News: Which Rotherham town centre sites could be next for development?
Rotherham Council has identified a number of sites that could build on the foundations of a reinvented town centre, with more new multimillion pound developments and regeneration projects.
A number of new residential developments and a new theatre are possibilities.
The Rotherham town centre masterplan of 2017 confirmed the need for more housing and leisure uses as a way to develop economic vitality, bringing more life, activity and spending back into the town centre and moving away from the traditional retail market. It also highlighted the need for derelict and long-term vacant sites to be brought into public ownership.
The council has been successful in acquiring a number of sites and securing funds from various regional and national pots. Its most recent major housing development was the £30m+ "Trilogy Collection" - Westgate Riverside, Wellgate Place and Millfold Rise - that has seen 171 new homes built in partnership with Willmott Dixon.
The cinema and hotel have also recently opened as the anchor tenants at the Forge Island development, which the Council has fully-funded having acquired the site of a Tesco supermarket.
A recent council report confirms that the next phase of development is underway and involves Snail Yard, where a temporary pocket park is replacing a demolished former Primark on the High Street, but the long term aim has always been to use the site for development, potentially for residential.
Work is also underway at Westgate and Sheffield Road to address the river wall and carry out work to Water Lane that will enable future phases of housing where, as part of the £31.6m Town Deal programme, government funding is being used to continue the development of a Riverside Residential Quarter.
And on Corporation Street, burnt out buildings are being demolished to make way for a potential £6m residential led mixed-use development.
As for future phases, the council reports highlights a number of sites:
- Riverside Residential Quarter Phase 2
- Bailey House
- 2 Corporation Street, former Mecca Bingo
- 30 – 32 Corporation Street, former Lloyds and NatWest Banks
- The Statutes
With £3m coming from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), Rotherham Council has set up a £600,000 "Feasability Fund" to develop the "first stages of planning and feasibility for a programme of interventions which seeks to secure a future for these sites and meets the Council’s longstanding aims for regeneration of the town centre as a vibrant and successful place."
Advertisement
The projects will be designed to build on the mixed use, commercial and residential offer in the town centre and will tie in to the Council's place-based investment strategy that was signed off in 2023.
For the town centre, the strategy includes things like a new £28m theatre and town centre health services to go alongside the £47m Forge Island lesiure scheme and the £36m revamp of the markets and new library.
The strategy also includes residential developments earmarked for The Statutes, where Rotherham Council acquired the site of the former Magistrates' Court, and on parcels of land acquired along Sheffield Road.
Lorna Vertigan, Head of Regeneration at Rotherham Council said: "The Council’s success in securing public funds and its own investment in the town has attracted private sector interest in investing in the town’s future. This is increasingly resulting in Rotherham being seen as a place to do business.
"A cluster approach is considered necessary to create a sufficient quantum of development potential to tackle viability, and to create a greater sense of place in the town centre.
"Now is the time to capitalise on this interest and the strong progress made to date, to bring forward ambitious plans that will create a new community in the town centre, bringing with it a sense of place and long-term positive legacy for the town centre.
"A programme of redevelopment is to be scoped, which will ultimately see the regeneration of town centre sites to create a mixed use, commercial and residential offer. Bringing in a new community which supports and builds on the momentum of Forge Island and other regeneration interventions to bring greater footfall and end users.
"Over the last two years the Council has taken a key step in realising its vision for growth by securing a number of stalled, underutilised and derelict sites in order to bring them into positive use. This funding allocation will accelerate the first stages of planning and feasibility for a programme of interventions which seeks to secure a future for these sites and meets the Council’s longstanding aims for regeneration of the town centre as a vibrant and successful place."
The next steps involve working up planning applications and a procurement business case to appoint a developer for the first phase of sites - Snail Yard, Riverside Residential Quarter and Corporation Street.
A previous tender exercise for the £6m scheme on Corporation Street received no interest, likely due to the smaller size of the scheme.
Images: RMBC / Google Maps
A number of new residential developments and a new theatre are possibilities.
The Rotherham town centre masterplan of 2017 confirmed the need for more housing and leisure uses as a way to develop economic vitality, bringing more life, activity and spending back into the town centre and moving away from the traditional retail market. It also highlighted the need for derelict and long-term vacant sites to be brought into public ownership.
The council has been successful in acquiring a number of sites and securing funds from various regional and national pots. Its most recent major housing development was the £30m+ "Trilogy Collection" - Westgate Riverside, Wellgate Place and Millfold Rise - that has seen 171 new homes built in partnership with Willmott Dixon.
The cinema and hotel have also recently opened as the anchor tenants at the Forge Island development, which the Council has fully-funded having acquired the site of a Tesco supermarket.
A recent council report confirms that the next phase of development is underway and involves Snail Yard, where a temporary pocket park is replacing a demolished former Primark on the High Street, but the long term aim has always been to use the site for development, potentially for residential.
Work is also underway at Westgate and Sheffield Road to address the river wall and carry out work to Water Lane that will enable future phases of housing where, as part of the £31.6m Town Deal programme, government funding is being used to continue the development of a Riverside Residential Quarter.
And on Corporation Street, burnt out buildings are being demolished to make way for a potential £6m residential led mixed-use development.
As for future phases, the council reports highlights a number of sites:
- Riverside Residential Quarter Phase 2
- Bailey House
- 2 Corporation Street, former Mecca Bingo
- 30 – 32 Corporation Street, former Lloyds and NatWest Banks
- The Statutes
With £3m coming from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), Rotherham Council has set up a £600,000 "Feasability Fund" to develop the "first stages of planning and feasibility for a programme of interventions which seeks to secure a future for these sites and meets the Council’s longstanding aims for regeneration of the town centre as a vibrant and successful place."
Advertisement
The projects will be designed to build on the mixed use, commercial and residential offer in the town centre and will tie in to the Council's place-based investment strategy that was signed off in 2023.
For the town centre, the strategy includes things like a new £28m theatre and town centre health services to go alongside the £47m Forge Island lesiure scheme and the £36m revamp of the markets and new library.
The strategy also includes residential developments earmarked for The Statutes, where Rotherham Council acquired the site of the former Magistrates' Court, and on parcels of land acquired along Sheffield Road.
"A cluster approach is considered necessary to create a sufficient quantum of development potential to tackle viability, and to create a greater sense of place in the town centre.
"Now is the time to capitalise on this interest and the strong progress made to date, to bring forward ambitious plans that will create a new community in the town centre, bringing with it a sense of place and long-term positive legacy for the town centre.
"A programme of redevelopment is to be scoped, which will ultimately see the regeneration of town centre sites to create a mixed use, commercial and residential offer. Bringing in a new community which supports and builds on the momentum of Forge Island and other regeneration interventions to bring greater footfall and end users.
"Over the last two years the Council has taken a key step in realising its vision for growth by securing a number of stalled, underutilised and derelict sites in order to bring them into positive use. This funding allocation will accelerate the first stages of planning and feasibility for a programme of interventions which seeks to secure a future for these sites and meets the Council’s longstanding aims for regeneration of the town centre as a vibrant and successful place."
The next steps involve working up planning applications and a procurement business case to appoint a developer for the first phase of sites - Snail Yard, Riverside Residential Quarter and Corporation Street.
A previous tender exercise for the £6m scheme on Corporation Street received no interest, likely due to the smaller size of the scheme.
Images: RMBC / Google Maps
22 comments:
I'm not going to comment,but everything RMBC do....🥳🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💩
It’s thanks to people like you that we face difficulties in trying to rebuild and innovate an area that, like all others, deserves to become a better place to live. Your intelligence does not contribute to progress, and for this reason, it’s likely that you are a sad and lonely person, venting your anger and frustration accumulated over years of failures and dissatisfaction. Good luck. 😉😉😘😘
God, these negative posts are so dispiritng. How do people with such jaundiced views manage to get out of bed every morning?
Good grief. It looks like that touched a nerve!
For what it's worth, I'd rather see flats on High St than the pocket park idea. I also welcome the plans for residential on the old Envy site. Both seem practical and sensible ideas, assuming a developer can be found.
However, I'm less enthusiastic about the other ones earmarked. Corporation St should be viewed as a gateway site that connects Forge Island to the town centre, so I'm surprised that this isn't being considered in that way. There are some quite nice buildings on Corporation St, but it looks like the shipping container plonked on top of a listed building idea appears to be back on the cards.
For example, I thought the Odeon had been purchased with a view to becoming a leisure venue to compliment Forge Island? not yet more flats!
I've said before,they need to go take a look at Barnsley or Doncaster...or infact virtually any other town/city of Rotherham's size,to see how to regenerate a centre.Everything Rotherham council plan is simply not fit for purpose,and usually far too small.They build the wrong sort of residential waste land with to few units,waste the opportunity of having a river in the centre.Go take a look at virtually every other place lucky enough to have a riverside,and look what can be done with riverside apartment blocks They need to start running the town like a large town not a village!
I'd agree with that. Rotherham does seem to suffer from a small town mentality. I don't think RMBC's "improvements" are always helpful. I don't understand why everything seems to take so long when the Council is involved, and why almost always, it ends up with a bad decision being made.
Which schemes/developments that Doncaster and Barnsley have introduced do you think Rotherham Council should be doing?
I worked In Rotherham in the Wilko store and .....the regeneration of the town centre like Sheffield city centre where I live is long overdue I remember.when Rotherham had a nightlife 30year ago before the town got consumed. By drugs closing down all the bars and clubs ......now all those bars have gone bar ....snafu . ...the town centre is rife with smackrats and I know I had to deal with then on a daily basis.....my good friend mark firth runs the vine I. The bridge inn.......I think rotherham town council are ....doing their best.. .............give them a break
And for those ......making caustic comments...................get a life ...................the town centre will benefit ....... everyone.............like sheffield city centre....in a few years time we will rival Leeds city centre and Manchester ......if you want to go to that souless place meadowhall...do so ...but the old saying .
Use it or lose it ....the council has regenerated a part of the town centre that would have remained. Derelict.....the old ..bingo hall ...........the derelict burnt out nightclub and restaurant......next time the empty loft nightclub............it's your town centre being regenerated people............give the council some respect please ..........they have ideas. ....and those ideas are to create a better town centre for you guys who live in Rotherham...........
For some reason people come on here and give the impression that they actively want the town centre regeneration to fail. I just do not understand what they get out of it.
Money to be redirected to the improvement of village high streets, you know the type, the high streets that are actual used!
"Money to be redirected to the improvement of village high streets, you know the type, the high streets that are actual used!" Do you mean like the money RMBC is investing in the regeneration of Wath and Dinnington?
"actual used"?
Only 2 of many
Get the eyesore that is Guest and chimes redeveloped,the football clubs plan for a music venue,fan zone and micro brewery would be a great addition to town and something different to other local towns.
That chimes well with me.
They could call it the New York Chimes - I'll get mi coat.
Would need to be done as a council project then leased because as much as I love the Cutlers, Chantry do seem to do everything on the cheap. Unless another brewery would be interested?
Should have Guest there would be awful puns.
Time English Heritage and Tony Stewart got their collective fingers out.
Yes, before the clock chimes midnight
Post a Comment