Campaigners have raised funds to take legal action against the development of Owlthorpe Fields in Hackenthorpe.

After recently losing a campaign to stop 72 houses being built on the land, the Owlthorpe Fields Action Group, OAG, has raised £6,000 with almost 200 pledges.

The community-led group has been campaigning to save Owlthorpe Fields in Sheffield from development for over two years. It is being represented by Richard Buxton Solicitors. .

Lindy Stone, group coordinator of Sheffield Friends of the Earth, said: “We cannot afford to be leaving derelict brownfield sites which have already been stripped bare of biodiversity and then doing the same in greenfield sites.

“We are incredibly supportive of OAG. What they are doing is extremely important.

“We should not be building on greenfield sites. We should not be building on areas which have the rich diversity of wildlife and plant life that they have at Owlthorpe fields.”

“We believe that in fighting it, they have done something very important and we wish very much that they will win.”

No members of the planning committee voted in favour of development but the planning inspectorate was granted an appeal after a six-day public inquiry.

Professor Ian Rotherham of Sheffield Hallam University said: “We have to fight this one because if this site can be lost, anywhere can be lost.”

MP Clive Betts and many Councillors and environmentalists who submitted objections to the plans have called for an environmental impact assessment, EIA.

The group said that the inspector took little account of the ecological data verified and submitted by Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust.

Fundraising is open until 11th April 2021 and donations can be made here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/protect-owlthorpe-fields/