News: Unlimited free parking coming to Forge Island
When new food and beverage outlets open on Forge Island in Rotherham, customers will be able to park for free, Rotherham Council has decided.
Forge Island is the town centre's new landmark leisure destination delivered by Rotherham Council in partnership with Muse. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema and a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel but new food outlets are yet to open.
The development includes a 340 space car park, operated by the council, that was created on the main site with the new buildings on a podium above.
The current strategy for parking at Forge Island offers free parking for hotel customers between the hours of 4pm and 10am. In addition, those customers using the cinema are offered concessionary free parking for a period of up to 3.5 hours.
Now Rotherham Council has admitted that this is confusing for customers and has vowed to change the rules to offer unlimited free parking for all paying customers of Forge Island businesses.
A council report explains that this is being done "in order to support the continuing increased usage of Forge Island."
Rothbiz revealed at the end of 2024 that Loungers UK Limited had applied for a premises licence for a unit at Forge Island, indicating that it would operate under the Lounge brand.
Rotherham Council has said negotiations with operators for the empty units were in advanced stages "with the most likely timescale for opening, following operator fit-outs, being Spring 2025."
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A new free parking offer for the first hour is being introduced in Council-operated car parks in the town centre, and this includes Forge Island. Free parking is already offered in the town centre at most Council Off-Street car parks on Saturdays and Sundays.
Customers of Forge Island businesses will need to validate free, unlimited parking through receipts. This is to ensure that the parking remains available for users of the site and is not adversely impacted by town centre events such as football matches at the nearby New York Stadium.
The car park currently uses an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, which registers number plates upon entry. A 30-minute concession period for drop-offs currently operates.
The report states: "In order to support the continuing increased usage of Forge Island, consideration has been given to promoting access to Forge Island through the parking tariffs associated with those visiting Forge Island businesses.
"Representations have been received in relation to confusion associated with tariffs for customers of Forge Island businesses and as a result, it is recommended that to simplify the system, anyone visiting a Forge Island business is granted free car parking."
The cost to the council for implementing the change has not been made clear but the report states that it "will significantly impact" on the ability to meet the approved revenue income budget of £209,000 in respect of car parking income at Forge Island, adding: "however, this needs to be balanced against the wider requirement to ensure that Forge Island is a commercial success and full occupation of the commercial units on Forge Island is achieved."
Any shortfall is set to be covered by existing budgets.
In November, Rothbiz reported that the Forge Island development was fully-funded by Rotherham Council for the purposes of regeneration of the town centre, not as a commercial venture.
Funding was confirmed on the basis that the scheme would pay for itself over the life of the development. It was projected to do so through a complex financial model which included provision for periods of time when some of the units could be empty.
Providing and update on Forge Island, Cllr. Robert Taylor, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy at Rotherham Council, said: "I understand from figures over the Christmas period that the Arc has been one of the best performing cinemas from that particular chain, so that is particularly good news.
"We work continuously to fill the rest of the development. Efforts continue at a great pace. It is no exaggeration to say that on a daily basis we are having those discussions and negotiations to hopefully occupy those particular units, because we appreciate how important it is for the regeneration of the town - it is the flagship development in the town centre."
Forge Island website
Images: Muse / Simon-Dewhurst
Forge Island is the town centre's new landmark leisure destination delivered by Rotherham Council in partnership with Muse. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema and a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel but new food outlets are yet to open.
The development includes a 340 space car park, operated by the council, that was created on the main site with the new buildings on a podium above.
The current strategy for parking at Forge Island offers free parking for hotel customers between the hours of 4pm and 10am. In addition, those customers using the cinema are offered concessionary free parking for a period of up to 3.5 hours.
Now Rotherham Council has admitted that this is confusing for customers and has vowed to change the rules to offer unlimited free parking for all paying customers of Forge Island businesses.
A council report explains that this is being done "in order to support the continuing increased usage of Forge Island."
Rothbiz revealed at the end of 2024 that Loungers UK Limited had applied for a premises licence for a unit at Forge Island, indicating that it would operate under the Lounge brand.
Rotherham Council has said negotiations with operators for the empty units were in advanced stages "with the most likely timescale for opening, following operator fit-outs, being Spring 2025."
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A new free parking offer for the first hour is being introduced in Council-operated car parks in the town centre, and this includes Forge Island. Free parking is already offered in the town centre at most Council Off-Street car parks on Saturdays and Sundays.
Customers of Forge Island businesses will need to validate free, unlimited parking through receipts. This is to ensure that the parking remains available for users of the site and is not adversely impacted by town centre events such as football matches at the nearby New York Stadium.
The car park currently uses an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, which registers number plates upon entry. A 30-minute concession period for drop-offs currently operates.
The report states: "In order to support the continuing increased usage of Forge Island, consideration has been given to promoting access to Forge Island through the parking tariffs associated with those visiting Forge Island businesses.
"Representations have been received in relation to confusion associated with tariffs for customers of Forge Island businesses and as a result, it is recommended that to simplify the system, anyone visiting a Forge Island business is granted free car parking."
The cost to the council for implementing the change has not been made clear but the report states that it "will significantly impact" on the ability to meet the approved revenue income budget of £209,000 in respect of car parking income at Forge Island, adding: "however, this needs to be balanced against the wider requirement to ensure that Forge Island is a commercial success and full occupation of the commercial units on Forge Island is achieved."
Any shortfall is set to be covered by existing budgets.
In November, Rothbiz reported that the Forge Island development was fully-funded by Rotherham Council for the purposes of regeneration of the town centre, not as a commercial venture.
Funding was confirmed on the basis that the scheme would pay for itself over the life of the development. It was projected to do so through a complex financial model which included provision for periods of time when some of the units could be empty.
Providing and update on Forge Island, Cllr. Robert Taylor, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy at Rotherham Council, said: "I understand from figures over the Christmas period that the Arc has been one of the best performing cinemas from that particular chain, so that is particularly good news.
"We work continuously to fill the rest of the development. Efforts continue at a great pace. It is no exaggeration to say that on a daily basis we are having those discussions and negotiations to hopefully occupy those particular units, because we appreciate how important it is for the regeneration of the town - it is the flagship development in the town centre."
Forge Island website
Images: Muse / Simon-Dewhurst
20 comments:
Wow! A common sense decision from the council. That's a first.
Although it implies the development is already struggling.
Makes sense. 3.5 hours was never really long enough for a film and a meal. Hopefully people won't just buy something for a quid to get a receipt then go to work or the match...
Buy something for a quid? What would that be then?
How do you buy something for a quid in a cinema, restaurant or hotel?
A side of peas is 99p at wetherspoons
Obviously going to struggle without promised full array of resteraunts/bars.
It makes me wonder if the penny has finally dropped that the millions of pounds the council has squandered on cycle lanes is actually deterring people from visiting Rotherham and Forge Island? Either way, a good move that hopefully won't just benefit Forge Island but the broader town centre too.
Would that be at The Forge Island Wetherspoons that doesn't exist? (Not yet anyway.)
Why is it that you keep peddling the myth that the council has "squandered millions" on cycle lanes. If they had not built the cycle lanes they would not have been given the money and it would have gone to another authority so that they could squander it instead.
Can you imagine the reaction of bar staff if some plonker had walked into a Wetherspoons and requested a side order of peas?
"Certainly Sir. To eat in or take away?"
Bravo the council, I’d love to support the town centre but it’s been decline seems to far gone now for this initiative-there’s hardly anything left !
How are cycle lanes detering anyone from Forge Island?
"If they had not built the cycle lanes they would not have been given the money" - It's a completely self-made problem, that has tried to solve an issue that wasn't there. Some roads (e.g. Sheffield Road) are more dangerous now than they were before RMBC meddled with them.
Have you visited Westgate recently?
Largely because some motorists were mistakenly awarded passes on their driving tests
Can't agree.
Cycle lanes are perfectly safe as long as the motorists and cyclist follow the instructions. People are the issue not the cycle lanes.
I agree. People ARE the issue. There isn't enough of them visiting the town centre!
AREN'T enough, I think you mean.
He's right though, aren't he?
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