News: Further uncertainty as Rotherham pub goes up for sale

The future of a pub restaurant in Rotherham is still unclear after its owners put the site up for sale.

Rothbiz reported earlier this year on bosses at Whitbread, the leading hospitality business, putting in place a refocused growth plan in the UK to replace all remaining branded restaurants following a review.

The decision created uncertainty for many of the company's sites including The Brecks in Rotherham which is part of Whitbread's Beefeater portfolio and is connected to Premier Inn Rotherham East, part of the UK's biggest hotel brand that is also owned by Whitbread.

Now Whitbread has appointed expert agents Chritie & Co to offload a raft of pub restaurants across the UK, including The Brecks.

Expanding its "Accelerating Growth Plan" Whitbread said that 197 branded restaurants would be replaced "with a more efficient and tailored F&B [Food & Beverage] offering for our guests."

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By April Whitbread said that it had already agreed the sale of 51 branded restaurants for £50m and agreed terms for the sale, subject to conditions, on a further 60 sites.

Around 100 remaining properties are being offered for sale as going concerns with trade fixtures and fittings included in the purchase price.

The freehold of The Brecks on Wickersley Road has been given a guide price of £750,000 + VAT.

The particulars for the "Prime Roadside Location" property states that it is an "opportunity to acquire a long-established food-led pub restaurant operating under the recognised Beefeater brand [that] benefits from consistent breakfast, lunch and dinner trade, strong family customer base, established wet and food operation [and] repeat local custom."

It adds that the adjacent hotel-related trade supports breakfast and evening demand for the pub restaurant that has 150 internal and 80 external covers.

The Premier Inn on East Bawtry Road secured planning permission last year for a 4,800 sq ft two storey extension to the east of the current hotel. It would take the total rooms at the site from 62 to 76.

It has been widely reported that all Beefeater pubs will close in September.

Whitbread website

Images: Christie & Co

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News: Funding boost for £4m AMRC scale-up programme

A £4m project intended to support the development of knowledge and innovation-rich start-ups, spinouts and future scale-up businesses in South Yorkshire, has secured a £2m grant.

Earlier this year, the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) launched AMRC Scale-up, a programme designed to help high-growth deep tech companies scale manufacturing in defence, aerospace and energy. This followed on from FerretWorks - a Yorkshire slant on SkunkWorks - with the approach at the AMRC formed to incubate high risk/high reward ideas.

The AMRC has grown to become a world leader in manufacturing excellence, part of the national High Value Manufacturing Catapult network of research centres. With facilities in Rotherham and Sheffield it has more than 500 highly qualified researchers and engineers working on the manufacturing needs of the future, from composites to castings, additive manufacturing to machining.

The board at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has now approved a £2m grant to build on the 2025/26 pilot year.

Using a total of £4m over the next four years, the project is primarily a revenue-funded business support / innovation programme, delivered through AMRC facilities and partner commercialisation routes. It will operate though FerretWorks and AMRC Start-Up, expanding The AMRC’s reach to support both university-led ventures and external founders, positioning AMRC as a central hub for manufacturing innovation and entrepreneurship.

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A SYMCA paper explains: "The programme builds on the success of the SYMCA-funded FerretWorks Start-Up pilot, creating a structured pathway to accelerate innovation, commercialisation, and business growth across South Yorkshire. It provides specialist manufacturing support to ventures emerging from the University of Sheffield Commercialisation Journey, while also attracting high-quality external entrepreneurs through strategic partnerships with organisations such as the Royal Academy of Engineering and Sheffield Technology Parks."

The programme aims to increase IP generation and commercialisation outcomes, attract and retain high-quality founders in South Yorkshire, strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem, support the creation of sustainable, high-growth businesses, and enhance collaboration between academia, industry, and external partners.

The report adds: "Ultimately, the programme will act as a feeder for the next generation of scale-up companies, driving long-term economic growth and delivering tangible societal benefit across the region."

Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council and deputy mayor for South Yorkshire, said: "This bit about how you move from big scale academic activity into wealth-producing, growth-driving, start-up activity is incredibly important, and generally not cracked across the country. It seems to me to be the right sort of space that we [SYMCA] should be in to try an mitigate some of those risks and create those pathways and make that normal behaviour for people.

"We have got this great asset in The AMRC, and being able to maximise the commercial opportunities coming out of that seems to particularly important, so I welcome the scheme."

AMRC website

Images: AMRC

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News: Demolition for vacant Rotherham shops

Demolition work has begun on a parade of council-owned shops on the edge of Rotherham town centre.

It had been expected that the cleared site will be redeveloped as housing.

Rothbiz reported last year that Rotherham Council had secured planning permission regarding the method of demolition for the vacant parade of shops on Wellgate.

The derelict properties that make up 86 - 102 Wellgate were set to be sold off by the council and were scheduled to go under the hammer with Pugh's online property auction. However, the lot was withdrawn before the auction took place.

Now a contractor has been appointed to demolish the buildings and clear the site.

Local Rotherham firm DSR Demolition Ltd has secured the £162,096 contract and the aim is to complete the work, including all substructures and foundations, by September 2026.

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Previous plans stated: "The buildings are no longer fit for purpose and deteriorating in condition. The buildings are proposed to be demolished, and future development of the site will then be considered."

Tender documents state: "The site is to be remediated of all spoil and surfacing leaving evenly graded and secured with solid hoarding security panels until future development of the site is undertaken."

In preparation for the completion of the demolition, Rotherham Council is hoping to secure planning permission for 2.5 metre PVC site hoardings for the perimeter of the 0.19 acre site.

When up for auction the lot was given the guide price of £25,000 and advertised as a redevelopment opportunity with a legal clause stating that the site will be required to be redeveloped for residential purposes only.

Clauses showed that the council would demolish all buildings and clear the site with a three year buy back option proposed so the council could reacquire the site if progress was not made.

Images: Pugh Auctions

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News: OnDemand bus service aims to reconnect Rotherham

Residents of parts of Rotherham with limited access to scheduled bus services are being targeted by a new flexible public transport service to connect them to employment, education, healthcare, and retail.

Rothbiz reported last year that South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) was looking to launch a pilot project around demand responsive transport as part of its work to address connectivity issues across the region following the Mayor’s decision to take control of the buses.

Using £0.95m from the government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), SYMCA has appointed technology partner Via for the pilot that will begin operating from 3 August for 12 months across parts of Doncaster and Rotherham. 

The service introduces a new way of travelling, allowing passengers to book shared bus journeys through the OnDemand app up to one week in advance or by phone, with no fixed routes or timetables. 

Designed to improve connections in areas where traditional services are limited, OnDemand will help people access jobs, education, healthcare and key destinations across the region. Unlike conventional bus routes, OnDemand uses intelligent technology to group passengers travelling in the same direction, offering a flexible, efficient and affordable service. 

Fares will start from £3 per journey, with concessions and discounts available, and the service will run Monday to Saturday between 5am and 6pm.  Importantly, the new service has been designed to complement not replace the existing public transport network, helping more people connect to buses, trams and trains across South Yorkshire.  

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South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “The People’s Network will put people first, making sure everyone in South Yorkshire can get where they need to go, when they need to get there. OnDemand in Doncaster and Rotherham brings that idea to life, with a flexible, modern service built around our everyday lives, not fixed routes or timetables. 

“Whether it’s getting to work, visiting loved ones, making an appointment or accessing education, communities in Doncaster and Rotherham will have more choice and greater control over how to travel. OnDemand is another important step towards building a public transport system that truly works for everyone – the People’s Network.” 

The Rotherham areas included in the OnDemand area are Waverley, Ulley, Morthern, Thurcroft, Brookhouse, Dinnington, Firbeck, Letwell, Todwick, Woodsetts, Thorpe Salvin and Harthill.

Users can travel within the designated operating zone. but for those travelling beyond the zone, OnDemand can connect passengers to designated interchange hubs (Dinnington, Rotherham Hospital, Rotherham town centre, Crystal Peaks) for onward travel using buses, trams or rail services.

Cllr Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, said:  “It’s great to see this pilot becoming a reality. We know that as bus services have reduced in recent decades, the impact of that has been particularly felt in more rural areas. The way that public transport operates had got to change. That’s why we wanted to prioritise this opportunity for communities to the south of our borough, complementing and enhancing existing public transport, but also offering a flexibility that traditional bus services just can’t provide. 

“So if you’re at home in Todwick or Brookhouse, for example, and you need to get to the Tanyard, Rotherham Hospital or Meadowhall and back, this service provides a new convenient way to do that. I hope that people will give it a go, and their experiences will certainly help us to shape the future of public transport in the borough.” 

OnDemand South Yorkshire website

Images: Via

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News: Development partner search for massive Rotherham greenbelt scheme

Landowners are looking for a partner to deliver a proposed 2,000 home development on former greenbelt land in Rotherham, ten years after a previous search was discussed.

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

A Bassingthorpe Farm Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was signed off by the Council's cabinet last year that provided 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.

A formal tender process is now underway with landowners, Rotherham Council and the Fitzwilliam Wentworth Estate, "seeking to identify and appoint a strategic development partner in connection with the planning, servicing, delivery and/or facilitation of the phased development of land at Bassingthorpe Farm, Rotherham."

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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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.

Tender documents state: "The procurement in intended to identify a strategic development partner capable of:

- working collaboratively with the landowners to optimise viability, deliverability and value;
- promoting and securing a comprehensive and deliverable planning strategy;
- coordinating and/or delivering enabling and strategic infrastructure;
- facilitating phased development delivery, including potential onward parcel disposals to housebuilders or other delivery structures; and
- supporting long-term stewardship and delivery objectives."

The precise commercial and contractual structure through which the development will ultimately be delivered has not yet been determined and the council says that this may include elements of development agreement, land disposal, phased land drawdown and related agreements.

The selected strategic development partner is expected to assume substantial development, delivery, market and implementation risk associated with the project.

Back in 2016, Council Commissioners were asked to approve the appointment of a "Promotion Partner" to bring skills and funding to facilitate the delivery of the site. Other options were considerd, such as selling Council-owned sites on the open market, to direct development between the landowners. 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.

Alongside the masterplan, the Bassingthorpe site was identified to spearhead the government's historic £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme. For South Yorkshire, a indicative spend, subject to suitable bids, has been set out at £700m with Bassingthorpe Farm and Rotherham town centre sites put forward for Rotherham.

Images: RMBC / HYAS / Google Maps

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