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And finally… a Stark warning

17 July 2025 15:35 Sally Gibson Comments (0)

Hollywood actor and Sheffield native Sean Bean has waded into a debate about the council’s shortlisted proposals for 1,700 homes on Green Belt land in the Handsworth area where he grew up.

Sheffield City Council was tasked with finding space for 3,500 more homes to add to its Local Plan, and back in April it released its shortlist of possible options.

The council believes it has exhausted its brownfield options.

Addressing the council via a letter, the actor, famous for his portrayal of Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, expressed concern that the proposals unfairly discriminate against working-class communities.

He wrote: “It seems like this working-class community and its surrounding areas has been specifically targeted, whilst other more affluent, genteel areas on the other side of Sheffield have escaped lightly.

“The council see us as second-class citizens who will just have to put up with it.

“That‘s pretty shocking and casts a dark shadow of apparent prejudice on the city planners and representatives.”

He also wrote about how the nature available to him as a child helped to shape his life: “Handsworth was my childhood home, my playground.

“Its woods and fields, its natural beauty were cherished and treasured by us all…

“It was the structure and inspiration that guided me to a life of opportunity and, along with its brilliant and generous community, gave me the chance to pursue a career I never thought possible…

“Please don’t deny the new generations of Handsworth the same opportunity I had, please reconsider these plans and proposals and stop this unnecessary marring of our area and its landscape.”

For now, it seems the actor is asking the council to ‘hold the door’ on further development.

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Orgreave Park developer submits EIA assessment

12 August 2026 16:07 Sally Gibson

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Join us on 10 September at the South Yorkshire Development Update to hear directly from all four councils and the combined authority on their priorities and pipelines, as well as panel discussions on the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and regeneration across the region’s cities and towns.

And finally… a Stark warning

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