News: Rotherham Council gets £2.63m boost for addressing derelict buildings
Rotherham Council has been awarded £2.63m to help bring prominent long term vacant or derelict buildings back into productive community or commercial use.
The government has published Hope on the High Street, a new strategy for Britain’s high streets, backed by a new Derelict Buildings Fund, investing £125m across 60 English local authorities.
Governemnt data from last year has the commercial vacancy rate in the Rotherham built up area at June 2025 as 19.1%, nearly double the England average of 10.4%. Out of the 75 built up areas receiving government cash (where data is recorded), Rotherham's vacancy rate is the fifth highest behind Grimsby (22.6%), Dewsbury (21.1%), Hartlepool (19.7%) and Accrington (19.6%).
Government guidance states: "High streets and neighbourhoods are at the heart of our towns and communities, and their condition shapes how people feel about the places they call home. Prominent long term vacant or derelict buildings can become lasting symbols of decline, undermining confidence and holding back the wider high street. Yet bringing these sites back into use is rarely straightforward. Local partners often lack the capacity to intervene, while fragmented or unclear ownership, costly heritage requirements and differing incentives among property owners can leave important buildings empty for years.
"The Derelict Buildings Fund will help change that. It will give local authorities the funding and support needed to take action, whether through acquiring long-neglected buildings, addressing barriers to redevelopment, closing viability gaps, or supporting the transfer of valued local assets into sustainable community or commercial ownership. By unlocking projects that might otherwise stall, the Fund will help attract investment and turn visible signs of decline into opportunities for renewal."
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Funding could be used for the acquisition, restoration and reuse of high street buildings, including shops, offices, former places of worship, department stores and other heritage buildings, pubs, theatres or cinemas. The end use could include community, cultural, commercial, public-service or mixed uses.
With a level of community involvement, local authorities will have flexibility to determine the most appropriate projects and future uses, informed by local needs, community views and wider regeneration plans.
The building doesn't have to be in Rotherham town centre. Councils are being asked to prioritise buildings located on high streets, in town or district centres, or that have the potential to become important anchor. Local authorities are not required to own or acquire the building(s) supported.
Within the town centre, Rotherham Council has been working on projects for a number of vacant properties, many that it has acquired. Housing schemes are being developed for cleared brownfield sites, a Health Hub is being created in the former Boots retail unit, the former Alma Tavern had been earmarked as a live music venue and the future of the former Mecca Bingo hall has yet to be announced.
By the end of 2026, Rotherham Council should begin community engagement and longlist buildings for support. Delivery of projects is expected in Spring 2027.
Images: Google Maps
The government has published Hope on the High Street, a new strategy for Britain’s high streets, backed by a new Derelict Buildings Fund, investing £125m across 60 English local authorities.
Governemnt data from last year has the commercial vacancy rate in the Rotherham built up area at June 2025 as 19.1%, nearly double the England average of 10.4%. Out of the 75 built up areas receiving government cash (where data is recorded), Rotherham's vacancy rate is the fifth highest behind Grimsby (22.6%), Dewsbury (21.1%), Hartlepool (19.7%) and Accrington (19.6%).
Government guidance states: "High streets and neighbourhoods are at the heart of our towns and communities, and their condition shapes how people feel about the places they call home. Prominent long term vacant or derelict buildings can become lasting symbols of decline, undermining confidence and holding back the wider high street. Yet bringing these sites back into use is rarely straightforward. Local partners often lack the capacity to intervene, while fragmented or unclear ownership, costly heritage requirements and differing incentives among property owners can leave important buildings empty for years.
"The Derelict Buildings Fund will help change that. It will give local authorities the funding and support needed to take action, whether through acquiring long-neglected buildings, addressing barriers to redevelopment, closing viability gaps, or supporting the transfer of valued local assets into sustainable community or commercial ownership. By unlocking projects that might otherwise stall, the Fund will help attract investment and turn visible signs of decline into opportunities for renewal."
Advertisement
Funding could be used for the acquisition, restoration and reuse of high street buildings, including shops, offices, former places of worship, department stores and other heritage buildings, pubs, theatres or cinemas. The end use could include community, cultural, commercial, public-service or mixed uses.
With a level of community involvement, local authorities will have flexibility to determine the most appropriate projects and future uses, informed by local needs, community views and wider regeneration plans.
The building doesn't have to be in Rotherham town centre. Councils are being asked to prioritise buildings located on high streets, in town or district centres, or that have the potential to become important anchor. Local authorities are not required to own or acquire the building(s) supported.
Within the town centre, Rotherham Council has been working on projects for a number of vacant properties, many that it has acquired. Housing schemes are being developed for cleared brownfield sites, a Health Hub is being created in the former Boots retail unit, the former Alma Tavern had been earmarked as a live music venue and the future of the former Mecca Bingo hall has yet to be announced.
By the end of 2026, Rotherham Council should begin community engagement and longlist buildings for support. Delivery of projects is expected in Spring 2027.
Images: Google Maps
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