How to submit a response to the Local Plan Consultation

Introduction

Anyone wishing to object to the proposed allocation sites to the Green Belt should submit their comments and representations during the 6-week public consultation starting on Thursday 29th May 2025 until Friday 11th July 2025.

Where and how?

Responses can be submitted from Thursday 29^th of May until Friday 11^th of July via the following methods will be sent to the Inspectors for consideration:

Using the Council’s online consultation portal (Have Your Say Sheffield)
Submitting email representations to sheffieldplan@sheffield.gov.uk
Submit written representations or letters to the Council

It is important to note that representations sent after the consultation period will be marked as late and may risk not being taken into account by the Inspectors.

What happens once my response is submitted?

All representations received during the 6-week consultation period will be passed to the Inspectors for them to consider – they would not come back to the Council for a decision at that point in the process. It would be for the Inspectors to decide whether to recommend allocation of the sites.

What are the next steps in the process after the consultation is finished?

Anyone seeking changes to the proposals and who has submitted a response during the consultation period will have a right to submit evidence and/or appear at the public hearings in the autumn which are expected to commence in the week commencing 29th September. However, objectors will be contacted before then by the Examination Programme Officer to ask them if they wish to submit written evidence or appear in person at the hearings. A deadline will be set by the Inspectors for submitting written statements. The Inspectors will use the representations and written statements to set agendas for the Examination hearings.

How should I write my response?

The Inspectors will want to see evidence to justify any objections that are made – there need to be valid planning reasons for rejecting the proposals. Areas of potential challenge would therefore be in relation to things such as the environmental impact, traffic, infrastructure provision or economic viability.

Legal Compliance

You should consider the following before making a representation on legal compliance:

The plan should be included in the Council’s Local Development Scheme (LDS) and the key stages set out in the LDS should have been followed. The LDS sets out the key stages in the Plan.
The process of community involvement for the Plan should also be in general accordance with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), which sets out the strategy for involving the community in the preparation and revision of the Plan.
A Sustainability Appraisal should identify the process by which the Council will help to achieve relevant environmental, economic and social objectives.
The Plan should comply with all other relevant requirements of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, as amended (the Regulations).

Soundness

Comments submitted should also aim to include why a particular proposal or site is not considered ‘positively prepared’, ‘justified’, ‘effective’ or "consistent with national policy" (those found in the December 2023 National Planning Policy Framework - NPPF). Please see definitions and a brief explanation in the table below. The Inspectors will decide based on the above tests of Soundness on the proposals and allocated sites. It is important to keep comments to the point as much as possible.

Test of Soundness	Brief Explanation
Positively Prepared: the Local Plan is based on a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed development and infrastructure requirements	This means that the Local Plan should be based on a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed development and infrastructure requirements, and consistent with achieving sustainable development. The NPPF, together with the Marine Policy Statement (MPS) set out principles through which the Government expects sustainable development can be achieved.
Justified: the most appropriate strategy when considered against the reasonable alternatives, based on proportionate evidence	This means that the Local Plan should be based on a robust and credible evidence base involving: Research/fact finding: the choices made in the plan are backed up by facts. Evidence of participation of the local community and others having a stake in the area; and The Local Plan should also provide the most appropriate strategy when considered against reasonable alternatives. These alternatives should be realistic and subject to sustainability appraisal. The Local Plan should show how the policies and proposals help to ensure that the social, environmental, economic and resource use objectives of sustainability will be achieved.
Effective: The Local Plan is deliverable over its period based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic priorities	This means the Local Plan should be deliverable, requiring evidence of: Sound infrastructure delivery planning; Having no regulatory or national planning barriers to delivery; Delivery partners who are signed up to it; and Coherence with the strategies of neighbouring authorities, including neighbouring marine planning authorities. The Local Plan should be flexible and able to be monitored. The Local Plan should indicate who is to be responsible for making sure that the policies and proposals happen and when they will happen. The plan should be flexible to deal with changing circumstances, which may involve minor changes to respond to the outcome of the monitoring process or more significant changes to respond to problems such as lack of funding for major infrastructure proposals. Although it is important that policies are flexible, the Local Plan should make clear that major changes may require a formal review including public consultation. Any measures which the Council has included to make sure that targets are met should be clearly linked to an Annual Monitoring Report.
Consistent with national policy	This means that the Local Plan enables the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the NPPF.