Cabinet to debate changing Sheffield’s boundary to add huge housing development

Developers are building 284 homes on the boundary between Sheffield and Barnsley at Oughtibridge Paper Mill, Langsett Road North.

The development is a mix of three and four bed family housing, and before Covid-19 the developer estimated the first homes would be occupied in January 2021.

It was first granted planning approval in October 2016 but four years later the tricky question remains as to which local authority it will fall under.

Geographically, 70 percent of the new homes will fall within Barnsley’s boundary at current, but there is no road connection to the rest of Barnsley without a long detour through Sheffield.

Other issues under consideration are voting and democracy, bin collections, schools, council tax, libraries, doctor’s surgeries, contributing towards housing targets and many other services.

In a Sheffield Council report ahead of a cabinet meeting next week, officers said: “A review of the local authority boundary at Oughtibridge Mill is the only approach that will solve questions around effective service delivery and democratic representation for both the local authorities and the parish council. The intended outcome is that the whole development is brought within the Sheffield boundary.”

Officers added: “Were no action to be taken, the default position is that there would be a profusion of different arrangements for different services. This is likely to be confusing for residents in the development, be unnecessarilycomplicated to administer, require frequent review and, as a result, notbe conducive to effective local government.”

For a boundary review to take place a number of things must happen, including that all local authorities affected must agree to request that a review be conducted by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Following the review, the LGBCE send their recommendations to thesecretary of state for consideration.

The review itself is expected to take around six months, but the LGBCE advised it could overall take around 15 months.

Officers estimated that it would provide an additional £478,000 per year in council tax, compared to £143,500 for the properties currently on the Sheffield side of the boundary.

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