News: Transport funding diverted to Rotherham Gateway Station project
Rotherham Council looks to have paused a number of multimillion pound transport schemes, with external funding instead going towards the cost of the proposed new mainline station.
The £300m scheme has recently cleared another hurdle within central government.
Rothbiz reported in June on the 20-year masterplan for Rotherham Gateway Station at Parkgate which showed how a transport improvement scheme can act as the catalyst for a much wider regeneration project supporting thousands of new jobs.
Integrated with a new tram-train stop, the station would bring faster rail connections. A new mainline rail station at Forge Way would deliver faster links to Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, and Doncaster, unlocking wider regional and national connectivity. The aim is for journey times to Leeds to be cut from 60 minutes to 30 minutes and to be 75 minutes to Birmingham.
Backing the project in June, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) approved £11.35m that will enable the detailed design of the project and move it towards procurement. £10m of government funding has already been secured for land acquisition. The total costs of the station, based on estimates from Network Rail, is £133m, and could be as much as £166m for a four-platform station. The station is part of a £300m regeneration scheme.
SYMCA papers show that the Department for Transport (DfT) has given its "approval of the scheme progressing to the next funding gateway" but overall funding for Rotherham Gateway Station has yet to be confirmed, with the borough also waiting on costed plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
So far, £1m has been utilised from SYMCA's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), with £11.35m now set to be used from the same pot.
Earlier this month, Rotherham Council authorised another £400k for the station project, to be used from a £3m feasability fund that uses another SYMCA allocation. The money will enable the appointment of consultants and a programme director.
Recent SYMCA papers show that decisions have been taken in Rotherham to redeploy transport funding to the Mainline Station scheme.
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An update to the SYMCA board shows that there is a forecasted decrease of £71m in the authority's capital spend on transport with £25m relating to internally delivered transport activity, such as delays to the tram asset renewal (£21m).
The paper also discusses: "decisions taken in Rotherham to pause a number of schemes in consideration of the opportunity to redeploy funding to the Mainline Station scheme, subject to DfT’s approval of the scheme progressing to the next funding gateway which has now been received."
The station is a DfT retained scheme, held back by the Governmnet for further review or development before funding is released.
A previous SYMCA paper highlighted continued funding for key transport investment schemes in Rotherham such as £12.34m for the mainline station (up from £1m) and funding for proposed active travel schemes (Broom Road to Wickersley Extension Corridor - £10.7m, and Rotherham East Cycle and Bus Priority Package - £16.5m).
The paper also showed a number of schemes previously lined up for CRSTS funding given a latest forcast of £0. These include Worrygoose Roundabout improvements, which was initially earmarked for £4.8m, and the Maltby Active Travel Neighbourhood scheme, where £2m from CRSTS was previously set aside. Forecast spends have also been reduced for proposed improvements at Ickles Roundabout (from £7.5m to £4m) and at Doncaster Road, Dalton (from £1.2m to £200k).
CRSTS was confirmed in 2022, with South Yorkshire securing £570m. A further £1.5 billion was confirmed for South Yorkshire in June 2025. £530m is set to be used to renew the Supertram network with £350m set aside to reform South Yorkshire’s buses. What the rest of the new funding will be used for has not yet been detailed.
The latest settlement, now renamed "Transport for City Regions" is for 2027-28 to 2031-32 with around £12m brought forward and made available in 2026-27. Funding allocations for the final year of the CRSTS programme (2026-27) were still to be confirmed and both could be a part of the Integrated Settlement from 2026-27.
Images: RMBC
The £300m scheme has recently cleared another hurdle within central government.
Rothbiz reported in June on the 20-year masterplan for Rotherham Gateway Station at Parkgate which showed how a transport improvement scheme can act as the catalyst for a much wider regeneration project supporting thousands of new jobs.
Integrated with a new tram-train stop, the station would bring faster rail connections. A new mainline rail station at Forge Way would deliver faster links to Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, and Doncaster, unlocking wider regional and national connectivity. The aim is for journey times to Leeds to be cut from 60 minutes to 30 minutes and to be 75 minutes to Birmingham.
Backing the project in June, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) approved £11.35m that will enable the detailed design of the project and move it towards procurement. £10m of government funding has already been secured for land acquisition. The total costs of the station, based on estimates from Network Rail, is £133m, and could be as much as £166m for a four-platform station. The station is part of a £300m regeneration scheme.
SYMCA papers show that the Department for Transport (DfT) has given its "approval of the scheme progressing to the next funding gateway" but overall funding for Rotherham Gateway Station has yet to be confirmed, with the borough also waiting on costed plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
So far, £1m has been utilised from SYMCA's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), with £11.35m now set to be used from the same pot.
Earlier this month, Rotherham Council authorised another £400k for the station project, to be used from a £3m feasability fund that uses another SYMCA allocation. The money will enable the appointment of consultants and a programme director.
Recent SYMCA papers show that decisions have been taken in Rotherham to redeploy transport funding to the Mainline Station scheme.
Advertisement
An update to the SYMCA board shows that there is a forecasted decrease of £71m in the authority's capital spend on transport with £25m relating to internally delivered transport activity, such as delays to the tram asset renewal (£21m).
The paper also discusses: "decisions taken in Rotherham to pause a number of schemes in consideration of the opportunity to redeploy funding to the Mainline Station scheme, subject to DfT’s approval of the scheme progressing to the next funding gateway which has now been received."
The station is a DfT retained scheme, held back by the Governmnet for further review or development before funding is released.
A previous SYMCA paper highlighted continued funding for key transport investment schemes in Rotherham such as £12.34m for the mainline station (up from £1m) and funding for proposed active travel schemes (Broom Road to Wickersley Extension Corridor - £10.7m, and Rotherham East Cycle and Bus Priority Package - £16.5m).
CRSTS was confirmed in 2022, with South Yorkshire securing £570m. A further £1.5 billion was confirmed for South Yorkshire in June 2025. £530m is set to be used to renew the Supertram network with £350m set aside to reform South Yorkshire’s buses. What the rest of the new funding will be used for has not yet been detailed.
The latest settlement, now renamed "Transport for City Regions" is for 2027-28 to 2031-32 with around £12m brought forward and made available in 2026-27. Funding allocations for the final year of the CRSTS programme (2026-27) were still to be confirmed and both could be a part of the Integrated Settlement from 2026-27.
Images: RMBC
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