News: New openings in Rotherham town centre

A range of new food outlets and a play cafe are the latest openings in Rotherham town centre where current traders are also taking on new premises.

At Forge Island, the town's £47m leisure development, a new Smoke & Pepper franchise has opened a modern, vibrant, and flavour-driven restaurant.

Rothbiz reported in June that Rotherham Council had confirmed the letting for Unit 1, a 2,500 sq ft unit next door to Arc Cinema.

The menu includes smoked meats, loaded dishes and indulgent comfort food, designed to appeal to a wide range of tastes. This includes top chef-quality burgers and succulent flame grilled chicken, famous flavourful loaded fries and crispy fried wings and tenders tossed in signature sauces. Smoke & Pepper is also known for bringing the thickest shakes in town, thirst quenching mojitos and freshly baked divine milk cakes.

Across town, a unique independent cafe has brought a Brazilian flavour to the heritage High Street.

Little Rio Cafe at 20 High Street offers authentic Brazilian speciality coffee and freshly baked goods and traditional snacks.

A wide-ranging menu features Brazilian favourites such as pasteis (pastries) and coxinha (croquettes) plus desserts like brigadeiro, a Brazilian chocolate truffle. Larger meals include Brazilian breakfasts, acai bowls, various traditional corn couscous dishes and tapioca crepes.

The independent business has utilised support from RiDO via the Launchpad scheme and to introduce the new flavours to the community, Little Rio has also been hosting Authentic Brazilian Colonial Breakfasts on Sundays.

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On nearby Moorgate Street, a former estate agents has been transformed into a play cafe with a soft play area.

Wiggle & Wonder is described as an indoor play experience and family cafe "beautifully designed for little explorers and the people who love them."

Re-imagining the traditional soft play experience to be less chaotic and loud, the new opening focuses on active early-years development and genuine relaxation for parents, grandparents, and carers.

Wiggle & Wonder offers bookable designated play sessions throughout the week. The cafe and viewing area makes it just as enjoyable for the adults as it is for the children.

Within the Grade II listed Imperial Buildings, the latest opening is set to bring something sweet to the prominent Victorian mixed-use site.

From the team at Chaii Street on Westgate, Cafe Treats is due to open soon at Unit 4.

Pokilee's CardCade has recently opened at its new location on Howard Street when hundreds of loyal Pokemon fans queued up to visit the store on opening day.

Rothbiz reported earlier this year that plans were approved for a change of use at 14 Howard Street, a former Argos store, as the new venue includes a shop, cafe and family friendly arcade.

With the opening of the new Market Hall this month, 37 independent businesses have found a temporary new home. Rotherham Council says that 96% of the stalls are let, with everything from fruit and veg and fresh meat to clothing, jewellery and more on offer.

Smoke & Pepper website
Little Rio Cafe facebook page
Wiggle & Wonder website
Cafe Treats facebook page
Pokilee's CardCade website
Rotherham Markets website

Images: RiDO / LinkedIn

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News: Priority projects for Rotherham Gateway regeneration scheme

Rotherham Council is using a twin track approach to progress key projects in the first phase of the masterplan for the proposed new mainline station in Rotherham.

Rothbiz reported on the 20-year masterplan for Rotherham Gateway last year which showed how a transport improvement scheme can act as the catalyst for a much wider £300m regeneration project supporting thousands of new jobs.

Integrated with a new tram-train stop, the station would bring faster rail connections. A new mainline rail station at Forge Way would deliver faster links to Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, and Doncaster, unlocking wider regional and national connectivity. The aim is for journey times to Leeds to be cut from 60 minutes to 30 minutes and to be 75 minutes to Birmingham.

Station opening has been pencilled in for "late 2030" with the four-phase masterplan showing two platforms, with passive provision for four, to support future growth.

A phased approach starts with the Station Quarter, on land which is currently Northfields Business Park, which features the mainline station, tram-train station, public realm, car parking, northern access via new bridges, and the station anchor building - essentially covering the development of the station core area.

Outside the core area, an active travel route along Effingham Street will connect the town centre to the station as Phase 1a.

A Rotherham Council report states: "To maintain momentum and ensure the alignment of phase 1 schemes, the Council proposed utilising Gainshare funding. This will fund the three priority workstreams, plus resource capacity."

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Gainshare funding refers to the money committed to South Yorkshire through the Devolution Deal agreed by the Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), South Yorkshire local authorities and government.

The development of the three priority projects will cost over £2m.

£400,000 is being used to develop the outline designs for the space surrounding the station. The plans "will ensure the Station area is a welcoming transit interchange with good design and high-quality public realm that will create a ‘sense of place’ and act as a gateway into Rotherham."

£624,000 is set aside for work on the Innovation Gateway Anchor Building. A council report states: "This should be a high-quality, flagship building of architectural merit with an anchor tenant to act as a gateway into Rotherham. It would also be an anchor building for the Innovation Campus and incorporate the required station facilities into the ground floor."

£1.03m is for the full design of an Effingham Street Masterplan and Active Travel Route. A comprehensive scheme has been proposed that would incorporate a new cycle / footbridge, landscape improvements, Active Travel provision, and improved pedestrian crossings. A 20 minute walk from the town centre, the plan is to complement the tram-train stop at the new station site and enable commuters to connect quickly and easily into the town centre.

Recruitment recently got underway for the project team including a Land Acquisition Project Manager, a Rail Project Manager and a Station & Public Realm Project Manager. Further consultants are set to be appointed with timetables showing that project design work on the early phases will continue to December 2027.

The work is to support and compliment the Full Business Case which has already secured £11.38m via SYMCA for its development. £10m was previously secured for land acquisition.

Further phases of the masterplan involve the creation of an innovation campus on plots of land near the station, and the introduction of new housing in the area.

Rotherham Gateway station website

Images: RMBC

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News: Rotherham shortlisted to become first UK Town of Culture

From nearly 400 bids, Rotherham has been shortlisted to become the UK's first Town of Culture, reports Visit Rotherham.

Visit Rotherham reported on a bid to the national competition last week.

Adding to the UK City of Culture, the competition is open to small, medium and large towns, with the winner delivering a vibrant cultural programme. Showcasing towns’ local visions and voices - through new arts venues, performances, workshops and more - this competition brings local investment, creates a lasting sense of pride in towns, and opens doors to the arts for everyone.

From 398 bids, Rotherham has made it into the final 15 towns still in the running to host the programme year.

It comes on the back of Rotherham's landmark year as the world's first Children's Capital of Culture in 2025, a pioneering, award-winning programme that put young people at the heart of arts, culture and creativity.

Rotherham's bid focuses on the real-life stories of place, saying: "We come from the England people don't put on postcards. We became the town people told stories about. The next chapter is where we stop asking whether Rotherham deserves a better future and start writing it."

Rotherham’s cultural offer is strengthened by a diverse network of organisations working both independently and in partnership. These include literacy charity Grimm & Co, which is set to become the national centre for folk and fairy tales, Flux Rotherham, part of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme, which works alongside communities across the borough to increase participation in arts and culture, and ROAR, which provides vital support for independent artists and creatives.

Together with major visitor attractions such as Magna Science Adventure Centre and Gulliver’s Valley Theme Park, they contribute to an increasingly confident cultural environment.

Rotherham's outdoor venues further strengthen that landscape, including the award-winning Clifton Park, Rother Valley Country Park which has recently seen major investment, and Wentworth Woodhouse, one of Britain's grandest stately homes, which has become a major cultural and tourism destination following significant restoration work. In 2025, the historic estate welcomed thousands of visitors when it hosted the prestigious RHS Flower Show.

Rotherham's bid says: "Our Rotherham - and your nation - isn't defined by its past. It's driven by it. Join us as we become your UK Town of Culture."

Cllr Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, said: "The shortlisting for UK Town of Culture 2028 is great news for Rotherham and great recognition of the hard work over many years of the whole partnership. From becoming the world's first Children's Capital of Culture to the Women's Euros and our growing local events programme, Rotherham has shown how cultural events can inspire people and bring communities together. Our bid was based not on some abstract art, but on the real experience of our community, the people who live here, and the highs and lows we've been through together.

"We have an incredible story to tell - and not necessarily the story others might impose on us. It's supported by iconic landmarks such as Wentworth Woodhouse and Clifton Park to events like the Rotherham Show that are woven into the fabric of our lives. This shortlist is a tribute to everyone who contributes to making Rotherham such a vibrant and welcoming place."

Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, said: “Rotherham wears its Yorkshire identity with real pride, and they’re rightly proud of their incredibly rich cultural life. Like so many of our great industrial towns, its strength comes from that deep sense of community and from the creativity of the people who call it home. I'm very excited to see how Rotherham makes its case to be the first ever UK Town of Culture.”

15 towns will now compete for the inaugural UK Town of Culture 2028 title. The shortlisted towns are:

Small towns: Ilfracombe, Isle of Bute, Lerwick, Sandown, Strabane, and Stockton Town Centre Ward
Medium towns: Corby, Great Yarmouth, Leith, Pontypridd, and Port Talbot
Large towns: Basildon, Birkenhead, Grimsby and Rotherham

Shortlisted towns will now receive £60,000 each to finalise their bids, which will explain how they would use culture to celebrate their town, showcase original storytelling, empower their local communities and provide more accessible culture in their local area.

From these fifteen shortlisted towns, an independent panel will recommend the best small, medium and large town from the full applications they receive. An overall winner from these three towns will be designated the “UK Town of Culture 2028” and receive a £3m grant from the government. The additional two towns, from the other two categories, will be selected as finalists and receive £250,000 each to carry out part of their programme.

The winner will go on to host a season of culture in 2028, which will help them to deliver a long-lasting legacy of cultural participation and local pride as has been seen in previous winners of the UK City of Culture competition; Derry-Londonderry 2013, Hull 2017, Coventry 2021 and Bradford 2025.

Chair of the independent panel, Sir Phil Redmond said: "The response to the competition has been, to say the least, overwhelming, quite literally from all four corners of the UK. It has been fantastic that nearly 400 towns have come forward, sharing their sense of pride, ambition and desire to demonstrate how much they have, and continue to contribute to our national story.

"That of course has made making the decision on the shortlist itself much more difficult, never mind the actual winners.

"I look forward to visiting those towns that have made the list and I am sure that, just like City of Culture, those that didn’t manage it will have found the experience of taking part worthwhile in strengthening partnerships, raising awareness and reminding us all of the depth and spread of the UK’s cultural landscape. I’d like to thank them all for that."

Images: Children's Capital of Culture

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News: £100m regeneration contract for "Rotherham’s reboot"

Further work can get underway on transforming five underused council-owned sites in Rotherham town centre, with developers proposing bold designs for places where people can "live, work and hang out."

Rotherham Council has approved the use of external funding to take regeneration plans to the next stage.

Rothbiz reported last month on early details of the projects from social impact developer Capital&Centric, who have been awarded a contract that could reach up to £100m in value.

The next phase involves Rotherham Council using £2.42m from its remaining Local Regeneration Grant secured from the government for pre-development work and feasibility studies to create full business cases for each site.

The sites include:

- the cleared site of the burnt-out buildings on Corporation Street
- Snail Yard - the cleared site of the former Primark store on High Street, currently a small pocket park
- The Statutes - the cleared site of the former Magistrates Court, currently used as a car park
- two sites along Sheffield Road in the area designated as Riverside Residential

Describing the schemes as the next chapter in Rotherham town centre's transformation, Andrew Bramidge, Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment, told councillors: "The five sites have the capacity to elevate the offer within the town centre. Some of these sites have been vacant or underused for many years but now have the potential to create quality homes, attract investment and provide new commercial opportunities. This will provide a platform to create new communities and support and strengthen the long term viability and vitality of the town centre."

The Statutes and the sites on Sheffield Road are for residential schemes that are estimated to deliver 225 new homes including both apartments and houses. The Corporation Street and Snail Yard sites are considered best suited to a development of mixed uses.

The outcome of Stage 2 feasibility work, and the potential move to stage 3 (the construction of the schemes) will be reported to Cabinet in Summer 2027.

Bramidge added that the phased approach is about ensuring that the council has "robust, deliverable and evidence-based controls to enable the realisation of these transformative regeneration opportunities in our town centre."

In a statement, Capital&Centric, said: "The vision for Rotherham’s reboot will see a key stretch of the riverside reimagined with three interlinked residential-led neighbourhoods and two urban schemes where people can live, work and hang out. Plans are being prepared for the delivery of high-quality new homes and private gardens, alongside space for indie businesses, with active commercial space being earmarked for cafés, bars, makers and creatives.

"The bold designs coupled with Rotherham’s outstanding connectivity to nearby towns and cities will celebrate urban living with a greener, more walkable, accessible vibe with plant-lined streets, attractive pocket parks, and spaces to sit and meet friends. A town centre that people don’t just pass through, but properly live, work and play in."

Cllr. Linda Beresford, Cabinet Member for Housing at Rotherham Council discussed the designs for the waterfront development describing them as "quirky" and reminiscent of the developments in Kelham Island in Sheffield. "It looks absolutely fantastic," she said. "If we manage to pull this off, I think this is really going to transform our town centre."

Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, said: "The second theme in our masterplan was about having many more people living in our town centre. We have delivered some new homes but this, certainly in terms of those larger sites on Sheffield Road and Westgate, will be a huge step-change in the community in those areas.

"The quality that has been done at stage 1 on the design is exceptional - I think they are exciting designs and ideas from a highly-rated development partner. I'm really pleased that this is coming forward.

"There are the usual caveats that I hope this all goes well and the money is well spent. We don't want to end up with a product that no one wants of course but there is every reason at this stage that this is a really big moment for the next ten years of development in that part of the town centre."

Capital&Centric website

Images: Capital&Centric / ESH

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News: Entries Open for Barnsley & Rotherham Business Awards 2026

Businesses across South Yorkshire are being encouraged to celebrate their achievements and showcase their success at the Barnsley & Rotherham Business Awards.

One of the most prestigious events on the local business calendar, entries for the Barnsley & Rotherham Business Awards, sponsored by Barnsley College, are now open. And with thirteen different categories up for grabs, there has never been a better time to get involved.

Organised by Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, the awards recognise the achievements of all areas and sectors of the local business communities, including organisations, charities and individuals helping to drive growth, create jobs and make a positive difference across local communities.

Now in its sixteenth year, the awards continue to shine a spotlight on businesses of all sizes, from ambitious start-ups and apprentices beginning their careers to long-established firms, charities and employers making a lasting contribution to the South Yorkshire economy.

More than 500 guests attended last year's ceremony, which saw Barnsley-based Naylor Group crowned Business of the Year.

On winning the award, Edward Naylor, Executive Chairman, Naylor industries said: “Being awarded the title of Business of the Year by Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber is an incredible achievement, and I feel immensely proud of every member of our team who have contributed to our success.”

Rotherham based Balliante were named Small Business of the Year and Rotherham Samaritans recognised as Charity of the Year.

Craig Boddy, Managing Director, Balliante, said: “Being named as small business of the year is a huge honour, and I feel incredibly proud that the hard work and dedication shown by our team has been recognised in this way.”

Following the judging process, finalists will be invited to attend a black-tie celebration at Magna on Friday 6th November 2026, where category winners will be announced and one organisation will be named the overall Business of the Year.

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Carrie Sudbury, Chief Executive Officer of Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, said: "There is some fantastic work taking place across our region and these awards are an opportunity to showcase it. I encourage businesses that feel proud of their achievements over the past twelve months to submit an entry.

"Every year we see businesses, charities and individuals achieving remarkable things across South Yorkshire. The awards give us an opportunity to celebrate those successes and share their stories with the wider business community. Whether you've grown your business, invested in your people, supported your local community or overcome challenges to achieve something special, we want to hear about it."

Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber currently supports more than 1,100 businesses across Barnsley, Rotherham and the wider South Yorkshire region, and the awards remain one of the Chamber's flagship events.

Alongside the business categories, charities and not-for-profit organisations can compete for the Charity of the Year title, while businesses celebrating milestone anniversaries can apply for recognition through the Chamber's Salute to Business Awards programme.

During the awards evening, organisations marking significant anniversaries will be recognised for their contribution to the regional economy, including businesses celebrating 50, 75 and more than 100 years of trading.

Entry to the Barnsley & Rotherham Business Awards is free and open to businesses with an S postcode, as well as members of Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber. Self-nominations are welcomed, and organisations can also nominate businesses they believe deserve recognition.

Entries close at 5pm on Friday 11th September 2026.

Barnsley & Rotherham Business Awards website

Images: BR Chamber

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