News: Rotherham hotel plans move forward

Further progress has been made with plans to create a hotel in a historic industrial building in Rotherham, five years after an original application was approved.

Rothbiz reported in 2021 that plans had been given the go ahead to convert part of the former Effingham Works on the edge of Rotherham town centre into a 23-bedroom hotel.

The relocation of Rotherham retailer, Fosters Cycles, saw part of the building go up for auction at the start of 2015 with a guide price of £100,000. The 10,000 sq ft property sold afterwards.

Plans to turn the historic building into houses in multiple occupation (HMO) were refused due to its close proximity to allocated industrial and business sites.

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As the amenity requirements of hotel guests are materially different to residents of an HMO in planning terms, permission was granted, subject to pre-occupation conditions around noise and odour mitigation and controls.

Recently submitted plans relating to noise, from applicant, Mr D Butt, have recently been approved by Rotherham Council.

The plans include a Final Noise Assessment and a Sustainable and Public Transport Scheme.

No hotel bedrooms overlooking Beatson Clark glassworks to the north are propposed, all hotel bedrooms overlook the dual carriageway to the south.

The development is set to be called Thames Hotel. The 2020 application set out that: "It is the applicant's intention to arrange his business so that it largely caters for visitors to Rotherham. The proposal would bring back into use what is currently an underused property and require minimal external alterations. The use would therefore bring this building back into use and enhance and preserve the building."

One condition of the planning approval is that it is only for a hotel use for short term guests, as any future long term residential stays (eg more than one month) for use as their main residence is likely to fall within the category of a HMO.

The three storey property called Thames House, makes up a large portion of the former Effingham Works, a rare surviving piece of industrial architecture in Rotherham.

Not a listed building, it is however on the South Yorkshire Local Heritage List.

It was built in 1855 for Yates, Haywood and Co. as an extension to the earlier Effingham Works located to its north-east, following the acquisition of the former Walker's Foundry. The works produced world-renowned stove grates and it was reputed at the time it was built to be the largest factory of its kind in the world.

Images: Mark Jenkinson & son