Campaigners battle for site rich with history
A group of people have called on developers to ditch their plans to build on land in Wincobank, arguing the site is ‘stepped in history’.
Since the 90s Wincobank Hill has been a piece of land that developers have been desperate to get their hands on. Situated on a stretch of land off Sandstone Drive, which campaigners believe lies on top of a Roman dyke, the site previously underwent work this month which saw trees and shrubs cleared, despite no formal plans being approved.
To understand how rare this move is, the land has previously had five different planning applications submitted to build on it and all were rejected.
Overall, Investates Developers had made planning applications to build houses on the site dating back to 1991. What’s more, further applications were made in 1995, 2003, 2012 and 2018 but each application was rejected by Sheffield City Council’s planning committee.
In 2018, the local authority refused the proposal on the grounds that ‘the proposed development may result in damage to a significant prehistoric archaeological site’.
Following this, the developer appealed against the decision, but this was dismissed by a government planning inspector.
The campaign group who have been fighting to preserve the land are called The Friends of Wincobank Hill and have been operating for more than 20 years.
Speaking to the BBC, who were the first to report on this story, chair of the group, Danny Allsebrook, said: ‘This is a nationally significant site as well as an archaeological treasure.
‘The area is steeped in history and natural history with woods and tress. It cannot be built on.’
Echoing a similar tone, Penny Rae, former member of the Friends group who has overseen a number of campaigns, added: ‘It’s like the battle of the Roman Ridge. Every few years this comes up. Now we need to win the war.’
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