News: Council paying for fit outs at Forge Island
Rotherham Council has confirmed that it is paying a contribution towards the fit out of the units at its flagship Forge Island development.
Forge Island is the town centre's new landmark leisure destination being delivered by Rotherham Council in partnership with Muse. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema, a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel as well as food outlets which are yet to open.
Work began on site in November 2022 after the council agreed to fund the regeneration scheme itself when the funding available to its delivery partner, Muse, "significantly reduced" due to the volatility of the financial markets. The authority said it would save nearly £50m compared to an externally funded deal drafted in 2018.
Questions have been raised in the council chamber after Rothbiz reported first last year that operators had not been able to bring forward outlets that had originally signed up as construction progressed. There have been concerns over the financial cost to the council due to the empty units.
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Cllr. Robert Taylor, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, explained that: "The Council’s approved Budget and the MTFS [Medium Term Financial Strategy], assumed a budget plan that deals with a period where the scheme isn’t fully let, as did the financial model for Forge Island. Such a model doesn’t anticipate prospective business rates or rents so we can’t consider them as lost."
In approving the budget, the council expected that the repayment of capital costs will be met wholly or largely over the long term by revenue generated from commercial activity in the Forge Island development. At the time, the cabinet heard that the longer-term financial risks that the project presents related to the Council’s ability to maintain the incomes levels from the lettings, car parking and business rates.
Last year, the authority said that it had agreed the Forge Island development for the purposes of regeneration of the town centre, not as a commercial venture.
Cabinet approved an increase in the Council’s Capital Programme in 2022 to cover the £46.8m costs which were expected to be covered by the authority's own borrowing and capital resources.
Forge Island is funded by a loan that will not be charged until April 2026, a year after scheme completion. The Council doesn’t take specific loans out on a scheme by scheme basis, but borrows in accordance with need and cashflow combined with investments, as part of its treasury management activity.
Cllr. Taylor added: "The actual final cost of the project is not yet known, whilst the structures are largely completed, part of the project budget was a contribution towards the fit out of the units. As only some of the units are currently tenanted and open, the contribution to the fit out of the remaining ones is still to be paid. As such, the final project costs are not yet complete. However, it is still expected that the project will be completed within the £47.4m budget agreed by Cabinet in October 2022."
Vetro Lounge, a new neighbourhood bar, has recently been confirmed as the first food and drink venue to open at Forge Island.
Fit out relates to building an interior space, making it suitable for occupation.
Capital contributions from landlords are common in the leisure sector. It has been reported that Barnsley Council paid £2m to Cineworld and £1m to TGI Fridays as part of its town centre development, Glass Works.
Rotherham Council had £8m in its budget for Forge Island in 2024/25 but nothing for 25/26. It has regularly paid parnter, Muse Developments, with records showing payments such as £1,043,288 in September 2024, £1,187,143 and £1,814,858 in July 2024 and £1,691,564 in April 2024.
Forge Island website
Images: Muse / Google Maps
Forge Island is the town centre's new landmark leisure destination being delivered by Rotherham Council in partnership with Muse. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema, a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel as well as food outlets which are yet to open.
Work began on site in November 2022 after the council agreed to fund the regeneration scheme itself when the funding available to its delivery partner, Muse, "significantly reduced" due to the volatility of the financial markets. The authority said it would save nearly £50m compared to an externally funded deal drafted in 2018.
Questions have been raised in the council chamber after Rothbiz reported first last year that operators had not been able to bring forward outlets that had originally signed up as construction progressed. There have been concerns over the financial cost to the council due to the empty units.
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Cllr. Robert Taylor, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, explained that: "The Council’s approved Budget and the MTFS [Medium Term Financial Strategy], assumed a budget plan that deals with a period where the scheme isn’t fully let, as did the financial model for Forge Island. Such a model doesn’t anticipate prospective business rates or rents so we can’t consider them as lost."
In approving the budget, the council expected that the repayment of capital costs will be met wholly or largely over the long term by revenue generated from commercial activity in the Forge Island development. At the time, the cabinet heard that the longer-term financial risks that the project presents related to the Council’s ability to maintain the incomes levels from the lettings, car parking and business rates.
Last year, the authority said that it had agreed the Forge Island development for the purposes of regeneration of the town centre, not as a commercial venture.
Cabinet approved an increase in the Council’s Capital Programme in 2022 to cover the £46.8m costs which were expected to be covered by the authority's own borrowing and capital resources.
Forge Island is funded by a loan that will not be charged until April 2026, a year after scheme completion. The Council doesn’t take specific loans out on a scheme by scheme basis, but borrows in accordance with need and cashflow combined with investments, as part of its treasury management activity.
Vetro Lounge, a new neighbourhood bar, has recently been confirmed as the first food and drink venue to open at Forge Island.
Fit out relates to building an interior space, making it suitable for occupation.
Capital contributions from landlords are common in the leisure sector. It has been reported that Barnsley Council paid £2m to Cineworld and £1m to TGI Fridays as part of its town centre development, Glass Works.
Rotherham Council had £8m in its budget for Forge Island in 2024/25 but nothing for 25/26. It has regularly paid parnter, Muse Developments, with records showing payments such as £1,043,288 in September 2024, £1,187,143 and £1,814,858 in July 2024 and £1,691,564 in April 2024.
Forge Island website
Images: Muse / Google Maps
48 comments:
…so Council Tax payers actually paying… How is this permissible?
Would you rather pay for the empty units in your council tax instead? It's fairly common practice to provide incentives to attract businesses. In return, it's likely that they will be expected to make a long term commitment to the development, which in turn will create jobs and potentially increase footfall into the town.
It's a tough market out there, and if this helps to stimulate regeneration in the town centre then it seems like a sensible move (the big caveat being that RMBC has done its due diligence on those set to benefit, and they've been clever in the assurances they have obtained... given the Council's track record in this area, this is has the potential to fall down).
Council Tax income should be spent on essential services only unless there's a surplus. There are regular articles regards councils up and down the country writing off debt for bad investments.
Having been down there last week, it looks desolate. The hotel is what it is but the cinema doesn't look inviting at all. Unless it gets turned around quickly its going to become a permanent white elephant after the constant mismanagement so far from inception to its current state.
Better use of money than the cycle lanes.
I'd suggest you visit the cinema before passing judgement. I've been several times and it is finished to a very high standard, much better than VUE
They should've built a 'grown up 'proper leisure development like Barnsley's Glass works, Forge island is a poor attempt, something you'd find in a small town somewhere size of Maltby, embarrassing for a town of Rotherham's size .
Give it a rest please
Silly Billy Ziggy. No stardust for that comment I'm afraid.
Just on a point of fact The Arc and its staff couldn't be more welcoming. Brilliant facility for the town.
An evening out needs more than a cinema seat,need the restaurant's and bars to go with it,as the comment about The glassworks in Barnsley mentions.
A sauna, massage and a game of poker wouldn't go amiss either.
Do you identify as Anonymous as that reflects your personality? The attempted jokes are tiring.
Sounds my kinda night 😁
There's a surprise....
One meaning of "Ziggy" is Little Spliff'. Can only assume that he has one before posting. Carry on spliffing Zigs.
Bore off anonymous, oh wait..... I bet your the one in the corner at a party.
If there were people like you invited to the party then I wouldn't even bother going.
That's right, lending a sympathetic ear to your wife.
I'd like to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation
As if they’d have been able to get a wife!
Anonymous alienated in both opinions and views. How apt.
"Bore off"?
Are you still at school? "
And of course Ziggy is your real name
Is that your view or your opinion? And if only alienated from you surely not a bad thing Zigsworth?
It is his real name if it's the guy with nits who used to sit next to me at Ferham. The nit nurse had a parking bay outside their house. Ziggy Monaghan was his name I think.
I remember the Monaghans in Ferham. Large family. Gave all their kids really weird names that got them the mickey taken. Ziggy had an older brother called Nigel.
There were two sisters if I remember correctly - Cyanide and Menstrual.
Your comments show your level in society, class and socially.
That sentence doesn't really make sense, now does it?
Dad work on the bins and his mum an usherette at the Tivoli?
Some real lower middle class snobs on here, really up themselves.
Can't argue with that.
Hear, Hear!
Quite happy with my level in society thanks and why that should be a concern of yours is bewildering. All posters can't be wrong - you ARE a snob.
Keep posting to yourself loner.
I will, but some idiot keeps interjecting.
Idiot? Does the forum admin allow this abuse?
Grow up.
You can't continuously be rude to posters and then get precious when they respond in kind.
Idiot is hardly the worst word in the world. I wouldn’t call it abuse.
"Grow up"?
When will this abuse be addressed?
Seems like fair comment to me
I have no life so just keep posting to myself. Definition of a loner.
The retort of the dullard.
An apt username
Is your name cockney rhyming slang?
I agree the Glassworks is excellent, also Market Kitchen is the best in South Yorkshire.
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