News: Smoke & Pepper to open new Rotherham restaurant

A fast-growing food brand is opening a new store in Rotherham, according to Visit Rotherham, promising a modern, vibrant, and flavour-driven restaurant.

What started in Leyton in 2022 as a burger joint has now turned into a raved-about restaurant. Smoke & Pepper has crafted a unique dining experience that seamlessly blends the allure of an Instagrammable restaurant with the convenience of fast-food dining.

Visit Rotherham reports that the brand has begun work on its new Rotherham location at Forge Island.

Delivered by Rotherham Council in partnership with Muse, the £47m Forge Island development in Rotherham town centre includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema, a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel. Food outlets include Vetro Lounge and Heavenly Desserts.

The menu 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.

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The business is fast growing thanks to its franchise model. It has 16 stores currently trading with more in the pipeline.

Heavenly Desserts franchisee, Daoud Tahir, who recently picked up an award for his work on the Rotherham location, recently announced that he was looking to add a Smoke & Pepper franchise.

Smoke & Pepper is working on Unit 1 at Forge Island, a 2,500 sq ft unit next door to Arc Cinema.

Recruitment is underway with the restaurant currently looking for General Team Members and Back of House Kitchen Staff.

Social media posts for the brand explain: "Food is at the heart of Smoke & Pepper. Our menu centres on comfort food favourites such as smash burgers, grilled chicken, loaded fries, smoked meats and signature in house sauces, all built around carefully sourced ingredients and strong operational discipline.

"The Smoke & Pepper experience is about more than food. Our restaurants are designed to feel distinctive and engaging, so customers feel they have been somewhere, not just eaten somewhere.

"From design and music to service and flow, we focus on creating an environment people want to spend time in and return to. Every customer who chooses Smoke & Pepper is a privilege. They could have gone anywhere, and that choice is never taken lightly. We celebrate that trust by delivering great food, strong service and an experience that feels reliable, enjoyable and worth repeating."

Rothbiz reported last month that Sygnature Dish, an independent restaurant set up by local entrepreneurs had closed within a year of opening at Forge Island.

Smoke & Pepper website
Forge Island website

Images: Tom Austen

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News: Plans drafted for new events and sports venue in Rotherham

A former works sporting facility tied to one of Rotherham's most famous companies could be brought back into use under ambitious new plans.

A licence application has been submitted to Rotherham Council for the site of the Guest & Chrimes pitches on Bassingthorpe Lane near Greasbrough.

The former iron and brass foundry of Guest & Chrimes once employed 400 people on the edge of Rotherham town centre. Sports clubs and pitches were often made available by large companies.

Having been out of use as sports facilities, the site's owners have tested the water with car boot sales in recent years. Now plans drafted for the licensing application show a new future for the site which is in the middle of the proposed Bassingthorpe residential development scheme.

The new application for a premises licence is from SME Enviromental Holdings LTD, the company behind a number of regeneration projects in Rotherham town centre, including The Empire and The Bunka.

If approved, it would enable the Bassingthorpe site to allow the outdoor provision of the following licensable activities:

- Live & Recorded Music, Plays, Films, & Dance;
- Late Night Refreshment; and the
- Sale of Alcohol

The application would be for between May and September and limits the provision licensable activities to a maximum of 16 occasions between 11am and 12 midnight on any day of the week.

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Bassingthorpe Meadows is advertised as having seven acres of space for events.

Plans show a large venue space complemented with a pavilion and café, plus 77 to 110 car parking spaces.

The plans also show seven padel courts and an area for golfing activities - a netted driving range with 13 bays, a chipping area, and a putting area.

Last year, a masterplan was approved for Bassingthorpe - a proposed 2,000 home development on former greenbelt land where the vision is to create a "well-connected 21st century garden community" close to the proposed new mainline station at Parkgate.

The masterplan included a new neighbourhood park and sports facilities at the heart of Bassingthorpe and stated that Bassingthorpe Lane "has potential to become a key active travel route between Greasbrough and Rotherham Town Centre and the new mainline station."

Images: Google Maps

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News: Environmental permit application withdrawn for Rotherham site

The Environment Agency has confirmed that a permit regarding glass recycling at a site in Rotherham has been withdrawn.

Operators were previously served with a statutory abatement order following complaints from nearby residents.

Universal Glass Ltd has been operating from Rotherham Road in Dinnington. Rothbiz reported on a permit application for non-hazardous waste recycling which stated that the throughput of the site was proposed to be less than 75,000 tonnes a year, targeting "wastes consisting predominantly of glass, with smaller fractions of packaging materials."

The application is now listed as withdrawn and the local MP, Jake Richards has said that the firm has closed the site and the operation "will be moved to another location."

The MP said: "I would like to thank everyone who was involved in this campaign, your strength of feeling and demand for action has been heard and we have collectively ensured that this issue has been resolved for local residents.

"For the past 15 months, residents around the area have been contacting me to report a foul and toxic smell coming from the Glass recycling plant. Residents spoke about the impact on their day-to-day lives; not being able to open windows, avoiding going outside, and worrying about the effect on their health. Many described the smell as being particularly bad over weekends, and the strength of feeling was clear: people were frustrated and wanted action.

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"Residents were also worried that the company had applied for an Environmental Permit, which would enable them to continue operating and further enhance the risk to residents’ safety and quality of life."

The permit would have allowed for HGVs to deliver waste which would be crushed and screened outside with a second screening inside. Once treated, the materials would then be considered a specified, saleable product, and would no longer constitute a waste. Different products would be separately stockpiled and bagged before being loaded to HGVs for onward delivery.

Permitted work would have been carried out 8:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday and 8:00 to 16:00 on Saturdays.

Images: Google Maps

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News: Rotherham Council in £4.5m deal with developers

Rotherham Council are close to concluding a deal that will net them £4.5m and enable a controversial 450 house development to go ahead.

Rothbiz reported in April that new developers had stepped in at Whiston after Avant Homes pulled out.

A residential allocation was made for nearly 50 acres of greenbelt land off Lathe Road / Worrygoose Lane through the development of the borough's Local Plan.

Miller Homes and St. Modwen Homes are now set to develop the site with a phased approach.

The new developers are now set to purchase a piece of surplus land on Worrygoose Lane from Rotherham Council, described as a "ransom strip."

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The council's cabinet is being asked to sign off the deal. A report explains: "The land is required to provide lawful access to a residential site allocated within the Council’s adopted Local Plan and therefore represents a ransom strip, without control of which the wider site cannot be developed.

"During the course of negotiations, a number of offers were made by the developer and adjoining landowners. At one stage, all offers were withdrawn while alternative options for accessing the site were explored, resulting in a period of limited engagement with the Council. At a later stage, a change in developer and a refreshed commercial approach led to negotiations being re-opened and ultimately concluding in a final agreed offer of £4.5m for the Council’s land.

"The disposal enables the realisation of value from a Council-owned asset and also enables delivery of a wider residential development, including affordable housing, as already identified within the Council’s Local Plan and wider objectives to deliver new residential and affordable residential across the Borough."

A reserved matters application for the site has never been approved. It detailed where the houses would go, the types of houses, and the location of things like attenuation basins and play areas. Miller Homes are now updating plans to reflect the incoming housebuilders’ product ranges.

With outline approval, the scheme comes with a number of conditions, such as contributing to £225,000 for transport improvements plus a financial contribution to the proposed works at Worrygoose roundabout, £100k per annum for a period of three years for bus services, and 25% on site affordable housing provision.

Miller Homes website

Images: Google Maps

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News: All smiles as Tooth Express secures larger premises in Rotherham

Dental supply company Tooth Express, has completed the successful purchase of commercial premises in Rotherham in a strategic growth move.

Previously based in Sheffield, the new larger premises represent a key milestone in the next chapter of the family-run business which was established in 2008.

The Brightside Lane premises were leased and the company was keen to find a larger, permanent base, so opted to purchase a former funeral director's premises in Rotherham. The significantly larger building on Broom Valley Road now provides the space needed to support the company’s growth plans.

Sheffield-based property law specialist Mason Thomas Law advised Sophie Evans, managing director of Tooth Express, on the property purchase.

Sophie, who has worked within Tooth Express for more than ten years, took over the helm of the family owned and run business last year from her mother, Beverley Pearce who originally established the company.

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The company has since built a strong reputation supplying acrylic and composite false teeth for the manufacture of dentures to dental technicians and clinical dental technicians throughout the UK. More recently the business has expanded its product range to include denture base materials, clasps, rotaries and other specialist supplies.

Commenting on the legal process, Sophie said: “The team at Mason Thomas Law were fantastic. Jo Malcolm was straight-talking and exactly what I needed, with everything being explained clearly and simply. They were very easy to work with and so helpful throughout the process. I was so impressed and would recommend them to anyone needing a property lawyer.”

With a baby due in March, the purchase of the new property was a race against time. It was completed just before Christmas 2025, with Sophie electing to purchase with cash due to funding delays.

She explained: “When delays arose with the bank, I knew I wanted to get the purchase completed before Christmas, so I decided to proceed as a cash buyer.”

Jo Malcolm, Director and Licensed Conveyancer at Mason Thomas Law, said: “It was a pleasure to support Sophie on this important step for both her and the business. Securing larger premises gives Tooth Express room to grow and continue building on its strong reputation within the dental supply sector. We wish Sophie every success with both the expansion and the exciting upcoming new arrival.”

6-8 Broom Valley Road provides 2,093 sq ft of space and went up for sale with Commercial Property Rotherham from a guide price of £225,000.

Tooth Express website

Images: Tooth Express

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