News: Caprinos gets green light to open in Rotherham

A young successful UK pizza chain with a rapid popularity growth in the market has secured planning permission for a new outlet in Rotherham, reports Visit Rotherham.

A vacant unit on College Street in Rotherham town centre would be brought back into use.

As reported by Rothbiz, an application was submitted to Rotherham Council last month on behalf of Caprinos Pizza, an award-winning brand that offers Italian American cuisine with menu items suitable for adults, children, and to share with family and friends.

Offering "joy in each slice," Caprinos is one of very few pizza brands offering a Halal menu across all of its branches.

Visit Rotherham reports on the approval of the plans which are for a change of use for the 980 sq ft unit from a café restaurant to a restaurant and hot food takeaway (sui generis).

The application, drawn up by planning consultants, Mason and Marlowe, stated: "The property was a restaurant called Jo & Anna’s Zapiekarnia, with a menu that includes burgers, fries, pasta and steak dishes, plus Sunday dinners and English breakfasts. The new owner is Caprinos Pizza. The proposal is for a change of use from café restaurant to a restaurant and hot food takeaway."

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Rotherham Council's Public Health department raised concerns regarding the cumulative impact of additional hot food takeaway provision within an area identified as having a "Very High Food Environment Risk Level and the highest concentration of hot food takeaways within the borough."

However, planners recognised the town centre location and existing café restaurant use of the premises. Planners at Rotherham Council concluded that "the proposal would not result in unacceptable harm to neighbouring amenity and would support the continued vitality and viability of the town centre."

From a single store in Didcot in 2014, Caprinos Pizza now operates over 120 stores across the UK, with additional locations in Ireland and Pakistan. The Rotherham move is part of plans to open 20 new UK stores in 2026 and reach 200 UK outlets by 2030.

The chain’s range of pizzas, includes the Asian Classic Mix with tandoori chicken, Vegetarian Supreme, and Caprinos Special featuring tandoori chicken and spicy beef.

The menu also includes sides and salads, loaded fries, wraps, desserts, and milkshakes. Recent new additions to the pizza menu include the Firecracker and La Espanola.

The last national pizza chain to open in Rotherham town centre was Papa John's in 2018, but the Wellgate site was one of 43 "underperforming" UK stores that closed in 2024.

Caprinos Pizza website

Images: Caprinos Pizza / Smiths

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News: More pub conversions in Rotherham

Time appears to have been called at a number of vacant pubs in Rotherham, with a range of planning proposals coming forward to bring them back into use.

At Swinton, the Sportsman Inn, that has been vacant for six years, has seen plans approved to change the use of ground floor of the existing public house to a convenience retail store.

The approval comes after a previous refusal for plans for the Fitzwilliam Street pub building that has a mock Tudor external appearance. A number of highway safety concerns and parking issues were raised.

Dispite objections, the planning board at Rotherham Council voted to approve plans that would create a 1,744 sq ft retail unit.

Opening hours would be restricted to 7am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays and between 7am to 9pm on Sundays.

Measures are also set to be taken to prevent customers from using the front area of the site as off-road parking. This proposal has also wholly removed the customer car park, and the proposed car parking facilities at the rear are now not intended to be used by customers, but by occupants of the first floor residential accommodation and staff only, which will be secured via a planning condition.

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At West Melton, the former Queens pub has secured planning approval to be converted into two retail units on ground floor with two flats above.

The planner's report states that previous plans were refused and dismissed at appeal, adding that "the ground floor of the pub has recently been converted to a hot food takeaway, with three flats to the first floor area. This work was unauthorised."

Previous plans were for three flats and this proposal is for one two bedroom flat and one one bedroom flat which now meet the minimum internal space standards.

At Parkgate, plans have been submitted for the vacant Travellers pub on Broad Street.

The plans involve the conversion of the 3,485 sq ft pub building into seven flats over two floors.

The freehold of the property was recently sold by agents from a guide price of £225,000.

Images: Everard Cole

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News: More Millmoor memorabilia is being saved, demolition company confirm

As demolition work continues on the historic former home of Rotherham United, parts of the old football stadium are being carefully saved.

Rothbiz revealed in May that new owners, the Ron Hull Group, planned to demolish parts of Millmoor with plans explaining the poor condition and the "long term lack of a viable user" of the stadium that last hosted league football almost 20 years ago.

A second set of plans regarding the method of demolition were approved last month as work got underway on the stadium that has its origins dating back to 1890.

Contractors, Demex - part of the Ron Hull Group - have confirmed that memorabilia, seating, signage, turnstiles and the Derek Dalton Clock are being saved as they take down the stands, related buildings and lighting columns.

Demex said in a statement: "We understand that Millmoor holds a huge amount of history and sentimental value for the people of Rotherham, particularly the generations of supporters who have memories of watching Rotherham United here.

"A great deal of thought and consideration has gone into exploring what could be done to preserve the stadium and give it a new purpose, rather than seeing it demolished. However, after carefully considering the options available, demolition was ultimately the only viable way forward for the site.

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"Memorabilia, seating, signage, turnstiles and the Derek Dalton Clock are all being carefully saved for reuse, donation and preservation, helping to ensure that important pieces of Millmoor’s story live on.

"For us, this isn’t simply about taking a building down. It’s about handling a significant piece of Rotherham’s history with the care and respect it deserves, while helping create the opportunity for something new in its place.

"It’s a significant project for Rotherham, and one we’re proud to be delivering as part of the team."

Rotherham United confirmed last week that the iconic Derek Dalton Clock has been returned to the football club following its removal from Millmoor.

A Millers superfan, Derek, who died aged 45 in 1993, was struck down with polio at the age of two, and did a lot for putting Rotherham United on the map. He won the Shoot Magazine Fan of the Year in 1983 and during a Royal visit, presented The Queen with a Rotherham United pennant.

Discussions are ongoing regarding any necessary refurbishment works that may need to be undertaken to restore Derek’s clock to its former glory and further conversations are taking place internally to establish where the most suitable location is at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

The clock's short journey from Millmoor to the New York Stadium was not without its problems. More Bees Please, a local business dedicated to sustainability and the preservation of bees, was called in when it was discovered that a hive of honey bees had taken up home behind the clock. The experts were able to relocate the comb and colony.

Ron Hull website
RUFC website
More Bees Please website

Images: More Bees Please / RUFC

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News: Progress for restoration of the South Tower at Wentworth Woodhouse

Visit Rotherham is reporting that work will soon get underway on a unique holiday let in Rotherham after a fundraising target was reached.

A planning application has now been submitted regarding the restoration and future of the South Tower at Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham.

Rothbiz reported earlier this year on leading preservation and heritage charity, The Landmark Trust, launching fundraising for plans to create a "truly elegant place to stay" at the Grade-I listed mansion.

Founded in 1965, The Landmark Trust works to save historic buildings in danger of being lost forever. Sensitive restoration offers "landmarks" a new future by making them available to everyone for self-catering holidays. The lettings income from the 200+ extraordinary buildings in the charity's care supports their maintenance and survival in our landscape, culture and society.

A campaign to raise £500,000 launched last year with plans to restore the secluded eyrie and a rare survival of 18th century feminine taste within the monumental Rotherham mansion and create a holiday let for two people.

According to Visit Rotherham, 937 individual Landmark supporters and charitable trusts are supporting the Wentworth Woodhouse plans.

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The detailed planning application, drawn up by Donald Insall Architects, states: "The proposals aim to restore the historic character of the South Tower’s upper chamber while reconfiguring adjacent rooms to provide essential facilities for a holiday let. The scheme supports Landmark’s wider objectives of sustainable reuse and public engagement with heritage, contributing to the longterm stewardship of this nationally significant building.

"The proposals aim to sensitively adapt the interior of the South Pavilion to provide holiday accommodation, while retaining and enhancing its historic character to the high quality expected of a Landmark Trust property. The upper chamber will be restored and presented as a sitting room, reflecting its late 18th century decorative scheme and historic use.

"Secondary spaces within the South Quadrant will be reconfigured to provide a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, with a restrained decorative approach appropriate to their historic function.

"Access to the accommodation will be via a discreet route from the rear of the building, avoiding disruption to the principal elevations and respecting the historic setting. The works are designed to be conservation-led, materially appropriate, and aligned with Landmark Trust’s commitment to sustainable heritage management.

"The proposals support the long-term stewardship of the building, enabling public engagement with a historically significant part of the estate while ensuring its continued use and maintenance."

The Landmark Trust commissioned detailed preparatory research and analysis on the interior, and plans include reinstating the magnificent decorative ceiling, lost in the 20th century.

As the two trusts wait on planning approval, the main contractor for the project, Dobsons of Ilkley, has been selected following a competitive tendering process.

Correspondence from 1778 between the estate steward Benjamin Hall and architect John Carr reveals that the upper room of the South Tower was being fitted out for private use. The work was overseen by Lady Rockingham, who also directed the furnishing and decoration of other ancillary buildings such as the Conservatory and Tea Room which is now known as the Camellia House.

The son of the Fourth Earl Fitzwilliam, Charles Viscount Milton, used the top floor as his study in the years leading up to his inheritance of the title in 1833, with the 1832 plans labelling the room as such. The room was likely then used as a study or archive store until the house was leased for use by Lady Mabel College in 1949.

Comprehensive external repairs were carried out by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT), which completed in June 2022 and earlier ideas to utilise all three storeys of both the Pavilion and Quadrant were discounted, judged to be too invasive.

Plans, which also require Listed Building Consent, show the upper chamber as a sitting room, the reconfiguration of secondary spaces within the South Quadrant to provide a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, and the integration of sustainability measures to improve thermal performance and energy efficiency.

Wentworth Woodhouse website
Landmark Trust website

Images: Wentworth Woodhouse / Donald Insall Architects

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News: Plans submitted to bring back big screen to Rotherham town centre

A planning application has been submitted for a big outdoor TV screen at Rotherham Council's latest multimillion pound regeneration scheme.

The idea was previously tried 20 years ago in a bid to attract more people into Rotherham town centre.

Rothbiz reported first on the authority's plan for a big TV screen as part of the new library and markets redevelopment scheme which has also enhanced the town centre's public realm and events space.

A planning application has now been submitted by Scanlite - a company that specialises in digital signage solutions including LED signage and electronic signage.

The plans show that, if approved, the internally illuminated SMD LED digital display would be installed on the wall of the recently opened market hall, between the entrances and facing the new public realm area that has been created between the market and Eastwood Lane and the college campus.

The screen is some 3.5 metres high by 6.5 metres wide.

Advertising consent would run until October 2031.

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An earlier council cabinet report stated: "The [Eastwood Lane] area represents a valuable events and leisure asset with the potential to become a defining feature of the town centre. A complementary enhancement is proposed, in the form of a large outdoor screen to strengthen the town centre offer by supporting major sporting broadcasts, national events and inclusion within the local events programme."

The council's cabinet recently approved further funding as the overall budget for the town centre scheme had risen again to £46.84m.

The idea is a reboot of the large screen installed in All Saints' Square in 2005.

The previous big screen was originally set to be purchased by Rotherham Council, working with ADI, the screen manufacturer, who retained advertising income. The BBC joined the project in 2006 to provide content.

The 5m x 5m screen was used to show a mix of local information, events promotion, community footage, films, festive content, cultural events such as ballet and opera performances, and live sports including the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

By 2009, cabinet members were considering the removal of the big screen due to the contractual situation, limited access to programmes, poor picture quality and budgetary savings.

For the summer of 2026, Rotherham Council hosted a giant screen in Snail Yard on the High Street for two weeks to show live Test cricket and a selection of family films.

Images: Scanlite

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