News: More Millmoor memorabilia is being saved, demolition company confirm

As demolition work continues on the historic former home of Rotherham United, parts of the old football stadium are being carefully saved.

Rothbiz revealed in May that new owners, the Ron Hull Group, planned to demolish parts of Millmoor with plans explaining the poor condition and the "long term lack of a viable user" of the stadium that last hosted league football almost 20 years ago.

A second set of plans regarding the method of demolition were approved last month as work got underway on the stadium that has its origins dating back to 1890.

Contractors, Demex - part of the Ron Hull Group - have confirmed that memorabilia, seating, signage, turnstiles and the Derek Dalton Clock are being saved as they take down the stands, related buildings and lighting columns.

Demex said in a statement: "We understand that Millmoor holds a huge amount of history and sentimental value for the people of Rotherham, particularly the generations of supporters who have memories of watching Rotherham United here.

"A great deal of thought and consideration has gone into exploring what could be done to preserve the stadium and give it a new purpose, rather than seeing it demolished. However, after carefully considering the options available, demolition was ultimately the only viable way forward for the site.

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"Memorabilia, seating, signage, turnstiles and the Derek Dalton Clock are all being carefully saved for reuse, donation and preservation, helping to ensure that important pieces of Millmoor’s story live on.

"For us, this isn’t simply about taking a building down. It’s about handling a significant piece of Rotherham’s history with the care and respect it deserves, while helping create the opportunity for something new in its place.

"It’s a significant project for Rotherham, and one we’re proud to be delivering as part of the team."

Rotherham United confirmed last week that the iconic Derek Dalton Clock has been returned to the football club following its removal from Millmoor.

A Millers superfan, Derek, who died aged 45 in 1993, was struck down with polio at the age of two, and did a lot for putting Rotherham United on the map. He won the Shoot Magazine Fan of the Year in 1983 and during a Royal visit, presented The Queen with a Rotherham United pennant.

Discussions are ongoing regarding any necessary refurbishment works that may need to be undertaken to restore Derek’s clock to its former glory and further conversations are taking place internally to establish where the most suitable location is at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

The clock's short journey from Millmoor to the New York Stadium was not without its problems. More Bees Please, a local business dedicated to sustainability and the preservation of bees, was called in when it was discovered that a hive of honey bees had taken up home behind the clock. The experts were able to relocate the comb and colony.

Ron Hull website
RUFC website
More Bees Please website

Images: More Bees Please / RUFC

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News: Progress for restoration of the South Tower at Wentworth Woodhouse

Visit Rotherham is reporting that work will soon get underway on a unique holiday let in Rotherham after a fundraising target was reached.

A planning application has now been submitted regarding the restoration and future of the South Tower at Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham.

Rothbiz reported earlier this year on leading preservation and heritage charity, The Landmark Trust, launching fundraising for plans to create a "truly elegant place to stay" at the Grade-I listed mansion.

Founded in 1965, The Landmark Trust works to save historic buildings in danger of being lost forever. Sensitive restoration offers "landmarks" a new future by making them available to everyone for self-catering holidays. The lettings income from the 200+ extraordinary buildings in the charity's care supports their maintenance and survival in our landscape, culture and society.

A campaign to raise £500,000 launched last year with plans to restore the secluded eyrie and a rare survival of 18th century feminine taste within the monumental Rotherham mansion and create a holiday let for two people.

According to Visit Rotherham, 937 individual Landmark supporters and charitable trusts are supporting the Wentworth Woodhouse plans.

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The detailed planning application, drawn up by Donald Insall Architects, states: "The proposals aim to restore the historic character of the South Tower’s upper chamber while reconfiguring adjacent rooms to provide essential facilities for a holiday let. The scheme supports Landmark’s wider objectives of sustainable reuse and public engagement with heritage, contributing to the longterm stewardship of this nationally significant building.

"The proposals aim to sensitively adapt the interior of the South Pavilion to provide holiday accommodation, while retaining and enhancing its historic character to the high quality expected of a Landmark Trust property. The upper chamber will be restored and presented as a sitting room, reflecting its late 18th century decorative scheme and historic use.

"Secondary spaces within the South Quadrant will be reconfigured to provide a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, with a restrained decorative approach appropriate to their historic function.

"Access to the accommodation will be via a discreet route from the rear of the building, avoiding disruption to the principal elevations and respecting the historic setting. The works are designed to be conservation-led, materially appropriate, and aligned with Landmark Trust’s commitment to sustainable heritage management.

"The proposals support the long-term stewardship of the building, enabling public engagement with a historically significant part of the estate while ensuring its continued use and maintenance."

The Landmark Trust commissioned detailed preparatory research and analysis on the interior, and plans include reinstating the magnificent decorative ceiling, lost in the 20th century.

As the two trusts wait on planning approval, the main contractor for the project, Dobsons of Ilkley, has been selected following a competitive tendering process.

Correspondence from 1778 between the estate steward Benjamin Hall and architect John Carr reveals that the upper room of the South Tower was being fitted out for private use. The work was overseen by Lady Rockingham, who also directed the furnishing and decoration of other ancillary buildings such as the Conservatory and Tea Room which is now known as the Camellia House.

The son of the Fourth Earl Fitzwilliam, Charles Viscount Milton, used the top floor as his study in the years leading up to his inheritance of the title in 1833, with the 1832 plans labelling the room as such. The room was likely then used as a study or archive store until the house was leased for use by Lady Mabel College in 1949.

Comprehensive external repairs were carried out by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT), which completed in June 2022 and earlier ideas to utilise all three storeys of both the Pavilion and Quadrant were discounted, judged to be too invasive.

Plans, which also require Listed Building Consent, show the upper chamber as a sitting room, the reconfiguration of secondary spaces within the South Quadrant to provide a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, and the integration of sustainability measures to improve thermal performance and energy efficiency.

Wentworth Woodhouse website
Landmark Trust website

Images: Wentworth Woodhouse / Donald Insall Architects

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News: Plans submitted to bring back big screen to Rotherham town centre

A planning application has been submitted for a big outdoor TV screen at Rotherham Council's latest multimillion pound regeneration scheme.

The idea was previously tried 20 years ago in a bid to attract more people into Rotherham town centre.

Rothbiz reported first on the authority's plan for a big TV screen as part of the new library and markets redevelopment scheme which has also enhanced the town centre's public realm and events space.

A planning application has now been submitted by Scanlite - a company that specialises in digital signage solutions including LED signage and electronic signage.

The plans show that, if approved, the internally illuminated SMD LED digital display would be installed on the wall of the recently opened market hall, between the entrances and facing the new public realm area that has been created between the market and Eastwood Lane and the college campus.

The screen is some 3.5 metres high by 6.5 metres wide.

Advertising consent would run until October 2031.

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An earlier council cabinet report stated: "The [Eastwood Lane] area represents a valuable events and leisure asset with the potential to become a defining feature of the town centre. A complementary enhancement is proposed, in the form of a large outdoor screen to strengthen the town centre offer by supporting major sporting broadcasts, national events and inclusion within the local events programme."

The council's cabinet recently approved further funding as the overall budget for the town centre scheme had risen again to £46.84m.

The idea is a reboot of the large screen installed in All Saints' Square in 2005.

The previous big screen was originally set to be purchased by Rotherham Council, working with ADI, the screen manufacturer, who retained advertising income. The BBC joined the project in 2006 to provide content.

The 5m x 5m screen was used to show a mix of local information, events promotion, community footage, films, festive content, cultural events such as ballet and opera performances, and live sports including the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

By 2009, cabinet members were considering the removal of the big screen due to the contractual situation, limited access to programmes, poor picture quality and budgetary savings.

For the summer of 2026, Rotherham Council hosted a giant screen in Snail Yard on the High Street for two weeks to show live Test cricket and a selection of family films.

Images: Scanlite

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News: "Little Vegas" planned for Rotherham town centre

A vacant former bank in Rotherham town centre could be about to get a new use, if plans are approved.

The former Alliance & Leicester and Santander branch at 19 College Street was most recently used as a family arcade.

Now a planning application has been submitted for a change of use that would enable a 24 hour adult gaming centre to take on the premises.

The application is from London-based Chongie Entertainment UK Ltd which trades as Little Vegas and Little Macau.

A relatively new entrant in the adult gaming centre (AGC) UK market, the Little Vegas brand was established in 2020 and now has 18 venues, mainly across the South East of England.

The website explains: "Little Vegas brings the feel of the casino right to your local high street. We offer the latest slot machine games, giving players an authentic and modern gaming experience."

If approved, the 1,500 sq ft unit would be brought back to life with rows of modern video slot machines around the edge with two islands of screens in the middle of the gaming centre.

A new lobby, toilet and coffee station are also shown on the plans which would create 7.5 FTE jobs.

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In September 2024 the Freehold for 16 - 20 College Street went to auction with Allsop as a shop investment with vacant offices above. The property was given a guide price of £215,000 and was sold following the auction.

The building includes vacant former solicitors offices at 2,199 sq ft which benefits from its own entrance onto All Saints Square and two now vacant commercial units on the ground floor at 5,273 and 1,400 sq ft.

Planning approval was secured last year to convert the office space at First and Second Floor Level into nine self-contained apartments.

Rothbiz reported in 2022 that Merkur Slots had opened in a vacant unit in Rotherham town centre following a partly successful planning appeal. It wanted a 24 hour operation but was restricted to operating between the hours of 8am and midnight.

In 2023, Royal Amusements secured planning permission for a vacant unit on Effingham Street for an AGC. Planners concluded that: "There is no doubt that the proposed use would not generate the level of footfall from a retail use, but in comparison to a vacant premises this would still be a benefit, including associated linked trips and employment."

Rotherham Council said that a 24-hour a day operation could not be supported and a condition was imposed to ensure that an otherwise unacceptable development could be made acceptable by limiting the opening hours to between 8am and midnight. An Adult Gaming Centre Premises Licence enabling 24 hour use of Category B machines here was approved by the Council's Licencing team earlier this year.

Little Vegas website

Images: BRH

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News: How much Ron Hull paid for CF Booth, the massive Rotherham scrap yard, and Millmoor

An administrator's report has revealed further details of the deal which saw the sale of the business and assets of historic Rotherham firm, CF Booth Limited, to Hu11 Limited, a subsidiary of Ron Hull Jnr Limited.

James Lumb and Howard Smith from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to CF Booth Limited, one of the UK’s leading metal recycling companies, in January. A number of the company's subsidiaries entered administration in the following months.

All eight companies were acquired by Hu11 Limited in March. The transactions for subsidiaries, Demex and Albion Jones, were going concern sales, allowing the demolition business to continue operations.

Administrators say that, following an accelerated marketing and sale process, six bidders were shortlisted based on value, confirmed funding and the ability to complete within the required timeframe. A sale of substantially all of the group's business and assets was concluded to Hu11 Limited for total consideration of £13.77m exclusive of VAT.

The administrator's report shows that £7.25m was for the freehold of the Armer Street premises - the 35-acre site at Masbrough which includes the Clarence Metal Works and Rotherham United's former home, Millmoor.

£3.4m was for plant and machinery, with the rest for other properties, stock and vehicles.

29 staff moved over as part of the demolition businesses but 149 were made redundant.

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As previously reported by Rothbiz, CF Booth had £46m debts when it entered administration.

The business experienced substantial operational and financial headwinds, including sharp rises in energy costs and pronounced volatility in copper prices.

One of the group's largest debt was with IGF, which only provided a £20m asset-based lending facility in 2025. The debt totalled £14.2m and administrators confirm that IGF has been repaid in full from a combination of book debt collections and the sale of business proceeds.

£1.24m remained outstanding to HMRC in outstanding VAT, PAYE and National Insurance Contributions with Interpath expecting that they should receive a dividend.

£30.6m was owed to unsecured creditors. Administrators say: "Based on current estimates, we anticipate that unsecured creditors should receive a dividend. We have yet to determine the amount of this, but we will do so when we have completed the realisation of assets and payment of associated costs.

"It is intended that the Company will be placed into creditors' voluntary liquidation in order to make a distribution to the unsecured creditors prior to the end date of the administration, which is 15 January 2027."

Unsecured creditors in administration are suppliers, customers, or contractors without security for their debt, ranking at the bottom of the repayment priority list.

The unsecured creditors list released previously included £3.5m - Employees, £14.3m - Intercompany creditors and another £2.2m - Other HMRC and HSE Fines & Penalties. Company trade creditors were listed with the total owed at £8.2m.

Whilst trading, CF Booth received notice that its appeal against an historical VAT Penalty assessment dating back a decade was unsuccessful resulting in a penalty of £1.4m becoming payable to HMRC. C F Booth Ltd was then fined £1.2m by the HSE after an investigation following the death of an employee on site.

Administrators add that they are "reviewing the affairs of the Company to find out if there are any actions which can be taken against third parties to increase recoveries for creditors.

"We have considered matters raised by creditors, reviewed transactions involving connected parties, assessed the Company's governance and record-keeping practices, analysed information relating to asset disposals and creditor treatment, and investigated matters requiring further enquiry in accordance with our statutory obligations.

"Significant time has also been spent reviewing and assessing information received from third parties, including creditor representations, professional advisers and government agencies, together with preparing and submitting our report on the conduct of the directors to the Insolvency Service, which is confidential."

Since concluding the deal, Ron Hull moved quickly to take on the fully operational rail siding which has enabled the provider of a range of metal recovery and waste recycling services to offer decommissioned rail stack handling and the sale and loading of scrap metal via rail.

Buildings on the site, considered to be in poor condition and surplus to requirements, were earmarked for demolition and planning permission was secured to demolish the stands and structures at Millmoor. Work started on the historic football stadium last month.

Ron Hull website

Images: Google Maps / RUFC

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