News: Views sought on £20m Rotherham regeneration fund
Views and ideas are being invited on Rotherham's Plan for Neighbourhoods that will guide a £20m investment into the town over the next ten years.
Rothbiz reported in March that £20m earmarked for Rotherham by the previous Government had been confirmed and given a wider remit focusing on neighbourhood renewal and improving social capital.
Rotherham was selected in 2023 as one of 55 towns to be given £20m endowment-style funds to invest in local people’s priorities. The Long Term Plan for Towns was extended to 75 “left behind” areas and renamed the Plan for Neighbourhoods as part of efforts to end the "Whitehall knows best" approach by empowering local leaders to strengthen communities.
The Plan for Neighbourhoods focuses on three core themes: Thriving Places, Stronger Communities, and Taking Back Control. These themes aim to revitalise local areas, address deprivation, and empower residents by focusing on local needs and priorities.
Undertaking meaningful engagement with the local community is a central pillar of the funding and "Neighbourhood Boards" will work up a Regeneration Plan – in partnership with the local authority - to deliver the strategic objectives of the programme.
Rothbiz reported last year on priorities for Rotherham following public consultation.
Building on this work, Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) has now been appointed to lead on the new round of consultation.
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The fund targets Rotherham town centre and surrounding areas, from Canklow to Clifton and from Broom to Kimberworth Park.
People who live, work or visit these areas can take part in online consultation now with community workshops, pop-up stalls, focus groups, forums and a Youth Voice Session planned.
Local consultation events got underway this week.
Details of the online consultation and events can be found here.
The Place Standard Tool will help communities assess the quality of their local area and gather opinions on things like housing, transport, public spaces, social interaction and feeling safe.
The prospectus for the fund explained that communities had come up with their own grass-roots solutions when barriers to better living standards had been put up.
Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister, said in the prospectus: "Local change is best driven by those with the biggest stake. The Burnley Together project has seen a community grocer, cookery school and book exchange open in the former Lancashire mill town. In Hendon, the ‘Back on the Map’ residents’ group has spent ten years buying and refurbishing 120 of Sunderland’s run-down homes and shops, alongside a package of community services to tackle poverty. In Yorkshire, the Live Well Wakefield group has helped 93% of clients improve health outcomes through early interventions and social prescribing.
"Together, this government will work in partnership with people on the ground and local authorities to deliver in every corner of the country."
Rotherham's Regeneration Plan for the Plan for Neighbourhoods will be submitted to government by November 2025, following which the first tranche of funding will be released in April 2026, broken down to approximately £2m per year with a 75% / 25% split between Capital and Revenue.
Rotherham Council remains the governing body and as such will have formal decision-making and overriding responsibility for the money but they explain in a report that a Neighbourhood Board, made up of local residents, community leaders, and organisations will be established to lead the creation of the Plan for Neighbourhoods.
A council report states: "The Neighbourhood Board will empower local residents by partnering with Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR), to facilitate consultation with a diverse range of voices and perspectives that can play a practical role in helping to shape the three strategic objectives of the Plan for Neighbourhoods and deliver change.
"Public consultation and engagement is essential to enable residents and stakeholders to contribute to the development of any regeneration scheme."
Images: SMC Brownill Vickers
Rothbiz reported in March that £20m earmarked for Rotherham by the previous Government had been confirmed and given a wider remit focusing on neighbourhood renewal and improving social capital.
Rotherham was selected in 2023 as one of 55 towns to be given £20m endowment-style funds to invest in local people’s priorities. The Long Term Plan for Towns was extended to 75 “left behind” areas and renamed the Plan for Neighbourhoods as part of efforts to end the "Whitehall knows best" approach by empowering local leaders to strengthen communities.
The Plan for Neighbourhoods focuses on three core themes: Thriving Places, Stronger Communities, and Taking Back Control. These themes aim to revitalise local areas, address deprivation, and empower residents by focusing on local needs and priorities.
Undertaking meaningful engagement with the local community is a central pillar of the funding and "Neighbourhood Boards" will work up a Regeneration Plan – in partnership with the local authority - to deliver the strategic objectives of the programme.
Rothbiz reported last year on priorities for Rotherham following public consultation.
Building on this work, Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) has now been appointed to lead on the new round of consultation.
Advertisement
The fund targets Rotherham town centre and surrounding areas, from Canklow to Clifton and from Broom to Kimberworth Park.
People who live, work or visit these areas can take part in online consultation now with community workshops, pop-up stalls, focus groups, forums and a Youth Voice Session planned.
Local consultation events got underway this week.
Details of the online consultation and events can be found here.
The Place Standard Tool will help communities assess the quality of their local area and gather opinions on things like housing, transport, public spaces, social interaction and feeling safe.
The prospectus for the fund explained that communities had come up with their own grass-roots solutions when barriers to better living standards had been put up.
Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister, said in the prospectus: "Local change is best driven by those with the biggest stake. The Burnley Together project has seen a community grocer, cookery school and book exchange open in the former Lancashire mill town. In Hendon, the ‘Back on the Map’ residents’ group has spent ten years buying and refurbishing 120 of Sunderland’s run-down homes and shops, alongside a package of community services to tackle poverty. In Yorkshire, the Live Well Wakefield group has helped 93% of clients improve health outcomes through early interventions and social prescribing.
"Together, this government will work in partnership with people on the ground and local authorities to deliver in every corner of the country."
Rotherham's Regeneration Plan for the Plan for Neighbourhoods will be submitted to government by November 2025, following which the first tranche of funding will be released in April 2026, broken down to approximately £2m per year with a 75% / 25% split between Capital and Revenue.
Rotherham Council remains the governing body and as such will have formal decision-making and overriding responsibility for the money but they explain in a report that a Neighbourhood Board, made up of local residents, community leaders, and organisations will be established to lead the creation of the Plan for Neighbourhoods.
A council report states: "The Neighbourhood Board will empower local residents by partnering with Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR), to facilitate consultation with a diverse range of voices and perspectives that can play a practical role in helping to shape the three strategic objectives of the Plan for Neighbourhoods and deliver change.
"Public consultation and engagement is essential to enable residents and stakeholders to contribute to the development of any regeneration scheme."
Images: SMC Brownill Vickers
4 comments:
I wonder what they mean by "meaningful consultation"? Hopefully it's not the usual rigged surveys that RMBC seem to rely on so regularly to justify their poor decision making.
Simple,spend it on the shortfall for the music venue and get it built and open,or new theatre, don't waste on useless projects.
The Roadhouse has been wanting to work with the council for a while. Get them involved
Totally agree, spend the money on reopening the old bingo place as a venue and the rest will take care of itself.
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