2019s planning community told The Tribune.<\/p>\n If that site has to drop out of the plan, it would leave the council with a huge gap in its sums.<\/p>\n Have a rummage down the back of the sofa: <\/strong>The Planning Inspector, Katie Childs, has taken the unusual step of asking the council to pull together a detailed overview of other green belt sites it previously rejected over the summer, just in case. The council has pulled together a list<\/a>, including Oakes Park in Norton and Ryecroft Farm in Dore.<\/p>\n While the council stresses that \u201cnone of the sites listed\u2026 are proposed for allocation\u201d, the fact that the Inspector has asked to see them suggests she might be wondering if any of them could be put forward if other sites prove impossible. So far, however, none of these sites have yet been earmarked for anything.<\/p>\n What happens now? <\/strong>\u201cThe inspector has a really difficult decision\u201d, a planning source told The Tribune. She could decide that the plan doesn\u2019t hit the needed targets, the added green belt sites are risky and unlikely to make up the gap, and thus throw the whole thing out. That would leave Sheffield still using its last plan from 2009, and years\u2019 more work needed to pull a new plan together.<\/p>\n Or, she could take the hint from the housing minister and push it through anyway, despite the risk that the city won\u2019t get the housing it needs.<\/p>\n And finally, she could try to find another way through by choosing some previously rejected green belt sites and trying to get them incorporated into the plan. While some of these sites were rejected due to \u201cfundamental constraints\u201d, others weren\u2019t considered because they were submitted too late. The council\u2019s assessment of some of them is damning, but others (such as a site just south of Fulwood Road in Fulwood) get a more positive write-up. But this would all add yet more time to the process, as another round of consultation would be needed on any extra green belt sites.<\/p>\n Gruelling encounters: <\/strong>If there is a reopening of the consultation, then spare a thought for those working on all of this. The Tribune understands that officers in the planning department have found the last few months incredibly intense due to the volume of work and strength of public feeling around the green belt.<\/p>\n Bottom line: <\/strong>Has anywhere else in the country gone through as tortured a local plan process as Sheffield? If so, we\u2019d love to see it. The council hoped that by finally grasping the nettle and admitting the need to build on green belt, they might have found a way through. But with one of its biggest green belt sites looking iffy, threats of legal action in the air and the Inspector asking to look at other green belt sites, we\u2019re going to be in local plan limbo for some time yet.<\/p>\n Your Tribune briefing \ud83d\uddde\ufe0f<\/strong><\/p>\n Sheffield derby \u26bd <\/strong>Over the weekend, there was another disappointment for the city\u2019s infamously embattled club, after the Owls lost 3-0 in the Sheffield derby<\/a>. Blades manager Chris Wilder was keen to be a gracious winner, insisting it was a \u201creally competitive\u201d match. \u201cI\u2019m not going to be greedy. It\u2019s not a time to unbelievably shout about our performance,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s no wind-up, it\u2019s no spin regarding the situation the opposition players and the management have been in.\u201d The Owls last bested their local rivals in February 2012 and are anxiously waiting to find out who will take over from previous owner Dejphon Chansiri, with administrators hopeful they will have a buyer lined up by 5th December.<\/p>\n Committee system safe \ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f <\/strong>Sheffield council will be allowed to keep its more egalitarian committee system \u2014 at least for now<\/a>. In a referendum four years ago, 65% of local voters backed plans to share power more equally among the city\u2019s 84 councillors and three main political parties, rather than concentrating it in a cabinet picked by the council leader. The vote, triggered by the It\u2019s Our City! campaign, was largely a response to the street tree scandal and the perception that the cabinet system had allowed a \u201cbunker mentality\u201d to take root. Earlier this year, the Labour government announced plans to scrap committee systems, arguing they are \u201cunclear, duplicative, and wasteful,\u201d but last week local government minister Steve Reed partially backtracked, suggesting councils that have adopted the committee system will be able to keep it for up to ten years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Support for struggling mothers \ud83d\udc76 <\/strong>A local charity has created a new project to house and support mothers who have lost custody of their children<\/a> or are in danger of having them taken into care. Growth, run by Target Housing, is now providing a home, mental health support and a case worker for a dozen mothers who have been victims of domestic abuse, after receiving 60 referrals for the new scheme. Amy (not her real name) helped Target Housing to design the pilot using her own lived experience, which included losing custody of her newborn baby during the pandemic and only being able to see the child via videocalls. Since moving to South Yorkshire, she was able to turn her life around \u2014 including by taking parenting classes in Sheffield \u2014 and is now raising her third child herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n Charity trek \u26f0\ufe0f <\/strong>Do you want to help a Sheffield charity and pick up a unique Christmas present? If so, there are still a few days left to bid on an auction in aid of Roundabout youth homelessness charity<\/a>. The auction has been organised by Sheffield entrepreneur James O\u2019Hara, who, along with some friends, is going to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in February 2026. Items available include Arctic Monkeys albums and posters signed by the band themselves, Pete McKee and Conor Rogers prints, signed football shirts and a meal for four at top Nether Edge restaurant Bench, plus many more. Every penny you spend will go directly to Roundabout, a charity which provides vital shelter and support to more than 380 young people in Sheffield every day. The auction ends on Saturday. Happy bidding!<\/p>\n The Tribune is best in your inbox. Never miss an edition and hear from us as soon as we publish. Just sign up for free by clicking below.<\/p>\n The weekly Whitworth \u270d\ufe0f<\/strong> Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the news that the biggest solar farm in the UK<\/a> could soon be built in rural South Yorkshire.<\/p>\n Thanks for reading The Tribune and supporting our work. The only reason we\u2019ve been able to dedicate so much time and energy to the Andrew Milne story is because of our paying members. Currently, The Tribune is roughly 120 members short of hitting 3,000 paying subscribers \u2014 a huge milestone for us and something we\u2019re immensely proud of. Journalism like this isn\u2019t cheap to produce, frankly, but we think it\u2019s surely worthwhile.\u00a0<\/p>\n And there\u2019s no better time to sign up. If you join today you can get your Tribune subscription for \u00a34.95 a month for your first three months thanks to our introductory offer. What\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n Property of the week \ud83c\udfe1<\/strong> Looking for a set for your next horror film? Then look no further, as the beautiful-on-the-outside-completely-decrepit-on-the-inside Old Town Hall is on the market, and auction day is on Wednesday (guide price: \u00a3500,000<\/a>). You\u2019ll be netting yourself an incredible piece of Sheffield\u2019s heritage \u2014 and a hefty bill for repairs. We wish we could say it\u2019s had one careful owner, but we\u2019re not sure we can<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n Things to do \ud83d\udcc6<\/strong><\/p>\n Theatre <\/strong>\ud83c\udfad Starting on Tuesday at the Lyceum, spend an evening in England\u2019s deadliest county as Midsomer Murders<\/a> comes to the stage. When spinster Emily Simpson is found dead in the picturesque village of Badger\u2019s Drift, her friend Lucy Bellringer refuses to accept it was an accident. The classic whodunnit features eccentric villagers, shocking twists and an unforgettable reveal. Tickets are priced \u00a315-\u00a350 and the show runs until Saturday.<\/p>\n Talk<\/strong> \ud83d\udcac<\/strong> On Wednesday, join artist and writer Anthony Padgett at Western Bank Library to hear about Pablo Picasso\u2019s<\/a> visit to Sheffield for the World Peace Congress in 1950. Padgett, who is the artist behind the Boy with Dove statue that was unveiled in Weston Park earlier this year, will delve into the history of the visit, covering the Spanish Civil War, Picasso’s painting Guernica, and his peace activism. The 45-minute talk is free and starts at 1pm.<\/p>\n Music <\/strong>\ud83c\udfb8 Formed in 1992 from the ashes of The La\u2019s and Shack, Cast<\/a> were a big part of 90s Britpop scene, scoring ten top 10 hits with songs like Sandstorm and Walkaway. After reforming in 2012, they have since gone on to release new music, and have been going down a storm on their recent support slots on Oasis\u2019s reunion tour. They play the Foundry (Sheffield Students\u2019 Union) on Thursday. Tickets are priced \u00a335 and doors open at 7.30pm.<\/p>\n If someone forwarded you this newsletter, <\/strong>click here to sign up<\/strong><\/a> to get quality local journalism in your inbox.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to sponsor editions of The Tribune and reach over 30,000 readers, you can get in touch<\/a> or visit our advertising page below for more information<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Artboard-1--8-.jpg\")
Original illustration for The Tribune by Jake Greenhalgh (solar panels not to scale!)<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-09-at-16.43.23.jpeg\")
A view of The Wheel site in Grenoside. Photo: Dan Hayes\/The Tribune.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Green-belt-map-1.jpg\")
A map of Sheffield’s green belt (in green) and the 14 sites (in blue) that were proposed for release earlier this year. Sources: Open Street Map; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; Office for National Statistics; Sheffield City Council.<\/p>\n
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