News: Changes on the way at popular Rotherham pub restaurant

The future of a pub restaurant in Rotherham is unclear after its owners carried out a wide ranging review of its business.

The Brecks in Rotherham is part of Whitbread's Beefeater portfolio and is connected to Premier Inn Rotherham East, part of the UK's biggest hotel brand that is also owned by Whitbread.

Having undertaken a review, bosses at the leading hospitality business are putting in place a refocused growth plan in the UK to replace all remaining branded restaurants.

Expanding its "Accelerating Growth Plan" will see 197 branded restaurants replaced "with a more efficient and tailored F&B [Food & Beverage] offering for our guests."

The company said it had seen positive early results two years into the original plan to optimise the delivery of F&B at a number of sites by converting lower returning branded restaurants into a higher margin and more efficient, integrated F&B offering, and converting space into new hotel rooms.

Whitbread added that it had already agreed the sale of 51 branded restaurants for £50m and agreed terms for the sale, subject to conditions, on a further 60 sites.

The sales are expected to be as going concerns over the next 24 months with the investment into creating more efficient integrated restaurants set to take place in the 2027 financial year.

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An update from Whitbread said: "Moving to a 100% integrated F&B offering will improve the guest experience and add more higher returning extension rooms and we will deliver 15% - 20% returns on capital by FY31 [the 2031 financial year].

"With over 500 integrated restaurants already operational across our UK estate, it is clear that this F&B format is preferred by our hotel guests and delivers better margins and returns than the branded restaurant format."

Dominic Paul, Chief Executive at Whitbread plc, said: "Owning a significant proportion of our property is a unique strength which powers the growth of Premier Inn while supporting our resilience as a business, underpinned by a strong balance sheet. But we can improve our approach. We will refocus our capital spend and recycle more of our freehold real estate, driving increased margins and returns, reducing our capital intensity and increasing cash returns for shareholders.

"By making our assets work harder and focusing on the highest returning projects, we will be able to continue to take advantage of constrained supply to strengthen our position in both of our core markets, whilst at the same time deliver attractive financial outcomes for shareholders.

"In the UK, by reallocating some of our capital spend and building on the success of our Accelerating Growth Plan, we plan to convert all our remaining branded restaurants to an integrated food and beverage offer that is preferred by our hotel guests and will unlock the addition of more highly profitable extension rooms. Our continued efforts to drive our commercial plan and efficiencies will extend our market-leading position and allow us to take share from our competitors, many of which are struggling to grow."

The Premier Inn on East Bawtry Road secured planning permission last year for a 4,800 sq ft two storey extension to the east of the current hotel. It would provide an additional 16 bedrooms but two current rooms would be lost to create a new corridor. It would take the total rooms at the site from 62 to 76.

The update from Whitbread added: "Against a backdrop of limited UK supply growth, we will open a further 3,000 higher returning extension rooms (including the original plan and the extension of the plan) that are being added in locations where we know from our trading data that, at certain periods, demand outstrips supply and so we are confident that these additional rooms will deliver highly attractive financial returns."

Whitbread website

Images: Google Maps

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News: Developers get on board following Rotherham mainline station announcement

Developers are showing an interest in Rotherham on the back of the government's commitment to support plans for a new mainline station in the borough.

Tom Riordan CBE, Northern Growth Envoy, told MPs that an unnamed developer had signed an agreement to start investment in the Rotherham.

Although full funding is "not a done deal" Rotherham Gateway Station and the electrification of the Sheffield - Leeds line were included in the first phase of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) announced in January.

Over £11m of local transport funding has been agreed to develop a full business case for a new station at Parkgate. A 20-year programme of transformation includes more than 355,000 sq ft of advanced manufacturing and commercial space, around 250 new homes, and up to 132,000 sq ft of green spaces and public realm. It is a £300m regeneration project with proponents aiming to have the station open by late 2030.

The idea is to use a mainline station integrated with a tram-train stop to further develop the advanced manufacturing cluster within South Yorkshire as part of the UK’s first Investment Zone and the Don Valley Corridor.

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At a recent Westminster meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on Northern Powerhouse Rail, Tom Riordan CBE was asked if the partnerships between government and regional mayors and local councils was going to deliver NPR. Asking the question, Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East raised concerns over a situation where "no one is responsible and everyone blames everybody else."

Riordan, a former Chief Executive of regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward, said: "I am really confident about this because we have tested it already. We could be sat here talking about what we are going to do to try to come to an agreement about Northern Powerhouse Rail in the future, but what we actually did in practice last November was say, “We’re going to do this, but we’re going to do it with the mayors.”

"The Secretary of State, working with officials, myself, Jo [Shanmugalingam - Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport] and others, worked to try to come to an agreement about the sequencing and the overall approach for this with the mayors. That has got to the point where joint compacts have been signed with Ministers where mayors have committed to put their own resources in to the agreement. It gives me confidence that we have done that once.

"It is really hard to agree stuff across the north of England, as we all know. It is not a single place; it is a group of different places. But we did that and it stuck. People have stuck with it. We have got further agreements about how we are going to move forward. We have a good partnership emerging around growth as well and the private sector is really interested in it.

"The week after the announcement, I went to Rotherham and met the council there. The fact that the Rotherham announcement had been made had led a developer to sign an agreement to start investment. That gives me confidence. A lot of times in the past, those of us in the north of England have maybe not had the confidence that things would happen. I really do think they are going to, and I think this is an innovative and different approach and it is working to date."

Images: RMBC

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News: New owners prepare to demolish CF Booth buildings

The new owners of historic Rotherham firm, CF Booth Limited, are sizing up how best to use the 35-acre site it has acquired.

Some demolition is proposed, but no plans have yet been revealed for Millmoor, the home of Rotherham United until 2008.

Administrators announced last month that they have concluded a sale of the company’s business and assets to Hu11 Limited, a subsidiary of Ron Hull Jnr Limited.

The sale of substantially all the assets of eight interconnected companies included Demex and Albion Jones as going concern sales, allowing the demolition business to continue operations.

Taking over the Clarence Works at Armer Street in Masbrough, Ron Hull has moved quickly to take on the fully operational rail siding which has enabled the provider of a range of metal recovery and waste recycling services to offer decommissioned rail stack handling and the sale and loading of scrap metal via rail.

The Ron Hull Group has also been assessing the buildings on the site, with many found to be in a state of disrepair.

The company has engaged with the local planning authority, Rotherham Council, over the method of demolition for buildings on the site.

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The buildings set for demolition in the plans include the prominent main office building fronting Armer Street, and the large industrial buildings to the rear and side.

Further office buildings, factory units, a furnance and a maintenance workshop are also identified for demolition on maps submitted with the applications, allthough the applicants stress that the group is currently unsure exactly which buildings will remain and which will ultimately be demolished as they look to see if factory units and furnaces can be reused within the current business.

The plans explain that the three of the smaller buildings that are proposed to be demolished "are showing signs of a long term lack of repairs and maintenance, and are in poor condition. The buildings also are surplus to the requirements of the current owner's needs and business operations."

Industrial buildings are described as being in a state of disrepair, with the main office building's interior "very closed and unsuitable for modern open office use. The building is showing signs of water damage and general neglect." Other buildings are also showing signs of water damage and are in a state of disrepair.

Once demolished, the areas are set to store metals, which is as the current use of the site.

Ron Hull Group website

Images: Google Maps

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News: Rotherham markets revamp goes over budget again - reaches £46m

With the first phase due to open in a matter of months, the cost of completing a long-awaited revamp of the markets in Rotherham town centre has risen again and is now at £46.84m, more than double original estimates.

An increase in demolition costs, inflationary increases linked to delays with extended periods of clarifications and amendments, and "an overestimation of project readiness" when the contract was awarded are being highlighted in a series of challenges in the delivery of the project.

The council's chief executive is commissioning an investigation into the project, which, for town centre schemes, is second only to the £47m Forge Island development in terms of total investment.

The redevelopment of the Drummond Street site also includes a modern central library, a new community hub, improved public spaces, and links to the town centre and college. The renovations will build upon the existing mix of shops and services with the addition of a new food hub and dining area on the first floor. Flexible space is also being created which can be used for exhibitions and events when required.

Henry Boot began works at the end of 2023 and have since made progress on the construction which has a total contract price of £36m.

Second only to the £47m Forge Island development in terms of town centre investment, the revamp was originally scheduled to finish in December 2025 but this was pushed back to 2027. When government funding was originally confirmed, the estimated cost of the project was £22m.

Having secured a further £6.5m from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) last year, Rotherham Council's cabinet is being asked to approve an allocation from various council funding pots to fill a funding gap following an increase in the total budget from £40.894m to £46.844m.

£200,000 is set to come from the Local Regeneration Fund (LRF) surplus, £1.66m from the council's Town Centre Investment Fund and £4m from the authority's Capital Contingency Fund.

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A cabinet paper states: "Over the course of the project’s development, a number of challenges have arisen which has rendered the achievement of this scope undeliverable for the current agreed budget. Further, the delivery of the Outdoor Covered Market and Library has continued, in line with the agreed contract, resulting in insufficient budget to complete the project to the agreed scope.

"The Chief Executive of the Council will commission an investigation into how these challenges have arisen and what lessons can be learnt."

On delivery, the council admits that it tendered and entered into a contract before key assumptions had been confirmed, "resulting in an overestimation of project readiness. At contract award, the design and specification were insufficiently developed to be construction-ready, with undue reliance on value engineering assumptions and provisional sums. Contingency was underestimated, and an excessive level of risk was transferred to the Council."

A lack of detail on the council's specifications required further definition following the award of the tender, with the paper stating that: "This was in part due to a lack of stakeholder engagement early in the scheme." Extended periods of clarifications and amendments to layouts and servicing caused delays and increased contractor costs.

Outstanding design work required the appointment of additional design expertise, leading to significant delays and rising costs. "The volume of design work, clarification and consolidation between numerous design teams led to further delay and cost," the paper added.

When the design was completed, value engineering opportunities were anticipated to bring down costs but these assumptions did not happen.

The project also included unconfirmed budgets against which actual costs would be attributed as the project progressed. The risk of any cost increase in these provisional sums was accepted by the Council and contingency was insufficient.

Costs were also increased by Health & Safety and Compliance, as the council was unable to carry out invasive surveys before the contract was awarded. A "significant presence of RAAC and of asbestos" in the building, which opened in 1971, was previously blamed for cost rises.

The paper also sets out that, on governance and resourcing: "Fundamental aspects were lacking at crucial stages of the project, which led to uncertainty in decision-making and meant the scheme was not prioritised for oversight, management and resource in a way that properly reflects its multi-faceted nature and scale."

Also included in the report is the latest contractor programme which indicates the completion of various parts of the scheme:

• New Market Hall: June 2026
• Library: Autumn 2026
• Public Realm: Spring 2027
• Market Gardens: June 2026
• Library: December 2026
• Market Square: Spring 2027
• Indoor Market: Autumn 2027

Images of how the new Rotherham markets might look inside when complete, were published last year.

Images: Henry Boot Construction / LinkedIn

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News: Further funding for new houses on brownfield land in Rotherham

More than 3,700 new high-quality homes are being built on brownfield land across South Yorkshire, thanks to £65m from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s (SYMCA) Brownfield Housing Fund (BHF).

After six years of operation, the fund is supporting 45 developments - unlocking land, funding infrastructure, accelerating construction, and enabling homes that simply wouldn’t have been built without SYMCA’s backing.

The fund has a focus on supporting work including early infrastructure, site clearance, decontamination and installation of the necessary utilities – and has included the building of more than 700 social and affordable homes.

In Rotherham, the most recent awards included £640,000 for the redevelopment of the former Fosters Garden Centre site in Thrybergh. Approved plans from Avant Homes incorporates the erection of 25 dwellings with the conversion of the former agricultural buildings and listed building into an additional seven dwellings in a town house arrangement.

At Waverley in Rotherham, Yorkshire's largest brownfield development, £1.55m was awarded for one of the last remaining plots. Brought forward by Strata, the £8.44m project involves 177 dwellings on a plot of land known as Plot 4 or Waverley Railside.

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South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “We know we need more homes to offer the strong foundations our families and communities deserve across South Yorkshire.

“Through our Brownfield Housing Fund we’re creating thousands of better homes. I want developments that attract investment, create spaces for new businesses and offer more affordable housing – and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“Transforming derelict sites and bringing buildings that reflect our heritage back into use opens up new opportunities to unleash our communities’ full potential.

“We’re rebuilding the pride, purpose and prosperity of South Yorkshire -making sure thousands more people can get on the property ladder, so even more can stay near and go far.”

Environmentally friendly homes have been at the heart of the BHF to help reduce energy bills and minimise negative environmental impacts, with 2,400 of the homes having solar panels and 1,400 homes having heat pumps installed.

Nine schemes of around 1,000 homes also have Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems to help reduce the impacts of surface water flooding, with other schemes adopting more traditional drainage schemes to reduce flood risk.

SYMCA has recently secured a further £118m from April this year from the National Housing Development Fund, to continue supporting the development of new housing across South Yorkshire.

SYMCA website

Images: Avant

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