News: £12.6m for Rotherham town centre and what it is set to be spent on
£12.6m of Government funding has been allocated to help Rotherham transform its high street into a vibrant hub for future generations and to protect and create jobs.
Rothbiz has previously reported that Rotherham Council had been bidding for a number of regional and national funding pots to support the realisation of the town centre masterplan.
A bid to the Future High Streets Fund has been partially successful, in that a provisional funding offer for £12,660,708 has been recieved. This is less than the borough's bid which was for over £20m.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: "The year ahead will be a big one for the high street as it seeks to recover, adapt and evolve as a result of the pandemic.
"The role of high street has always evolved. We want to support that change and make sure that they are the beating heart of their local community – with high quality housing and leisure in addition to shops and restaurants.
"This investment will help us build back better and make town centres a more attractive place to live, work and visit."
Rotherham's town centre masterplan places the emphasis on more leisure and residential uses and a diversifying of the high street from being retail focused.
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Following the success of the Council's Stage 1 Bid and having been invited to Stage 2 of the process - business case development; the requirement was to work up detailed HM Treasury Green Book compliant business cases with developed/detailed designs and costings.
Council documents show that the Final Bid aimed to secure funding for the following proposals:
- Rotherham Markets, Library & Community Hub (draft sketches pictured, top) - Rotherham Markets is an important economic and social hub in the heart of the town centre. This will be redeveloped to reinforce this role delivering an Innovative Test Space for Enterprise, Learning and Culture as well as high quality public realm, delivering a pioneering new flexible shared space of markets, libraries and community hubs;
- Riverside Gardens (currently Riverside car park) - A playful green space connecting Forge Island with the heart of the town providing recreational space for residents and visitors. This intervention is critical to the flow of pedestrians between Forge Island and the town centre, ensuring continuity of a high-quality experience and encouraging further dwell-time within the town centre core;
- Grimm & Co (The National Centre for Folk & Fairy Tales) – a new home for the internationally-renowned Grimm & Co, a new cultural, learning and visitor destination will take root in a beautiful Grade II* Listed Church. This proposal forms part of the priority for a Child Centred Borough and for the Children’s Capital of Culture 2025;
- Safe & Smart Streets - Providing a high-quality environment and connecting key sites across the town centre. Proposals seek to address the key challenge of safety and security concerns expressed by users of the town centre by providing well-lit, secure and more welcoming public spaces. Proposals also allow for the introduction of events, a programme of public art, playful trails, sculptural street furniture and high-quality planting and green space will connect and frame our landmarks.
Bosses will now need to decide how to reach the aims with less money than was bid for.
The funding is set to be used alongside other money that has been secured for regeneration projects, such as the £1m grant via the Government's Towns Fund Accelerator programme, various grants and loans from the Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority for Forge Island, Grimm & Co's £500,000 grant as part of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund, and the Council's own Town Centre Investment Fund.
The council and its partners continue to work on a bid for £25m from the Government's Towns Fund Programme.
Images: RMBC / Greig & Stephenson Architects
Rothbiz has previously reported that Rotherham Council had been bidding for a number of regional and national funding pots to support the realisation of the town centre masterplan.
A bid to the Future High Streets Fund has been partially successful, in that a provisional funding offer for £12,660,708 has been recieved. This is less than the borough's bid which was for over £20m.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: "The year ahead will be a big one for the high street as it seeks to recover, adapt and evolve as a result of the pandemic.
"The role of high street has always evolved. We want to support that change and make sure that they are the beating heart of their local community – with high quality housing and leisure in addition to shops and restaurants.
"This investment will help us build back better and make town centres a more attractive place to live, work and visit."
Rotherham's town centre masterplan places the emphasis on more leisure and residential uses and a diversifying of the high street from being retail focused.
Advertisement
Following the success of the Council's Stage 1 Bid and having been invited to Stage 2 of the process - business case development; the requirement was to work up detailed HM Treasury Green Book compliant business cases with developed/detailed designs and costings.
Council documents show that the Final Bid aimed to secure funding for the following proposals:
- Rotherham Markets, Library & Community Hub (draft sketches pictured, top) - Rotherham Markets is an important economic and social hub in the heart of the town centre. This will be redeveloped to reinforce this role delivering an Innovative Test Space for Enterprise, Learning and Culture as well as high quality public realm, delivering a pioneering new flexible shared space of markets, libraries and community hubs;
- Riverside Gardens (currently Riverside car park) - A playful green space connecting Forge Island with the heart of the town providing recreational space for residents and visitors. This intervention is critical to the flow of pedestrians between Forge Island and the town centre, ensuring continuity of a high-quality experience and encouraging further dwell-time within the town centre core;
- Grimm & Co (The National Centre for Folk & Fairy Tales) – a new home for the internationally-renowned Grimm & Co, a new cultural, learning and visitor destination will take root in a beautiful Grade II* Listed Church. This proposal forms part of the priority for a Child Centred Borough and for the Children’s Capital of Culture 2025;
- Safe & Smart Streets - Providing a high-quality environment and connecting key sites across the town centre. Proposals seek to address the key challenge of safety and security concerns expressed by users of the town centre by providing well-lit, secure and more welcoming public spaces. Proposals also allow for the introduction of events, a programme of public art, playful trails, sculptural street furniture and high-quality planting and green space will connect and frame our landmarks.
Bosses will now need to decide how to reach the aims with less money than was bid for.
The funding is set to be used alongside other money that has been secured for regeneration projects, such as the £1m grant via the Government's Towns Fund Accelerator programme, various grants and loans from the Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority for Forge Island, Grimm & Co's £500,000 grant as part of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund, and the Council's own Town Centre Investment Fund.
The council and its partners continue to work on a bid for £25m from the Government's Towns Fund Programme.
Images: RMBC / Greig & Stephenson Architects
26 comments:
Rotherham Council obsessed with "Green spaces"to attract winos and drug scum. GET THINGS BUILT TO ATTRACT PEOPLE WHO SPEND MONEY, YOU KNOW BARS, RESTARAUNTS, WHO THE HELL IS PLANNING IN ROTHERHAM!!!!!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😡
The sketch above is about as clear as mud! Having read the article is states more green space, who is going to use all these green spaces & what will they do?
The clowncil really should take a look elsewhere for inspiration-25 mins drive up the M1 to Barnsley & have a look !
Total lack of vision or understanding by both Officers and members, as usual. RMBC appears to be comprised solely of moronic cretins. The people of Rotherham deserve better. As a previous commentator posted just go 25 mins up the M1 to see how much better Barnsley town centre is or 30 mins on the M18 to look at Doncaster.
Depressing we have this council!!
Regrettably it's RMBC Planning that is planning in Rotherham, so don't expect good planning, creativity, good design and least of all value for money. But do expect big fat salaries for inept staff and do also expect any granted funds to disappear without trace.
Rotherham gets £12.6m, what shall we do?? Oh I know we'll pull more buildings down and plant some trees and grass for gutter snipes to hang around... The mind boggles, we have numerous green spaces in town centre and a Riverside walk, not too mention a huge park (clifton) virtually in town centre, yet the clowns🤡 in charge want green spaces! 😩😩😩😩
Rotherham Council are an absolute joke. Invest in making Rotherham great again. Instead of the asylum seekers toilet its become. Put shops back in the town centre and upgrade the market. Instead of green spaces for junkies and other such undesirables. If this is the councils best plan the best thing would be to not get the grants and keep the festering turd this town has become the way it is.
I would question if RMBC have the in house skills to deliver such a project. Over the last few years any skilled staff have retired or left. Only way they can do this is to outsource to consultants. Ultimately the true retail centre of Rotherham is now at Parkgate, with easy access and free parking.
Will do exactly as they did with child abuse!!! Half a job!!! Council is a joke if it can be called a council?
What a joke,who wants to go in to Rotherham centre, there is nothing there to go to. Only empty shops, and now green spaces are planned. 😥To attract people we need shops that sell what people want to buy, cafes and restaurants that give an enjoyable experience, right now Rotherham has very few of these. Green spaces won't bring people in to town it just hides the true story. There is nothing there
As above!!!! but will anyone take note you decide!
The comments about shopping in Barnsley an Dony are spot on i live in Rothm and shop in these two towns now and again and must bump into more people from Rothm than I care to think of I think that tells you everything about what Rothms got to offer.if your shopping in Rothm and it rains no were to go but the bus station and home no indoor shopping and leasure
There have been Many empty shops for nys now we need to think whether there are toomany shops for the size of the town the shops that are left are manly of low quality therfore bringing down the environment of the town people will only come into the town if they feel safe enjoy shopping in good sops and be able to spend time in a nice environment where they can eat and drink get rid of the cash converters and betting shops
Why do people of rotherham keep voting for this same turd of a council because nothing changed since 1970 only enterprise these people know is captain
kerk of the starship enterprise
Rotherham used to be a lovely place to shop every shop you would ever need then came Parkgate retail and that was the beginning of the end. Shame on Rotherham Council.
Totally correct...RMBC should be foreced to provide separate invoices to disclose exactly how the moneyis being spentat wvery stage of this project..there shoukd be a Government ckause prohibitting salaries over certain limits...basically this boils down tothe past inept untrustworthyness of RMBC
Rotherham is where i was born and raised but being totally honest apart from family there's nothing keeping me here,it's not family friendly anymore and i can't wait to move to Cumbria/Lake District to raise my family it's such a shame but Rotherham will never be the same R.I.P ROTHERHAM
I am so sorry to say this ..but Rotherham is past redemotion
There's a massive green space just outside of town called Clifton Park!!! The town centre requires shops that appeal and make people want to spend time and money there. Parking is also an issue. Why make a once bustling town centre into a ghost town with fancy flats and bit more greenery? It doesn't make sense.
You just have to go to do casters outdoor Market and see how cosmopolitan the eating quarter has been developed at a low cost with fantastic results. The green space idea is beyond me how many people travel to York to use their green spaces?? RMBC WAKE UP
Who wants green spaces not me as pollen is my enemy I live in Rotherham and very rarely go to town only about a hand full of times when I have to get school uniform I used to love going shopping into town now days its dead I go elsewhere such a shame
Hope you pass these responses on to RMBC, Rothbiz, no one wants more green space for winos and druggies to congregate in town centre, attractions repuired, not grass and trees!!!
I think Rotherham council have got plans to turn the town centre into one big housing estate with hardly any retail at all the demise of the town is appalling.
Big housing estate? Ghetto more like!
why do we want more green places in the town centre what employment will it create big fat zero.
the market badly needs developement lower rents,better loading for traders the canopies on the stalls are disgusting the empty shops above the drummond street entrance are an eyesore.
what happened to the library moving into the market complex.rmbc showed traders plans for the market 2 yrs ago what progress have they made again big fat zero
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