Wednesday, October 31, 2018

News: Rotherham business centre set to expand

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Rotherham Council has secured a grant of £1.6m for around 17,000 sq ft of new floor space at its Century Business Centre for office and clean manufacturing "move on" space.

The Centre, owned and managed by Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO), the regeneration arm of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, was originally developed to help local people in the Manvers area of the Dearne Valley to set up their own businesses following the decline of traditional industries.

At a Sheffield city region (SCR) Mayoral Combined Authority meeting this week, members formally agreed Local Growth Fund (LGF) money for schemes across the city region.

The £3.2m project for phase 2 plans to generate 110 gross additional jobs by 2024/25. Operated by RiDO since it was built in 2000, Century has enjoyed occupancy rates of over 96% in the last three years.

Sir Nigel Knowles, chair of the SCR LEP, said: "This is a great example of how the public and private sector work together in the SCR to get things done.

"Our ability to work collaboratively, in a straightforward and practical way, is one of the real drivers for growing investor confidence in our region."

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Dan Jarvis, mayor of the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority, added: "Today I chaired a Mayoral Combined Authority meeting that agreed £10m in funding for transformative projects.

"This is an exciting time for us in the Sheffield City Region, with hugely significant investments from world-leading companies putting us firmly on the international map.

"It is also important that whilst we’re developing these cutting-edge facilities in our Global Innovation Corridor, we are also putting in place the development projects that our communities need: roads, homes, public spaces, shops and offices – so that we can improve our region and make it fit for the 21st century.

"That's why funding pots such as LGF, devolved to decision-makers at a regional level, are so important in supporting our communities to grow and thrive."

The RiDO Business Centres continue to perform well with average occupancy at the end of June 2018 reaching a record high of 96%. Eight early stage companies moved into the centres in the first quarter of 2018-19 and seven of the ten business centre units transferring back to RiDO following vacation by Rotherham Youth Enterprise (RYE) were re-let immediately.

Century was the first major incubation space project for RiDO and its success led the Council to expand the provision for small business premises, and RiDO now has four centres, located across the Borough at Moorgate Crofts, Templeborough and Dinnington providing over 200 office and workshop units.

£1.5m of support from the same fund has been earmarked to support the first phase of the Gulliver's Valley leisure development in Rotherham.

RiDO website

Images: Google Maps

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