News: New investment aims to boost visitor numbers in Rotherham town centre
Rotherham Council's new budget for the next financial year includes proposals for two new initiatives around parking and safety that are designed to attract more visitors into Rotherham town centre.
Thanks to an additional £1.3 billion in government funding for councils, Rotherham will benefit from a £14m boost in 2025/26—one of the largest funding increases for local councils in the country. The council said that "While this extra funding is welcome, it comes against the backdrop of years of austerity, inflation, and growing pressures on local services."
One key investment in the budget for 2025/26 is £570,000 to launch a new "Street Safe Team" focused on increasing safety in town and village centres.
This uniformed team will target high footfall areas including Rotherham town centre, and the principal towns of Dinnington, Wath, Maltby and Swinton, using local intelligence to tackle issues and offer a reassuring and familiar point of contact for residents and visitors.
A paper to the council's cabinet adds: "Negative perceptions of the town centre are seen to have a significant impact on people choosing to spend time in the town centre and when they do, not fully enjoying the experience, which is improving because of the Council’s focus on regeneration.
"The new "Street Safe Team", funded by this investment, will have dedicated resources and the ability to deploy various powers to bolster enforcement. Alongside existing uniformed officers, they will provide a welcoming and reassuring presence in the town centres.
"A highly visible team, they will act as the eyes and ears of the Council and will be expected to identify and report issues where they are unable to intervene directly. The team will focus on making best use of intelligence data and information in order to target resources and problem solve Community Safety issues."
The team will deal with issues such as street drinking, anti-social behaviour, parking enforcement, as well as enforcement for issues such as littering and wider environmental issues.
With investment in a dedicated team, the aim is to reduce both actual and perceived crime and increase feelings of safety. Rothbiz reported in September that this issue was fedback through the consultation for a £20m Long Term Plan for Towns where the idea of a coordinated town centre team made it into the draft plan.
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£50,000 has also been budgeted by the Council to offer free parking for the first hour in Council-operated car parks in the town centre. This scheme aims to "support local businesses, boost footfall, and encourage residents to shop locally."
Free parking is already offered in the town centre at all Council Off-Street car parks on Saturdays and Sundays and on street after 6pm.
A price freeze is also expected at Drummond Street, Wellgate North, Wellgate Multi Storey, Douglas Street, Unity Place, Westgate, Clifton Hall, Forge Island and Scala, ahead of the major developments planned in future years. A small increase in parking charges is listed at Clifton Park where £33,000 is set to be spent improving the overflow car park which can also double as an event space.
The move comes as the authority continues to report that the ongoing economic impact on Rotherham town centre footfall continues to see a reduction in income from parking charges.
Across the borough, investment is being made to improve the council's business centres, extend the Employment Solutions programme, drive forward negotiations and bring the Bassingthorpe Farm site to delivery, and invest in flood protection for Catcliffe.
The Council is proposing a 3% Council Tax increase and budget proposals will be presented to Cabinet on February 10, before going to Full Council for final approval on March 5.
Images: RMBC
Thanks to an additional £1.3 billion in government funding for councils, Rotherham will benefit from a £14m boost in 2025/26—one of the largest funding increases for local councils in the country. The council said that "While this extra funding is welcome, it comes against the backdrop of years of austerity, inflation, and growing pressures on local services."
One key investment in the budget for 2025/26 is £570,000 to launch a new "Street Safe Team" focused on increasing safety in town and village centres.
This uniformed team will target high footfall areas including Rotherham town centre, and the principal towns of Dinnington, Wath, Maltby and Swinton, using local intelligence to tackle issues and offer a reassuring and familiar point of contact for residents and visitors.
A paper to the council's cabinet adds: "Negative perceptions of the town centre are seen to have a significant impact on people choosing to spend time in the town centre and when they do, not fully enjoying the experience, which is improving because of the Council’s focus on regeneration.
"The new "Street Safe Team", funded by this investment, will have dedicated resources and the ability to deploy various powers to bolster enforcement. Alongside existing uniformed officers, they will provide a welcoming and reassuring presence in the town centres.
"A highly visible team, they will act as the eyes and ears of the Council and will be expected to identify and report issues where they are unable to intervene directly. The team will focus on making best use of intelligence data and information in order to target resources and problem solve Community Safety issues."
The team will deal with issues such as street drinking, anti-social behaviour, parking enforcement, as well as enforcement for issues such as littering and wider environmental issues.
With investment in a dedicated team, the aim is to reduce both actual and perceived crime and increase feelings of safety. Rothbiz reported in September that this issue was fedback through the consultation for a £20m Long Term Plan for Towns where the idea of a coordinated town centre team made it into the draft plan.
Advertisement
£50,000 has also been budgeted by the Council to offer free parking for the first hour in Council-operated car parks in the town centre. This scheme aims to "support local businesses, boost footfall, and encourage residents to shop locally."
Free parking is already offered in the town centre at all Council Off-Street car parks on Saturdays and Sundays and on street after 6pm.
A price freeze is also expected at Drummond Street, Wellgate North, Wellgate Multi Storey, Douglas Street, Unity Place, Westgate, Clifton Hall, Forge Island and Scala, ahead of the major developments planned in future years. A small increase in parking charges is listed at Clifton Park where £33,000 is set to be spent improving the overflow car park which can also double as an event space.
The move comes as the authority continues to report that the ongoing economic impact on Rotherham town centre footfall continues to see a reduction in income from parking charges.
Across the borough, investment is being made to improve the council's business centres, extend the Employment Solutions programme, drive forward negotiations and bring the Bassingthorpe Farm site to delivery, and invest in flood protection for Catcliffe.
The Council is proposing a 3% Council Tax increase and budget proposals will be presented to Cabinet on February 10, before going to Full Council for final approval on March 5.
Images: RMBC
22 comments:
Maybe a bicycle station would be beneficial, so the multitudes of cyclists using our dedicated lane network have somewhere to spend their horde of disposable income?
Or perhaps focusing on the reasons our town (Like so many others) is in it's guttural death throes, rather than creating another warden service to assist sweeping the upsetting aesthetics of people struggling at this time from the Town.
Make all council car parks free and get rid of the dregs of society that blight the town centre and it might have a chance.
Your flowery prose cannot disguise your tired narrative. I blame it on too much reliance on the gutteral press.
A bit late with your expected response. Been demonstrating outside hotels?
Could you just explain again the reasons for our town's demise.
No, that would imply I'm a racist and that I regularly make such posts when actually it's the first one made, and I also haven't mentioned any specific group. There are plenty of white English people who blight the town centre. I just want the council or police to clamp down on the drunk, drugged up, begging, pick pocketing types regardless of their race, religion or where they come from. What so wrong about that opinion?
I think this is a positive step and certainly one in the right direction. The free parking is something that businesses in the town centre have been crying out for, for many years.
Similarly, anything that will reduce the amount of anti-social behaviour (particularly our resident cannabis gangs) is something that's got to be welcomed.
Wanting to live in a town where people abide by the law is considered far right these days.
Self pitying rubbish
What is? Anything that doesn’t agree exactly with your world view?
Everyone would like to live in a town where there is no crime. Only someone from the far right could view this as a far right aspiration.
Well some of the comments on here suggest otherwise. Try removing your head from your colon.
Tesco should do more to tackle the harassment of shoppers that goes on in the car park and doorways.
I agree, my elderly parents have been accosted in the car park by scrotes begging for cash on more than one occasion.
The car park is very poorly monitored by Tesco. There are frequent near misses because some drivers irresponsibly ignore crossings. The crossing at the far end of the outside part of the car park is so badly worn it is virtually non existent.
One young woman in particular spends most of her day in the car park pestering shoppers for "bus fare" money.
Never seen any sign of security measures in there. This is disgraceful given the vast fortune Tesco amasses in profits
Tesco are rip off merchants
As long as you are spending your money inside the store Tesco don't care what goes off outside.
I stopped shopping at Tesco a long time ago as my wife just does not feel safe going there.
I’ve had a couple of arguments with that particular woman, and complained to Tesco about her. She’s still there every day though.
Apart from any other consideration, their prices are ridiculous.
Their clubcard prices are only about 25 per cent higher than those charged by Lidl and Aldi.
The only good thing about Tesco is the 3 hours free parking.
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