News: Keepmoat preparing plans for another Rotherham housing development

Keepmoat Homes is proposing to develop another green field site in Rotherham.

Close to Aston and Swallownest, the site known as Aston Common was allocated for residential use in the council's local plan that was adopted in 2018, taking it out of the green belt.

The site is located within Swallownest which is designated as a Principal Settlement in the Rotherham Settlement Hierarchy contained within the local plan, which indicated that the site could be used for 175 houses.

Agents say that the intention is to pursue a full planning application for 189 dwellings on the 16.2 hectare site.

Pre-aaplication consultation is underway, presenting initial proposals for the site.

The consultation website states: "We value the comments and suggestions of local people and businesses, particularly where this helps to refine and improve the development proposal so that the social, environmental and economic benefits are maximised. There will be further opportunity to provide comments to Rotherham Council once the planning application has been submitted and validated."

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Initial plans show that access to the site is limited to one new access along Mansfield Road.

Development has been designed to face outwards taking advantage of the views. The contours of the site have been designed to ensure an appropriate solution to the sloping site. This would include a mixture of re-grading the site and the use of retaining walls within the development.

A play area, landscaping and acoustic barriers to the adjacent employment use are shown in the plans.

Rothbiz reported earlier this month on Keepmoat's planning application for a parcel of farmland in Hellaby. The UK house builder is currently on site at the former Swinden Labs site on Moorgate, and recently submitted plans for the former bus depot at Masbrough.

Keepmoat website

Images: Keepmoat

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News: AESSEAL is a top apprentice employer

Rotherham-based AESSEAL has been ranked as the top UK apprentice employer in the manufacturing sector in 2025.

AESSEAL is the largest part of the AES Engineering Ltd group, which operates in over 100 countries. The British-owned group manufactures its core products in Templeborough, and they are used by major industry globally to prevent the leakage of liquids and gases into the environment, thereby preventing environmental damage as well as avoiding a health and safety risk.

AESSEAL was one of a huge number of UK businesses, drawn from more than 20 different sectors considered for the Sunday Times ‘Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers’ awards. The awards celebrate the UK's outstanding apprenticeship employers – recognising their commitment to creating new apprenticeships, the diversity of their apprentices, and the number of apprentices who successfully complete their apprenticeships.

Ranked overall 84th in the top 100, which features giant public and private sector organisations such as the British Army, Grant Thornton and BAE Systems, the Rotherham-based company takes fewer apprentices annually than many of the others in the list with 73 apprentice starts in 2024. However, AESSEAL prides itself on its record of retaining and developing apprentices, some of whom have risen to senior management posts.

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Overall, around 20% of AESSEAL’s workforce started as apprentices, and 32 new apprenticeships were started in the 2024-25 criteria period. With an overall placing of 84th out of 100, the company was the top-ranked manufacturer for 2025.

Chris Rea, managing director of AESSEAL and of holding group AES Engineering Ltd, said: “It is always a pleasant surprise to be singled out in these national awards. While AESSEAL is a global business we are a lot smaller than some of the other entrants.

"Developing staff and future-proofing engineering and manufacturing excellence in South Yorkshire is one of our passions and it is very pleasing that the judges have recognised the quality of our ‘grow your own’ philosophy when it comes to recruiting and developing the next generation of engineers and leaders."

In 2024 AESSEAL came out as the top UK apprentice employer in the manufacturing sector for the second time, according to the Department of Education’s annual rankings.

AESSEAL has signed up employees to 311 apprenticeships between 2017 and July 2025. More than 25 different career paths are now available to apprentices across the UK group, with recent additions including a gardener.

The company says that over the past eight years the cost of apprentice training has been over £7m, including external training fees, mentoring, management costs, and the salary cost for day release training.

A spokesperson for AESSEAL confrimed that it considers the £7,462,294 "not as a cost, but a necessary investment in our future.”

AESSEAL website

Images: AESSEAL

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News: Metalysis doubles Gen 2 R&D demonstration units

Metalysis, the end-to-end manufacturer of solid-state metal and alloy powders and global leader in materials science, is increasing its output of specialist metals amid growing pressure to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.

With a Materials Discovery Centre on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the company holds the worldwide exploitation rights to the FCC Cambridge process which sees specialist powder metals created in a simple, cost effective process with significant environmental benefits.

Earlier this year, Rothbiz reported on the increasing in Gen 1 research units, which can produce grammes of output per machine per run. Metalysis has now doubled its Gen 2 units which enable transition from grams to kilograms-scale output.

The move is to meet unprecedented demand from advanced industries, including electronics, hypersonics, defence, clean energy and space. This expansion supports customers developing next-generation materials and reflects heightened urgency to secure non-Chinese midstream processing options following ongoing uncertainties surrounding new Chinese export controls on critical minerals and rare earth elements, first enacted in April.

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Nitesh Shah, CEO of Metalysis, said: “We are delighted to be doubling our Gen 2 units, just seven months after we increased our Gen 1 capacity by 1/3. We are seeing increasing demand for our products at the Gen 2 level, sending material to clients for evaluation and qualification into specialist markets, with particular interest from sputtering target manufacturers.

"A range of advanced manufacturing sectors come to Metalysis because of our core suite of products - capacitor grade tantalum, scandium tri-aluminide (Al3Sc), niobium alloys and our ability to create lightweight refractory high entropy alloys, and because clients know that with all the materials that we produce we bring unique and bespoke physical and chemical attributes to the end-material, meaning we are without competition across a range of products."

China continues to dominate mining and midstream processing, with 90 per cent of global midstream capacity. To reduce this dependency, Western nations are urgently seeking alternative processing solutions. Metalysis is well-positioned to fill this gap, offering scalable midstream capability across a wide range of critical materials.

Shah added: "The recent REE controls by the Chinese have accelerated this process as clients require metal feedstocks and midstream processing from outside of China, and this will be the dominant trend across critical materials over the next few years."

Metalysis website

Images: Metalysis

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News: Manvers White Water Course project launched

A proposed new £14m water rescue training facility in Rotherham could also provide access to water sports and outdoor adventure.

Having been discussed for a number of years, an official launch recently took place for the White Water Course Project at Manvers Lake, where Sports Minister, Stephanie Peacock MP, got an update of the plans.

Manvers Lake is central to the massive Waterfront regeneration project which includes 450 homes, business parks, hotel, retail outlets and neighbourhood facilities. Operated by a trust, a boat club provides facilities for sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, and other activities, while the lake also supports open water swimming, fishing, and cycling.

The Manvers White Water Course is planned to provide a world class training facility for fire and rescue services and other emergency services that will also offer international-standard paddling facilities due to the unique dual water channels.

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Proposals involve a pump fed Whitewater Channel at North Bay for the combined use of recreation and flood rescue and training. A pumphouse will lift water at a rate of up to 10 cubic metres every second, 3 metres [10 feet] from the lake into a start pool out of which the water will flow down the course back into the lake.

The water is designed to flow at a variety of volumes and speeds from still to a torrent such that training and coaching of the Olympic sports of Whitewater Canoe slalom and Extreme slalom competition, can take place.

John Healey, MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, said: “This project will be a big boost for the Dearne Valley. It will create jobs, bring more visitors into our area and give our fire and rescue crews the proper training base they need. The Trust has worked hard to get to this stage, and there is real backing behind the plans. With the right support, we can get this built and delivering for our area.”

Ashley Metcalfe, CEO of Paddle UK, added: "It is a really exciting opportunity for white water paddling – from community paddling, to talent development and beyond. We have a fantastic opportunity to be part of the project and are very much looking forward to supporting Manvers Lake to fulfil our aspirations.”

Last year the trust secured £22,500 of feasibility funding for the project from The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

Manvers Lake website

Images: Manvers Lake Trust / Paddle UK

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News: Pizza Hut in Rotherham to close following administration

A Pizza Hut restaurant in Rotherham is set to close after a UK operator of the brand entered administration.

Pizza Hut has announced the closure of 68 restaurants and 11 delivery sites following the collapse of its UK operator, DC London Pie, which has entered administration. The restructuring move will put 1,210 UK workers at risk of redundancy.

On the list of restaurants to close was the site at Cortonwood Shopping Park, which is in Rotherham.

DC London Pie, the company behind Pizza Hut's UK dine-in operations, appointed administrators from FTI Consulting earlier this week. The administration follows less than a year after the company itself acquired Pizza Hut's UK venues from insolvency.

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Yum! Brands, the American parent company of Pizza Hut, stepped in with a pre-pack administration deal, securing 64 restaurant sites and protecting 1,277 jobs across the UK. The rescue package aims to ensure operational continuity for remaining outlets while providing limited protection for affected employees.

Nicolas Burquier, Managing Director of Pizza Hut Europe and Canada, said: "This targeted acquisition aims to safeguard our guest experience and protect jobs where possible. Our immediate priority is operational continuity at the acquired locations and supporting colleagues through the transition."

The financial distress came to a head approximately six weeks after HMRC filed a winding-up petition against DC London Pie, following concerns over unpaid tax liabilities. The firm, formed by Directional Capital, had previously operated Pizza Hut franchises in Sweden and Denmark before purchasing 139 UK restaurants from Heart with Smart Limited earlier this year.

A statement from the Worker's Union said: "The Pizza Hut closures represent both a painful loss for UK high streets and a stark warning about the fragility of the casual dining sector. While the intervention by Yum! Brands has prevented a total collapse, the job losses will be deeply felt across the UK. For workers affected, support, communication, and fair treatment must remain the priority."

The Pizza Hut delivery outlet at Parkgate remains open. A restaurant at Parkgate Shopping was demolished in 2015 to make way for a Nando's

Pizza Hut website

Images: Google Maps

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