'˜We're steaming' say residents over plans for up to 500 homes on former farmland in Sheffield

Almost eight hectares of greenfield land at Moorthorpe Way, in Owlthorpe, Mosborough, went on the market this week, with a November deadline for offers for the first tranche.

The council's sales brochure says the vacant plot, which lies close to the Donetsk Way Supertram stop, is understand to have been farmland but has been earmarked for housing development since the 60s.

It describes how planning policy recommends 40-60 dwellings per hectare, meaning between 314 and 471 homes could be built on the land surrounding Owlthorpe Surgery.

Residents say they are '˜steaming' over the housing plans because they claim local roads are frequently gridlocked and cannot handle any more traffic.

Ken Crowder, of Owlthorpe Community Forum, claimed the original plan was to complete the Moorthorpe Way loop road so cars could access new homes off Sheffield Road rather than via Donetsk Way and Moss Way.

But the brochure states that the Highways Authority considers this is '˜ not essential' to enable development of the land in question.

Mr Crowder said: 'We're steaming because they're doing this without any thought whatsoever about the road network round here, which can't take any more traffic.

'The traffic round Crystal Peaks, Drakehouse Retail Park and the Asda is terrible. At certain times of the day it's gridlocked.

'The original plan was to link up the two ends of Moorthorpe Way through the woodland, providing access via Sheffield Road, but that proved too expensive and no developer's going to be prepared to pay.

'So they're going to take our green space and leave us with horrendous traffic, which will hold up the trams.

'Before anything goes ahead there has to be a proper analysis of the infrastructure.'

The sales brochure states: 'It forms the first of a new phase of land to be released for housing development in Owlthorpe and presents an exciting opportunity for a high quality development, building on that already established by the nearby Woodland Heights development.'

It claims Moorthorpe Way was built to serve a larger development but only the homes at Woodland Heights were completed, with the '˜over-designed' roundabouts illustrating the '˜unrealised intention' to provide more homes.

Mostly two-bed homes, with a smaller amount of three and four-bed properties, are recommended for the land, with 10 per cent required to be affordable housing and the remainder expected to be available for shared ownership.

The plot is split into three segments and offers for the first section, measuring 3.35 hectares, along with any expressions of interest in the other two tranches, must be made by midday on November 2.

You can view the sales brochure here.