News: Safe, welcoming, green, and with accessible services and facilities - £20m vision for Rotherham town centre
Councillors in Rotherham have been given an update on how £20m of government funding could be used to continue the regeneration of Rotherham town centre, despite doubts being raised whether the money will reach the borough.
After a consultation period, the key themes of safety and security, high streets, heritage and regeneration, and transport and connectivity are at the forefront of local priorities with a number of objectives and potential schemes being looked at.
Rothbiz reported last month that the town's MP, Sarah Champion, and leader of the Council, Cllr. Chris Read, had written to the government regarding regeneration funding awarded to Rotherham town centre under the previous government.
In 2023 Rotherham was selected as one of 55 towns to be given £20m endowment-style funds to invest in local people’s priorities. A government deadline of August 1 2024 was moved and a submission date remains unconfirmed.
The Rotherham Town Board, a private-sector chaired board that oversees government spending in the borough, has been working on a new 10-year vision and 3-year investment plan relating to the £20m fund. An update was recently presented to the council's Improving Places Select Commission.
Setting out a geographic area and broad investment themes, the government also published a policy toolkit, a list of interventions that provide the opportunity for Town Boards to take bespoke, ‘off-menu’ approaches.
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For Rotherham, one of the main areas of investment is around "feeling safe." The report states: "Investment will contribute to the establishment of a 'Rotherham Town Team' with dedicated, cross-organisation resources and powers to bolster enforcement, providing a welcoming and reassuring presence in the town centre.
"The town centre team will increase capacity for both preventative and responsive interventions such as building and coordinating local intelligence, dealing with street drinking, anti-social behaviour and signposting people to support and services."
Under "social interaction" funding is set to go to events, activities and campaigns to attract more people into the town centre, encourage them to stay and visit again.
Tackling the number of empty buildings is also listed as a priority, supporting work that is already underway where the council is undertaking acquisitions, with potential grant schemes and managed refurbishment projects.
A new focus for the town centre is around improving services and facilities with the report stating that: "The primary focus for this work will bring health to the High Street. Objectives will ensure the developing town centre community has access to good health facilities as well as giving those from around the Borough another reason to visit the town centre."
Improvements to public spaces links to both regeneration and safety so investment could follow in more high quality, well maintained public spaces.
Under transport and connectivity, interventions in the report include active travel schemes and improvements for gateways and routes to areas such as Clifton Park and the new mainline station zone towards Parkgate.
Images: RMBC
After a consultation period, the key themes of safety and security, high streets, heritage and regeneration, and transport and connectivity are at the forefront of local priorities with a number of objectives and potential schemes being looked at.
Rothbiz reported last month that the town's MP, Sarah Champion, and leader of the Council, Cllr. Chris Read, had written to the government regarding regeneration funding awarded to Rotherham town centre under the previous government.
In 2023 Rotherham was selected as one of 55 towns to be given £20m endowment-style funds to invest in local people’s priorities. A government deadline of August 1 2024 was moved and a submission date remains unconfirmed.
The Rotherham Town Board, a private-sector chaired board that oversees government spending in the borough, has been working on a new 10-year vision and 3-year investment plan relating to the £20m fund. An update was recently presented to the council's Improving Places Select Commission.
Setting out a geographic area and broad investment themes, the government also published a policy toolkit, a list of interventions that provide the opportunity for Town Boards to take bespoke, ‘off-menu’ approaches.
Advertisement
For Rotherham, one of the main areas of investment is around "feeling safe." The report states: "Investment will contribute to the establishment of a 'Rotherham Town Team' with dedicated, cross-organisation resources and powers to bolster enforcement, providing a welcoming and reassuring presence in the town centre.
"The town centre team will increase capacity for both preventative and responsive interventions such as building and coordinating local intelligence, dealing with street drinking, anti-social behaviour and signposting people to support and services."
Under "social interaction" funding is set to go to events, activities and campaigns to attract more people into the town centre, encourage them to stay and visit again.
Tackling the number of empty buildings is also listed as a priority, supporting work that is already underway where the council is undertaking acquisitions, with potential grant schemes and managed refurbishment projects.
A new focus for the town centre is around improving services and facilities with the report stating that: "The primary focus for this work will bring health to the High Street. Objectives will ensure the developing town centre community has access to good health facilities as well as giving those from around the Borough another reason to visit the town centre."
Improvements to public spaces links to both regeneration and safety so investment could follow in more high quality, well maintained public spaces.
Under transport and connectivity, interventions in the report include active travel schemes and improvements for gateways and routes to areas such as Clifton Park and the new mainline station zone towards Parkgate.
Images: RMBC
35 comments:
Oh God, another perfect opening for Grooming/Ghetto George.
It is good to see that this is still a focus and that the council have clear priorities as to where the funds should be invested to drive improvements.
What a load of twaddle 🤣
Blah blah blah -more liebour sound bites
How disrespectful
Isn't it dispiritng being so negative and malcontent all the time?
Lets just spilt it, £74 each and we each decide the best way to make an improvement.
Cycle into town, get bike nicked, asked numerous time if you've got any spice or spare change. At least you afterwards you can place a bet, buy some second hand underpants and eat a kebab sat on the green areas afterwards.
If your post was twice as interesting and twice as relevant it would be moronic and pointless. What are you doing out of school in the middle of the afternoon?
If you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem.
Pretty clear from his comments that he's not in school very much at all.
Solution is easy, goto to Sheffield, Doncaster or Barnsley town centre. All much better.
Why don’t you go and live there as well. Good riddance.
Nah, I'll stay put. Most of the rest of Rotherham is just fine.
If you're not visiting the town center then you are part of the problem for it's decline. Though it could also be argued if you're not visiting how can you comment on what it's like?
Is it true your neighbours have started a petition?
I just go to Tesco to try to borrow the bus fare home.
It is and I am so obnoxious that I even signed it myself.
'If you're not visiting the town center then you are part of the problem for it's decline. Though it could also be argued if you're not visiting how can you comment on what it's like?.
Unfortunately I've had to visit, or at least walk through. Thankfully a good bath sorted me out when I got home.
Unnecessary in the extreme.
Disappointing last sentence unfortunately.
If you despise Rotherham so much why do you feel the need to comment on a Rotherham business website. Jog on.
Crikey!
Traders in the town are probably wishing you had taken a bath BEFORE you walked through the centre.
A silly post.
Did you also wash your school uniform?
What an idiotic comment to make. Did you mistakenly think it was humerous?
Two baths in a year, how very middle class.
The bath one, obviously, not the responses
Correct
Only the Town Centre, facts are important.
I miss the posts from the twerp who gets a bath after being near common people.
He combines his annual walk through town with his bath night.
His "booster" is a flannel wash in the sink every third month. That way he can fend off the town centre riff raff
Whether he needs one or not!
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