The number of visitors to Rotherham town centre is above 14 million a year, but is not yet back to pre-COVID levels.
Rothbiz reported in April that Rotherham town centre had attracted a million more visits since 2024, according to the leader of the council.
Now the authority has published the latest annual footfall figures.
In its Statement of Accounts, Rotherham Council said that there were 14.1m visitors to the town centre in 2025/26, an increase of 850,000 from 2023/24.
Revitalising the town centre is a central part of the council's 2025 - 2030 plan, called "Forging Ahead." Long term measures of success include an increase in footfall in the town centre, a decrease in the percentage of vacant units in the town centre and an increase in the proportion of people optimistic about the future of Rotherham town centre.
Although the progress of the plan is monitored, and updates provided to councillors, the data behind these measures is not published.
When data was made public, it showed that yearly footfall figures for Rotherham town centre have been in decline since 2012. From just over 26 million in that year, reducing by ten million to 16 million in 2019, even before the COVID pandemic.
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The way footfall is measured varies. Commercial property agents at nearby Parkgate Shopping promote that the popular retail destination attracts eight million visitors per year. Agents for Meadowhall say that the Sheffield shopping centre has 24 million visitors a year. Barnsley town centre attracted a footfall of more than nine million in 2024-25 according to Barnsley Council.
On the ground, Rothbiz recently reported on a "perfect storm" described by local retailers who said that "a massive dip in footfall over the years, not least due to huge retailers leaving for out of town retail parks, has taken its toll."
In Rotherham, the local authority points to the opening of Forge Island in 2024. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema, a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel as well as food outlets.
Investment is also being made in events and a dedicated council team designed to make Rotherham’s high streets safer and more welcoming.
Vibrant Town Centres is one of four "gamechangers" in the new plan from the Rotherham Partnership. The vision is for partners to work together to diversify the offer in town centre in order to increase the number of return visits from residents and those outside of the borough.
The plan mentions the continued efforts to create more housing in the town centre, supporting businesses and community organisations to fill previously empty units and revitalise streets, and a collective effort to support residents to buy local.
On using culture and events, the plan states: "An engaging and exciting programme of events will draw people into our town centres, making them vibrant hubs for our communities and places where people come together. In Rotherham town centre, this sense of surprise and discovery will drive a renaissance in the visitor and nighttime economy."
The plan adds: "Across our town centres, including Dinnington, Maltby, Rotherham, Swinton and Wath, we will support the regeneration of our high streets with a focus on improving footfall, business support and making public spaces more pleasant and welcoming.
"We are redefining how we measure success - moving beyond traditional metrics of retail and spending, to also prioritise the social, wellbeing and community value which town centres can deliver."
Images: Flux Rotherham / BTG Eddisons
Rothbiz reported in April that Rotherham town centre had attracted a million more visits since 2024, according to the leader of the council.
Now the authority has published the latest annual footfall figures.
In its Statement of Accounts, Rotherham Council said that there were 14.1m visitors to the town centre in 2025/26, an increase of 850,000 from 2023/24.
Revitalising the town centre is a central part of the council's 2025 - 2030 plan, called "Forging Ahead." Long term measures of success include an increase in footfall in the town centre, a decrease in the percentage of vacant units in the town centre and an increase in the proportion of people optimistic about the future of Rotherham town centre.
Although the progress of the plan is monitored, and updates provided to councillors, the data behind these measures is not published.
When data was made public, it showed that yearly footfall figures for Rotherham town centre have been in decline since 2012. From just over 26 million in that year, reducing by ten million to 16 million in 2019, even before the COVID pandemic.
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The way footfall is measured varies. Commercial property agents at nearby Parkgate Shopping promote that the popular retail destination attracts eight million visitors per year. Agents for Meadowhall say that the Sheffield shopping centre has 24 million visitors a year. Barnsley town centre attracted a footfall of more than nine million in 2024-25 according to Barnsley Council.
On the ground, Rothbiz recently reported on a "perfect storm" described by local retailers who said that "a massive dip in footfall over the years, not least due to huge retailers leaving for out of town retail parks, has taken its toll."
In Rotherham, the local authority points to the opening of Forge Island in 2024. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema, a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel as well as food outlets.
Investment is also being made in events and a dedicated council team designed to make Rotherham’s high streets safer and more welcoming.
Vibrant Town Centres is one of four "gamechangers" in the new plan from the Rotherham Partnership. The vision is for partners to work together to diversify the offer in town centre in order to increase the number of return visits from residents and those outside of the borough.
The plan mentions the continued efforts to create more housing in the town centre, supporting businesses and community organisations to fill previously empty units and revitalise streets, and a collective effort to support residents to buy local.
The plan adds: "Across our town centres, including Dinnington, Maltby, Rotherham, Swinton and Wath, we will support the regeneration of our high streets with a focus on improving footfall, business support and making public spaces more pleasant and welcoming.
"We are redefining how we measure success - moving beyond traditional metrics of retail and spending, to also prioritise the social, wellbeing and community value which town centres can deliver."
Images: Flux Rotherham / BTG Eddisons
Who's on the calculator, coco the clown? They really believe that Rotherham Town centre has millions more footfall than Barnsley, where there's actually shops and quality eateries and BarsThey're having laugh, they must think we all arrived recently on some banana boat(remember the old saying)! 🤣
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember racists using the term quite frequently.Thought we'd moved on since Bernard Manning but apparently not.
DeleteDo I give a hot sunshine
DeleteOf course you don't Bernie
DeleteSame people who want a town of culture
ReplyDeleteIf the numbers of visitors to Rotherham are supposedly higher than Barnsley's, I'd seriously question the numbers behind this report. Rotherham is like a ghost town on certain days of the week and the night time economy, although improving, remains pretty dire.
ReplyDeleteBarnsley include whippets in their footfall figures
ReplyDelete5 Million more than Barnsley?! Behave!
ReplyDeleteDo they think we're all stupid?
They obviously do... Or are we we all somehow wacist like guy above seems more interested in 😁
ReplyDeleteOnly way Rotherham as more footfall than Barnsley is if they're counting Parkgate retail in figures.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see footfall break all records in Rotherham once the market and library get established.Rotherham town centre is back with a bang
DeleteBarnsley Council have just published latest figures which show that town centre footfall reached more than 9.3 million visits for 2025/26.
ReplyDeleteAs if...
DeleteA bit misleading that, given that there are a larger number of Barnsleyites with three feet
Delete