Proposals for a new "Georgian inspired" mixed use development to replace a fire-damaged pub in Rotherham town centre have been approved, with the council hoping that work on the project moves quickly.
Rothbiz reported in April that a planning application had been updated for former Rinoceros pub on Bridgegate.
Essex-based Cape Designs Ltd originally submitted outline plans for the site in 2023.
The approved outline application is for 22 flats and two retail units surrounding an internal courtyard and would involve the demolition of the whole of the existing building.
The Rhinoceros pub was one of 16 pubs put up for sale by J D Wetherspoons in 2019. Known locally as "Rhinos," the pub operated independently from Wetherspoon but was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The units were in the proccess of being refurbished and the initial intention was for the rear wing of the building to be converted into residential apartments, but two subsequent fires caused considerable damage to the existing building and structure.
The new proposals would involve a three storey building with a Georgian style frontage to Bridgegate containing two retail units of 800 sq ft and 1,000 sq ft. Access would be between the retail units into a courtyard area and the proposed new large apartment block.
The plans explain: "As far as the front aspect is concerned, we envisaged a Georgian inspired building which are relatively common in the Rotherham town centre. The existing buildings in the immediate area have been built at different times in different styles so there is no uniform style present in the area."
The Rhinoceros pub is not a listed building but is within the town centre's conservation area.
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Approving the application without going to the council's planning board, officers state that "the removal of the existing structure would allow for the space to be reused for retail and residential purposed [sic], where currently it is unusable due to fire damage. The development works overall should be deemed to have a beneficial impact on the setting of the nearby designated assets and the conservation area."
Concerns have been raised from the local McDonald's opposite, which has a late night licence to operate, regarding the soundproofing in the new flats.
The Council’s Environmental Health department have indicated that there is potential for disturbance to the future occupiers and so a noise impact assessment will need to be submitted as part of a future reserved matters application.
The approval comes with other conditions, including restricting the uses on the ground floor and a £17,800 sum towards off-site affordable housing within the borough.
The officer's report also confirms that the Council have served a s215 notice on the owner of the site in an effort to address the eyesore of a wrecked building. Local authorities have the power to take steps requiring land to be cleaned up when its condition adversely affects the amenity of the area. The notice was served "due to the dilapidated and poor state the building is still in after the fire and given the site is located in a prime location in the town centre conservation area."
Applicants now have three years to implement the scheme, or one year to submit landscaping proposals and a reserved matters application, and then a futher year to implement the scheme from the date the reserved matters application is approved.
Officers concluded: "The proposed development has been carefully considered making the best use of this site in order to achieve a scheme that would not adversely impact the immediate surrounding area. The scheme sits comfortably within its context, replacing the existing, unattractive fire damaged buildings with a vibrant street scene within a prominent area.
"The proposal encourages regeneration by enhancing the street scene and providing the local area with increased economic benefits. The proposal would have no adverse impact on nearby Heritage Assets and would not have an adverse impact on amenity subject to conditions."
Images: Archaeological Research Services Ltd / John Box Associates
Rothbiz reported in April that a planning application had been updated for former Rinoceros pub on Bridgegate.
Essex-based Cape Designs Ltd originally submitted outline plans for the site in 2023.
The approved outline application is for 22 flats and two retail units surrounding an internal courtyard and would involve the demolition of the whole of the existing building.
The Rhinoceros pub was one of 16 pubs put up for sale by J D Wetherspoons in 2019. Known locally as "Rhinos," the pub operated independently from Wetherspoon but was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The units were in the proccess of being refurbished and the initial intention was for the rear wing of the building to be converted into residential apartments, but two subsequent fires caused considerable damage to the existing building and structure.
The new proposals would involve a three storey building with a Georgian style frontage to Bridgegate containing two retail units of 800 sq ft and 1,000 sq ft. Access would be between the retail units into a courtyard area and the proposed new large apartment block.
The plans explain: "As far as the front aspect is concerned, we envisaged a Georgian inspired building which are relatively common in the Rotherham town centre. The existing buildings in the immediate area have been built at different times in different styles so there is no uniform style present in the area."
The Rhinoceros pub is not a listed building but is within the town centre's conservation area.
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Approving the application without going to the council's planning board, officers state that "the removal of the existing structure would allow for the space to be reused for retail and residential purposed [sic], where currently it is unusable due to fire damage. The development works overall should be deemed to have a beneficial impact on the setting of the nearby designated assets and the conservation area."
Concerns have been raised from the local McDonald's opposite, which has a late night licence to operate, regarding the soundproofing in the new flats.
The Council’s Environmental Health department have indicated that there is potential for disturbance to the future occupiers and so a noise impact assessment will need to be submitted as part of a future reserved matters application.
The approval comes with other conditions, including restricting the uses on the ground floor and a £17,800 sum towards off-site affordable housing within the borough.
Applicants now have three years to implement the scheme, or one year to submit landscaping proposals and a reserved matters application, and then a futher year to implement the scheme from the date the reserved matters application is approved.
Officers concluded: "The proposed development has been carefully considered making the best use of this site in order to achieve a scheme that would not adversely impact the immediate surrounding area. The scheme sits comfortably within its context, replacing the existing, unattractive fire damaged buildings with a vibrant street scene within a prominent area.
"The proposal encourages regeneration by enhancing the street scene and providing the local area with increased economic benefits. The proposal would have no adverse impact on nearby Heritage Assets and would not have an adverse impact on amenity subject to conditions."
Images: Archaeological Research Services Ltd / John Box Associates
Are these going to be 22 good quality flats, or 22 multiple occupancy flats with shared kitchen/bathrooms?
ReplyDeleteBet names are going down for flats as we speak.....on a beach in France!
ReplyDeleteIdiotic comment as per usual.
DeleteCareful,you'll be upsetting em,they'll be calling you racist!
DeleteNo, a racist is someone who is prejudiced against or antagonistic towards people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
DeleteOh, wait a minute....
There ought to be a minimum age requirement to post on here. Too many schoolboys posting stuff theyve heard their dads shouting outside the County.
DeleteI'm 60
DeleteTrue though....don't you ever venture into town and see who inhabit many of the newly built homes?Or can't you face the reality?Or are you just happy to allow it?
ReplyDeleteHow many flats in the town centre do you venture into to know who lives there?
DeleteYou must be a burglar to know so much about the inside of people's homes
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteWell done that person! I am assuming it was racist claptrap from the usual suspect.
DeleteSome of our posters give racism a bad name!
DeleteOoooh Noooo,not Wacism, whenever you don't agree ,throw in the old Wacism slur....why not try the Fascist one too🤣
DeleteIf they are 22 multiple occupancy flats then that’ll probably mean 22 men moving into them.
ReplyDeleteI give the migrants more credit than to put their lives at risk crossing the channel to only end up in Rotherham Town Centre!
ReplyDeleteWell plenty do end up here!
DeleteI'd be packing my bags, nipping into one of the pound shops to buy a dinghy and paddling my way back!
DeleteIf only,I d buy them for em!
DeleteNah, I think you've spent all your pocket money on the Daily Mail!
DeleteOf course you would.
DeleteBit of a disgraceful comment that.
DeleteWhich comment??I see the ones who are offended by everything are around again, believing they speak for everyone.YOU DON'T!!
DeleteNo complaints from me about this one. Exactly the sort of the development RMBC should be concentrating on - replacing an old, pretty ugly building with something a little more in-keeping.
ReplyDeleteThe plans for the front of the building should sit well into the existing street scene.
I recently took part in the Civic Society walk around Rotherham. The building next to it started off life as Elizabethan manor house and it's about 500 years old!
Shame people who live down there have little interest in civic pride,and that's from all races that live there.
DeleteAnyone noticed that the people who slag off the town centre and say they would never go there are the ones who seem to know the most about it?
ReplyDeleteExactly,we actually go there and see the state it's in,ie some of us unfortunately have to venture there for work and see it's demise first hand!
DeleteThe English Defence League is alive and well on this blog. It's time some posters were banned.
ReplyDeleteEDL hasn't existed for some years,just people expressing valid views that obviously some find unpalatable or simply blind too.
DeleteEr, I think that was the point being made.
DeleteSome of the posts have been in defense of migrant standards to be fair!
ReplyDeleteThink it's a little sad ,that some on here ,can only insult people by labelling them Racist,when the reality is ,much of what is said ,is actually factual.Rotherham town centre is little more than a dumping ground for migrants,it was RMBC who actually took central government money to take extra migrant's,hence the reason why there's far more than in the likes of places like Barnsley,and hence why Barnsley's town centre is a nice place to visit.Dont let truth's and facts get in the way of good old slur.
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest you read up on how funding for asylum seekers works rather than repeating something you've read on social media then you might be a bit more informed.
DeleteUtter nonsense from someone with little understanding.
DeleteJust to clarify a point about the town centre and migrants. As far as I am aware the beggars who operate around Tesco and those who target passers by for "bus fare money" are exclusively part of Rotherham's home grown white finest.
ReplyDeleteThe above comment is also my experience too.
DeleteThat's probably true, but it doesn't mean all the comments about migrants are untrue. It's not either or.
DeleteIt was aimed at those on here who blame all the town's ills on migrants.
DeleteWhat are the migrants in the town centre doing that people are upset about? When visiting the town centre I've never witnessed any poor or anti social behaviour from anyone who appears to be a migrant, though as I only visit once every few weeks I can't claim to be any authority on the matter.
ReplyDeleteNot being an authority doesn't stop some people from thinking they are.
DeleteGroups of Eastern European men drinking in All Saints Square is one thing I see on a regular basis. Street drinking technically isn't illegal but there is Public Space Protection Order in force in the town centre but is it ever enforced?
DeleteIt's not what they do in the town centre that upsets some poor souls it's that they are there at all.
ReplyDeleteI agree more should be done about street drinking. As others have commented there is an enforcement order in place but this doesn't seem to be enforced. This is a particular issue outside The County and The Plough with people intoxicated in the middle of the day staggering about harassing shoppers.
ReplyDeleteBoth pubs are favourite watering holes of migrants obviously.
ReplyDeleteWe get it, we know there are a lot of home grown causing trouble in the town centre, nobody is disputing that.
DeleteNobody? Really?
DeleteIt would be nice to see a police officer in town occasionally.
ReplyDeleteI think I saw one in McDonald's a couple of weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteYes, on a bicycle armed with a truncheon and whistle
ReplyDeleteEvening All
DeleteThere hasn't been a proper police presence in Rotherham since Thatcher sent in the Met to crush the miners.
ReplyDeleteAh, the Metropolitan Police. What a fine unblemished record these fine officers have.
ReplyDeleteThe Metropolitan Police - one scandal after another for decades.
ReplyDeleteOh come on! Alright the Met has had a few sex offenders and a murderer within its ranks recently. Some of its officers also shared pictures of murdered women. And if you want to be super critical, it also incompetently or maybe corruptly handled some high profile cases like those involving Stephen Lawrence, the Grindr Killer, Hugh Edwards, Al Fayad, Wayne Couzens and a few dozen others. And perhaps strip searching children was taking things a bit far.
DeleteBut what you have to remember is not all these "mistakes" are down to incompetence. Some of them were the result of institutionalised racism, sexism and homophobia.
So give them a break. Nobody's perfect, right?
There has been a spate of thefts in London from wig and pet shops. The Met are combing the area but do not have any leads.
DeleteTo be fair the Met has always had to be careful that it doesn't allow one good apple to ruin the barrel.
ReplyDeleteRotten to the core.
ReplyDeleteA man caused panic in Central London this afternoon when he released a wild bull. No one has yet been charged.
DeleteThere are an awful lot of Defective Inspectors in the Met.
ReplyDeleteIn a daring raid yesterday thieves stole all the toilets from New Scotland Yard. Officers say they have nothing to go on.
ReplyDeleteThis is tedious. Can we give it arrest?
ReplyDeleteTrifles have been going missing from the canteen at New Scotland Yard. The Custardy Sergeant is under investigation.
ReplyDeleteA man has been arrested for setting off fireworks in Trafalgar Square. He has been let off with a caution.
ReplyDeleteThe Metropolitan Police wish to interview a suspect wearing French knickers and black tights. However, the Chief Constable is insisting they wear their normal uniforms.
ReplyDeleteYesterday evening a man was seen defacing the cycle lanes in Wellgate. Police are trying to trace a rothbiz poster.
ReplyDeleteA man has been arrested for stealing batteries. He has not yet been fully charged.
ReplyDeleteAn art dealer walked into a police station to report the loss of a landscape painting. He was unable to find a Constable
ReplyDeleteTwo thousand turkeys have disappeared from a Norfolk farm. Police suspect fowl play.
ReplyDeleteA gang has been roaming the streets of London stealing wheels from cars.The Met are working tirelessly to arrest them.
ReplyDeleteDon’t give up day job JEZ
DeleteA man was questioned yesterday on suspicion of stealing a set of encyclopedia. Fortunately he was able to explain everything
ReplyDeleteOur next door neighbour is a plain clothes policeman. He only wears a uniform on his days off.
ReplyDeleteBut French nickers all the time?
ReplyDelete