News: Masterplan signed off for 2,000 home development in Rotherham greenbelt

A proposed 2,000 home development on former greenbelt land in Rotherham has reached an important step in the planning process.

The vision is to create a "well-connected 21st century garden community" at Bassingthorpe Farm

A Bassingthorpe Farm Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) has been signed off by the Council's cabinet. It provides detailed guidance to developers when preparing planning applications, to help bring forward development of the site in a way that meets the Council’s objectives.

As part of the Local Plan core strategy that was adopted in 2014, the 215 hectare area close to Rotherham town centre was controversially removed from the Green Belt and designated as a Strategic Allocation and the main location for new housing, employment and retail growth.

Around 57 hectares (26%) of the site is under Rotherham Council's ownership and the Council has been leading on the proposals for a number of years, working collaboratively with major landowner, Fitzwilliam (Wentworth) Estates (FWE), on how to bring forward the project.

The allocation was for around 2,400 new homes, a primary school, a local centre, employment land and commercial opportunities. Work has been carried out to detail just where development platforms, new roads, the school and flood preventing reservoirs could be located.

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The cabinet report explains: "The vision for Bassingthorpe Farm is to create a well-connected 21st century garden community and an integral part of Rotherham. It should offer excellent walkable neighbourhoods and convenient links with adjacent communities, a transformed town centre and new mainline station. A quality landscape setting supports healthy active lifestyles as well as comprehensive bio-diversity gains as part of integrated green and blue infrastructure.

"The heart of Bassingthorpe should include vibrant local shops and facilities with job opportunities and a neighbourhood park. New distinctive neighbourhoods will provide a mix of quality homes, including affordable housing that meets local needs, helping, transforming Rotherham’s housing offer with more compact character areas in key locations and overall of a scale to sustain a critical mass of neighbourhood facilities Bassingthorpe will foster inclusive, diverse communities. Long term stewardship underpins the community’s sustainability, from the management of its greenspaces to the genuine involvement of local people."

The latest technical work suggests up to approximately 2,000 homes can be achieved which is lower than the anticipated number of homes in previous masterplan drafts.

Regarding employment uses, the framework plan shows proposed employment uses on a dedicated site to the eastern edge of the allocation area. Development here could be integrated with the existing employment area at Mangham Road and would benefit from access from Greasbrough Road. Land to the west of Carr Hill, to the north of the recycling centre is also proposed for employment uses.

Cllr John Williams, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy at Rotherham Council, explained the timeframes for the development. He said: "In adopting this report, there isn't going to be any works happening tomorrow, next week or next month. Nothing is going to immediately happen. This is a planning technical excercise setting out that clear guidance and information to any potential future developer to then bring forward the development."

Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council added: "If, and when, housing proposals are brought forward, we want those to be good quality proposals. We want that to be a sustainable neighbourhood where people want to live, to have good public transport access, homes that people want to live in and a community that fits within our wider Rotherham community. That's the purpose of trying to put some planning rules araound it and we've welcomed the feedback we've had from the public and we've tried to respond to those issues, priorities and concerns."

Viability issues have hampered progress so far. It was in November 2016 when the authority approved plans to search for a "Promotion Partner" that would bring skills and funding to facilitate the delivery of the site.

In 2018, the authority was considering utilising a "Bare Trust" to pool its land together with that of other landowners in order to progress development.

Images: RMBC / HYAS / Google Maps

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News: Why is The Stag pub in Rotherham closed?

The popular pub in Rotherham has been closed for most of September.

Originally called the Stags Head Inn and dating back to about 1736, the pub is in the area of the town known as Stag.

The pub held a closing party on September 5 and work has been going on since at the Wickersley Road venue.

Recently operating under the Stonegate Group, the closure is part of a move to the Craft Union chain.

Stonegate Group has been selling off pubs with Rothbiz reporting in June that the freehold of the Green Dragon was available for £400,000.

The group is the UK’s largest pub operator and its parent company, TDR Capital, had £2.6 billion of debts, even before it made a £250m shareholder contribution into the pub co last year. GMB Union had been warning that the financial sitaution at TDR could lead to Stonegate’s collapse that would put 4,400 pubs and thousands of jobs at risk.

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Craft Union Pub Company is a brand and division of Stonegate Group. It is an operator led managed format offering self-employment opportunities for landlords and managers to earn 20% of net revenue with costs business rates, utilities and sports channels covered.

The format aims to create community pubs and has been a success with the Craft Union estate growing to around 650 pubs across the UK having only formed in April 2015.

In Rotherham, Craft Union pubs can be found in Rawmarsh - Earl Grey and Horse & Jockey, in Rotherham town centre - The Plough, with the Park at Clifton and The Travellers Inn at Bramley.

Social media posts show that the team from the Alma in Conisbrough, another Craft Union pub, are taking over operations at the Stag.

An opening date is set for September 26.

According to its entry on the South Yorkshire Local Heritage List, in June 1924, most of the land and the Stag Inn were sold to Mappins Brewery of Masbrough. As well as the Inn, this entailed barns, stables, cow house, cattle sheds and outbuildings and fields totalling thirty three acres.

Mappins rebuilt the Stag Inn in 1934.

At Bramley, The Travellers Inn is currently under offer.

Craft Union website

Images: Google Maps

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News: Cepac to press on with £53m Rotherham expansion

Cepac, one of the UK’s leading innovators of performance packaging, has announced a £53m investment that will expand its key operations in Rotherham

The "Rotherham 2" project will see investment in infrastructure, equipment and new jobs.

Founded in 1999, Cepac has established one of the largest and most technologically advanced corrugated packaging plants in the world at Manvers. Part of the HSA group, it also has operations in Darlington, Doncaster and Rawcliffe.

Rothbiz reported in 2023 that the firm had acquired an 11 acre parcel of land for expansion alongside its head office at Brookfields Park. In the same year, planning permission was secured regarding the method of demolishing a vacant contact centre nearby. Capita House, a 135,938 sq ft building was set to be demolished and replaced by a 204,000 sq ft high grade warehouse / logistics unit.

Cepac is about to start the first phase of the project that will see the company grow its range and output of corrugated cardboard packaging solutions.

The investment will see the building of new factory space with state-of-the-art new equipment, further growing its reputation as one of the most innovative corrugated packaging solutions providers in the UK.

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Steve Moss, Group Managing Director at Cepac, said: “To expand our range for our growing customer base, we are investing in a series of innovative technologies for the project.

"In phase one, we are allocating roughly half of the total investment sum to modifying the existing layout and capability of the existing site. We are completing the phased upgrade of the existing corrugated board making machine and then adding several new, high-speed converting lines and increasing our despatching & warehousing capability in-line with this current, and future investments. The new machines and despatching area will be accommodated by the addition of around 60,000 sq ft of factory space at the existing plant. The new despatch and warehousing area will ultimately link the existing and new factories.”

The project will see a factory extension for the existing site immediately, creating new factory space in 2026 and 2027.

New machinery will be able to produce up to 240 million sqm of board per annum with several new converting lines for printing, die-cutting and folding & gluing of boxes.

The first phase also includes the recruitment of new operators for the expanded production capabilities.

Further investment in renewable energy is also planned. In 2022 the comapny invested £1.45m in solar panels that provides around 25% of the site's electricity requirements focusing on domestic hot water.

Moss added: “We are excited to get this multi-phase project underway. Off the back of several years of growth within the company and picking up significant accolades at industry award events, this next phase of investment will help maintain our growth trajectory and support our position as one of the country’s most innovative producers of next generation print and packaging for customers across the UK. It will also sustain and create vital employment in the region, which is great for the local economy and local communities.”

Cepac website

Images: Cepac / Google Maps

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News: Contractors join charity effort for SEND school transformation in Rotherham

A major pro bono project has begun to redevelop Hilltop School in Rotherham – a special educational needs school supporting 180 children with complex needs.

The £3m transformation, delivered in partnership with Yorkshire Children’s Charity through its Great Yorkshire Build initiative, will replace temporary, cramped buildings with modern, purpose-built facilities designed for pupils’ complex learning and accessibility needs.

Works will include a full site reconfiguration to improve access, three new classrooms, a rebound therapy room, and the creation of modern, inspiring learning environments.

The scheme brings together more than 50 Yorkshire-based construction firms, working collaboratively to deliver the project with a DIY SOS-style effort that sets a benchmark for social value within the construction sector.

Henry Boot is the main contractor with services delivered free of charge, including preliminaries and site management. The Sheffield firm has also received huge support and discounts from its supply chain, resulting in costs to the charity being a fraction of what they would be on the open market.

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It also sets a national example of how the construction sector can unite to address critical gaps in education infrastructure.

Yorkshire Children's Charity believes every child deserves the best possible education, and that well-designed, high-quality school facilities are essential to achieving this.

Charlotte Farrington, CEO of Yorkshire Children’s Charity, said: “Every child deserves access to education by right, not a privilege fought for by desperate families. Thanks to the incredible Yorkshire construction community, this will soon be a reality for children at Hilltop.”

Kirstie, a parent at Hilltop School, added: “It’s going to benefit so many kids, they’re asking for the most basic things…daylight, windows, running water. Children shouldn’t have to ask for it, it’s their human right to have these things.”

This work would not be possible with the dedication and care of the inspirational contractors and subcontractors who have committed to this project: GMI; Bowmer and Kirkland, SES Engineering Services, Severfield, Henry Boot Construction, Pierre Angulaire, Cartwright Pickard, McLaren Property, Stainforth, Rex Procter and Partners, BAM Construction, Richard Boothroyd & Associates, Triton Construction.

The Great Yorkshire Build initiative is focused on transforming the outdated and inadequate buildings often found in SLD, SILC (Specialist Inclusive Learning Centres) and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) schools across the region.

Yorkshire Children’s Charity website

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News: £83m Rotherham regeneration projects can be pushed back to 2028

Multimillion pound regeneration projects in Rotherham will have more time to be completed after the Government granted more flexibilities over how the money can be spent.

Partners in the borough will also find it easier to cancel projects, move funding to different, or even new, projects, and change governance arrangements.

Rothbiz reported in 2023 that the previous government had entered Rotherham into the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot, a simplified approach to funding delivery, after the National Audit Office (NAO) warned of delays around spending Levelling Up funding pots.

Now the new government has consolidated a number of funding schemes in a bid to accelerate project delivery and improve value for money.

In 2021, Rotherham secured £31.6m from the Town Deal to revamp areas of Rotherham town centre as well as Templeborough, Eastwood and the site of the proposed mainline station at Parkgate. In the same year, £12.6m was secured from the Future High Streets Fund.

From the Levelling Up Fund, Rotherham was successful in securing £19.5m for the town centre and £19.9m for a number of connected projects around the leisure industry. £20m was then secured in 2023 for a new mixed-use development in Wath town centre, as well as delivering significant improvements to Dinnington High Street and market.

The pots have now been combined into the "Local Regeneration Fund" with single, annual allocations based on streamlined monitoring and reduced reporting frequency.

One of the main flexibilities is that all funding is now due to be spent by the end of March 2028.

The Future High Streets Fund was initially due to be spent by March 2024, with other funds then due to be spent by March 2026. In Rotherham this includes projects that have suffered delays due to rising costs, difficulties securing contractors and legal issues.

The revamp of Rotherham Market, which is using money from the Future High Street Fund, was originally scheduled to finish in December 2025 but this was pushed back to 2027 with total costs now at £40.89m. At Riverside Gardens, another Future High Street Fund project, a contractor has recently started work. Changes have also been made to projects at Rother Valley and Thrybergh Country parks but construction work is underway.

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With the council unable to acquire the properties required to deliver the Dinnington scheme, a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) was issued earlier this year which meant that the spending on the project was extended from 2026 to 2028.

Many schemes have completed in the borough backed by the funds. This includes Skills Street at Gulliver's Valley, work to transform heritage buildings at Maltby Grammar School, and the acquisition and demolition of burnt out buidings in the town centre.

Another flexibility is that the government no longer requires local authorities to seek approval for any changes. As long as it still meets conditions around value for money and contributes to one or more Government Missions, changes could include amendments to the scope of existing projects, the cancellation of existing projects and the creation of new projects.

An update from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) said: "After listening to feedback from local government, on the need for less bureaucratic micromanagement and more local control, we have now announced the consolidation of MHCLG’s Levelling Up Fund, Town Deals and Simplification Pathfinders Pilot Fund together into a single funding pot. This reform will increase flexibility to adapt schemes to local needs and focus on delivery.

"We are giving local authorities greater ability to make decisions locally about moving funding between projects in their funding portfolio. Local authorities should consider how they can use this increased flexibility to invest more effectively, whether that is pooling funding in the same area, redeploying funding to different priorities or making changes to existing projects to expedite delivery and maximise their impact.  

"It is our expectation that projects already underway will be completed, for the benefit of local residents. In the small number of cases where projects are no longer viable, we expect that councils will use the funding available to invest in the area that originally stood to benefit, so local residents can feel the improvements to their everyday lives that they have been promised. We strongly encourage local authorities to consult with key stakeholders, including MPs in their local areas on any proposed changes and in particular changes to the location or projects and/or intended beneficiaries."

Rothbiz has previously reported on changes made in Rotherham to funded schemes. Aspects have been removed from projects, such as a proposed new bridge over the River Don to the football stadium and the live music venue project has looked at a number of heritage properties in the town centre. A new project to introduce "Health on the High Street" in a bid to improve access to health services and increase footfall in the town centre was added to the mix earlier this year.

Not included in the funds is the Plan for Neighbourhoods that will guide a £20m investment into the town over the next ten years.

Images: RMBC / AHR / Maltby Learning Trust

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