Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones star Sean Bean has been lauded as a local hero as he spearheads a campaign to protect greenbelt land from a local council’s development plans
Sean Bean has become a local hero after taking over “valiant and impassioned campaign” to save greenbelt land from development plans after the original campaign leader tragically died.
The Game of Thrones star, 66, has joined forces with other local residents of Handsworth, Sheffield, as part of the ‘Save S13 Greenbelt – The Sapphire McCarthy campaign’. Together, they seek to halt the plans of the local council to build 1638 homes in two areas of greenbelt land.
Sapphire launched the campaign after fearing the proposed scheme would ruin her “dream views”. After the mother of two sadly died, aged 39, Sean paid tribute to her and praised the “valiant and impassioned campaign”.
The campaigners are arguing that the additional houses would harm public health by increasing pollution and overwhelm local infrastructure, as this is already failing to meet demands, as they claim a major development in the near by area of Waverley has already put health services and schools at breaking point.
Sean praised the community’s efforts and unity after they raised £10,000 for help with challenging the housing plans. He said, according to the Daily Mail: “It is incredible that within four months we have come up with barristers, planning consultants, hundreds of objections and with no help from the council – the only help has been from MP Clive Betts.
“We have got 4,000 signatures on a petition so it is incredible how the residents have brought themselves together and how they have managed to get all this armour around them in such a short space of time and shows they mean business – we mean business – we are not letting it go like that. We are not going to stop and we will see this through.”
He added that the green areas earmarked for development play an important role in the mental health of residents and remarked on his own love for the greenbelt throughout his childhood.
The actor shared: “The greenbelt means a lot to me as I grew up around that area and so did all my friends and families from the area that was the hub and the centre of the area where we explored the countryside and had a laugh and played games. It is the only bit of greenery around that area so it was a magnet for kids growing up and seeing wildlife – it has for many years served the community of Handsworth and surrounding areas. It would be devastating if we lost it.
“You have to have greenery, it’s a calming influence and good for you health and good for your mind – if you haven’t got that space around you mentally and psychologically it is damaging not to have that around you because you become insular and blinkered and very claustrophobic.”
“Its common land is the people’s land,” Sean continued. “The council owns it but what are they going to do – just flog it and keep the money? It will then be gone – they will have a bit of the money in the pockets and we have nothing.” He likened the area to Central Park in New York and Wimbledon Common in London – both of which are recognised for their mental and physical health benefits.
Another campaigner, Cheryl Hague, said: “We are delighted to have Sean’s support on this crucial campaign and will carry on this fight with the planning inspector meetings which will be held next week.”
Sheffield City Council voted through the housing development plans in May and it is now up to the Government’s Planning Inspectors to decide if those plans are fair and robust. A decision will be made in a hearing on Monday (29 September). The Labour government have pledged to build 1.5 million homes.
According to the latest official statistics, homelessness in England is at a record high, with the number of rough sleepers increasing by 20% in just a year. Analysis from the Financial Times showed that one in every 200 households in the UK is experiencing homelessness, placing this country at the top of the global league of table for highest rate of homelessness.
The government also pledged to prioritise social and affordable housing plans, and promised to build 300,000 homes as part of what former housing secretary Angela Rayner called the “social rent revolution”. Social housing schemes are designed to build properties that can help alleviate homelessness by ensuring such housing is genuinely affordable and linked to local incomes.
It is unknown if the S13 greenbelt developments are part of this pledge, but the council are part of a coalition calling for a “green and decent homes programme”. In May, they said the coalition believes England’s council housing needs to be modernised and more funding for new council homes should be put in place.
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