News: Rotherham cultural quarter rethink

Rotherham Borough Council's Cabinet Members have agreed that the Rotherham Central Library will move into Riverside House - the new civic building currently being built off Main Street on the edge of the town centre.



With the current huge pressures on local government finances, the authority has been forced to rethink its vision of a cultural quarter on Forge Island. However, the council has until 2015 to decide whether to procure Forge Island or not with no expenditure being committed.

Options are being investigated so other services can be relocated following the closure of the Arts Centre in 2012, including the Archives Service, the York and Lancaster Regimental Museum and the Studio Theatre. The Civic Theatre on Catherine Street will continue to be maintained as the main theatre venue within Rotherham.

The inclusion of a new ground floor library, the information service and the children's library within the new building will mean that the public will be able to access a huge variety of council services all under one roof.

Being built on the former Guest and Chrimes site, Riverside House will become Rotherham's new Civic Building. It will greatly improve the services being provided to the Rotherham people by housing all services in a "one-stop shop." As well as the new library, the public will be able to access a Customer Service Centre and a public cafe.

Once the 172,000 sq ft building is completed - in the spring of 2012 - the upper floors will also provide office space for council staff currently using various buildings around the town. These valuable town centre sites will then be freed-up allowing further redevelopment works to take place as part of the Rotherham Renaissance regeneration plan.

Coun. Iain St. John, Cabinet Member for Cultural Services and Sport, said: "The ground floor of Riverside House will provide a huge range of public services for the people of Rotherham and it does make sense to provide an exciting new library on the same site. Due to the tough times ahead we are unable, at this stage, to move ahead with a new cultural quarter but we can provide a new modern library in a much shorter time, which I am sure will be welcomed by library users across the town."

Rotherham Renaissance website

Images: rotherham.gov.uk