News: Haulage operators receive £3.75m funding to drive growth

Yorkshire-based, TSL Vanguard and Specialist Trailer Hire (STH), have received a £3.75m funding package from NatWest to support their ongoing expansion and strengthen their operations across Leeds and Rotherham.

Operating locally since 1968, the family run businesses specialise in haulage, warehousing, logistics and truck hire needs, tailoring services to offer both short and long term rentals. The funding—comprising a £2.75m Royal Bank of Scotland Invoice Finance (RBSIF) facility and a £1m loan—will be used to purchase additional premises, boosting capacity and storage space to meet increasing customer demand.

STH provides a comprehensive range of services including commercial vehicle management, contract hire, maintenance, breakdown support, and long-term rentals. TSL Vanguard complements this offering with general haulage and warehousing services.

The acquisition of additional premises will support the businesses’ long term growth through greater capacity to extend their fleet and diversify service offerings, which currently include the operation of more than 1,000 trailers. This expansion will also allow more specialist roles to be brought in-house, reducing dependency on third parties and creating new employment opportunities in both Leeds and Holmes in Rotherham.

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Mark Liversidge, Managing Director at Specialist Trailer Hire, commented: “Securing this funding marks a significant milestone for both TSL Vanguard and Specialist Trailer Hire. We’re excited about the opportunities this creates, both for our team and our customers, as ultimately the funding will enable us to invest in the space and infrastructure required for continued growth.

“We’ve had a great relationship with NatWest for years now and we’re looking forward to the future."

Mark Forsyth, Senior Relationship Manager at NatWest, said: “As longstanding customers, we’re proud to support TSL Vanguard and Specialist Trailer Hire with a funding package that will enable them to scale their operations and invest in long-term growth.

Both businesses have a strong track record and a clear vision for the future, and we’re looking forward to continuing our work together and helping to enable their continued growth within the region, whether that’s through funding packages or the specialist knowledge, networks and expertise we can offer for businesses”.

Both companies are committed to environmental responsibility and evolving to meet the demands of the modern environment, with ongoing investment in fleet upgrades to reduce emissions. TSL Vanguard and STH are accredited by the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme, which sets safety and efficiency standards within the transport operations industry, recognising fleet performance in key areas such as environmental impact, safety, and operational efficiency.

The funding represents a significant step toward achieving the group’s long-term ambition of maintaining a strong position within the haulage and logistics market while expanding operational capabilities to meet future demands.

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TSL Vanguard website

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News: Consultees raise same issues again in "left behind" Rotherham

Consultation is underway that will guide a £20m investment into the town over the next ten years, and the issue of feeling safe is coming to the fore again.

Consultees (people who live, work or visit the main urban areas around the town centre) assessed the area low in most themes and picked out safety, run-down streets and parking as key issues.

Rothbiz reported in March that £20m earmarked for Rotherham by the previous Government had been confirmed and given a wider remit focusing on neighbourhood renewal and improving social capital.

Now called Plan for Neighbourhoods, the £1.5 billion programme sets out to invest in 75 areas over the next decade – "a long-term strategy to fix the foundations of those places most left behind." It focuses on three core themes: Thriving Places, Stronger Communities, and Taking Back Control. These themes aim to revitalise local areas, address deprivation, and empower residents by focusing on local needs and priorities.

The findings echo the previous consultation carried out before the government revamped the strategy. Rotherham's long term plan for towns included the key themes of safety and security, high streets, heritage and regeneration, and transport and connectivity.

An update to councillors explains that Rotherham is one of 75 places to receive funding based on its level of need. Money will be spent inside the boundary chosen by Government, known as a "Built Up Area." It is based on data provided by the Office for National Statistics and is the area of a town characterised by urban features such as town centres, major infrastructure and larger populations.

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Consultation used the "Place Standard" tool to assess and improve the quality of places by helping to identify what's good about a place, what needs to be protected, changed, or improved.

Results so far show that the lowest score was for the Influence & Sense of Control theme which scored an average of 2.83 out of 7. A council paper said that "Residents don’t feel listened to. While surveys and councillors are valued, people want clearer evidence that feedback leads to change."

The next lowest theme was Feeling Safe at 2.91, the report adding: "Safety is one of the biggest concerns. Crime, antisocial behaviour, and intimidation make people feel unsafe, especially at night. CCTV and lighting are valued but seen as not enough."

Parking problems in neighbourhoods, litter and fly-tipping have also been flagged up.

In the Street & Spaces theme, the report highlights that "heritage and recent improvements valued, but many streets fee [sic] run-down and in need of better upkeep" and in the Identity & Belonging theme, consultees expressed "pride in heritage, diversity, and friendliness, but stigma and negative perceptions persist. Residents want more positive promotion of Rotherham."

Natural Spaces scored an avaerage of 4.18 out of 7 and was the seen as the strongest asset where parks and countryside was highly valued, "with Clifton Park and Thrybergh often mentioned."

A raft of interventions have been pre-approved by the government which can address the issues from the consultation.

The council report said: "The allocation of funding will be informed by the built-up-area data provided by Government and consultation feedback. Interventions will be prioritised where they have collective benefits and meet the needs of the Geography as a whole."

Undertaking meaningful engagement with the local community is seen a central pillar of the funding and "Neighbourhood Boards" will work up a Regeneration Plan – in partnership with the local authority - to deliver the strategic objectives of the programme.

Rotherham's Regeneration Plan will be submitted to government by November 2025, following which the first tranche of funding will be released in April 2026, broken down to approximately £2m per year with a 75% / 25% split between Capital and Revenue.

The £20m fund is set to be discussed at the council's next Improving Places Select Commission.

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News: Why are new cycle lanes being created across Rotherham?

If Rotherham Council wants to use government money to make multimillion pound investments in strategic transport routes in the borough, they will need to include cycle lanes, the authority has confirmed.

With Rotherham Council set to spend a further £24m on active travel schemes, the issue was raised in a recent full council meeting.

Consultation is currently being carried out on a £16.3m scheme that includes bike lanes, bus lanes and a built up roundabout at Eastwood, on the edge of Rotherham town centre. A similar £8m cycle lane and roundabout scheme is proposed for Stag Roundabout and Wickersley / Broom Road.

The schemes follow on from the the £6.4m Sheffield Road Cycleways and Maltby Bus Corridor schemes and the £3.6m Broom Road Cycleways scheme.

Sheffield Road Cycleways project has delivered over 2km of new cycle routes on the A6178 Sheffield Road and Westgate between the town centre and the borough boundary at Tinsley. Rothbiz reported how Rotherham Council was forced to explain the new road layout on Sheffield Road, which has introduced a single carriagway with cycle lanes that are not mandatory and instead indicate to drivers the distance they should leave when passing cyclists.

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The majority of funding is coming from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) through the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), a government funding stream. The funding requirements dictate that designs must promote decarbonisation by providing improved options for public transport, walking and cycling although Rotherham Council has earmarked funding for ideas proposed by the community for addressing isues in the neighbourhoods.

Cllr. John Williams, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, told the meeting: "Any decision on funding is ultimately a decision for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and the Department for Transport.

"If we only delivered the neighbourhood streets element of the scheme then potentially that would not be meeting the government's requirements for the funding. I should be clear that that requirement was set by the previous government and that requirement is to deliver a strategic route to enable people to walk, to cycle more and to help improve the speed and reliability of buses, to help people get about the borough.

"It is most likely, therefore, that if we to only do the scheme without the cycle lanes then it wouldn't be meeting that requirement"

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News: Investment to continue in Rotherham

Millions of pounds of investment has been made in Rotherham via the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), and there's more to come.

Nearly £190m of investment has been completed in South Yorkshire over the last two years supporting capital projects and Investment Zone activity supporting business expansion, new housebuilding, improvements to transport infrastructure and flood prevention.

WIth government money and powers diverted to South Yorkshire, SYMCA does not deliver all investments. The majority of projects are delivered by local authority partners, with some delivered directly by the private sector and other local and regional partners. Looking ahead, an Integrated Settlement is set to provide an opportunity for greater funding flexibility against the delivery of a set of outcomes agreed with Government.

SYMCA's Capital Investment Programme was recently dicussed at the authority's board.

For Rotherham, 16 schemes have been completed in the last two years with a total value of £78.1m.

Transport projects feature prominantly and include £40.1m towards the Parkway widening scheme and £13.2m for the new link road at Parkgate.

Completed regeneration projects in the borough include the second phase of Century Business Centre, which used £4.6m via SYMCA, and £2m being used in the town centre to progress projects such as Forge Island.

Brownfield housing projects in Rotherham have also secured millions of pounds to address viability.

Direct grants to support businesses expanding in Rotherham include the £1.5m that enabled SBD Apparel to move on to the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in the Investment Zone.

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Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, said: "Funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s Capital Programme has enabled us to take forward key strategic projects in Rotherham, such as flood defence works in the town centre and across the borough, the Century 2 business centre, and Olive Lane development at Waverley, as well as future projects which will drive further growth across the borough.”

Projects currently in delivery and development supported by capital investment from SYMCA include Rotherham Gateway Station and the tram-train stop at Magna, more active travel schemes, flood alleviation schemes and the markets and library redevelopment.

Another Investment Zone project is expected to see £2m used to support the Advanced Blade Casting Facility (ABCF) in Rotherham - a cutting-edge supplier of high-value superalloy turbine blade castings for large civil jet engines.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “My job is growth, across all four corners of South Yorkshire.

“That means investing our money in plans and projects that unlock the potential of Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield. Working with our local councils, I’ve been able to fund nearly £190m of capital investment – money to build things, make things happen, and bring some iconic buildings and sites back to life.

"We’ve made real progress, but we’re not done yet. Our capital investments are laying the foundations for a wealthier, healthier, happier, and safer South Yorkshire. And as major developments come forward, they’ll unlock even more potential, bringing longterm benefits for generations to come.

"People often ask me: what’s devolution for? It’s about making decisions here, for here. It’s about restoring pride, prosperity and purpose to our communities. It’s about making sure people can stay near and go far, and ultimately it’s about making a positive difference to people’s lives."

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News: Views sought on £20m Rotherham regeneration fund

Views and ideas are being invited on Rotherham's Plan for Neighbourhoods that will guide a £20m investment into the town over the next ten years.

Rothbiz reported in March that £20m earmarked for Rotherham by the previous Government had been confirmed and given a wider remit focusing on neighbourhood renewal and improving social capital.

Rotherham was selected in 2023 as one of 55 towns to be given £20m endowment-style funds to invest in local people’s priorities. The Long Term Plan for Towns was extended to 75 “left behind” areas and renamed the Plan for Neighbourhoods as part of efforts to end the "Whitehall knows best" approach by empowering local leaders to strengthen communities.

The Plan for Neighbourhoods focuses on three core themes: Thriving Places, Stronger Communities, and Taking Back Control. These themes aim to revitalise local areas, address deprivation, and empower residents by focusing on local needs and priorities.

Undertaking meaningful engagement with the local community is a central pillar of the funding and "Neighbourhood Boards" will work up a Regeneration Plan – in partnership with the local authority - to deliver the strategic objectives of the programme.

Rothbiz reported last year on priorities for Rotherham following public consultation.

Building on this work, Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) has now been appointed to lead on the new round of consultation.

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The fund targets Rotherham town centre and surrounding areas, from Canklow to Clifton and from Broom to Kimberworth Park.

People who live, work or visit these areas can take part in online consultation now with community workshops, pop-up stalls, focus groups, forums and a Youth Voice Session planned.

Local consultation events got underway this week.

Details of the online consultation and events can be found here.

The Place Standard Tool will help communities assess the quality of their local area and gather opinions on things like housing, transport, public spaces, social interaction and feeling safe.

The prospectus for the fund explained that communities had come up with their own grass-roots solutions when barriers to better living standards had been put up.

Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister, said in the prospectus: "Local change is best driven by those with the biggest stake. The Burnley Together project has seen a community grocer, cookery school and book exchange open in the former Lancashire mill town. In Hendon, the ‘Back on the Map’ residents’ group has spent ten years buying and refurbishing 120 of Sunderland’s run-down homes and shops, alongside a package of community services to tackle poverty. In Yorkshire, the Live Well Wakefield group has helped 93% of clients improve health outcomes through early interventions and social prescribing.

"Together, this government will work in partnership with people on the ground and local authorities to deliver in every corner of the country."

Rotherham's Regeneration Plan for the Plan for Neighbourhoods will be submitted to government by November 2025, following which the first tranche of funding will be released in April 2026, broken down to approximately £2m per year with a 75% / 25% split between Capital and Revenue.

Rotherham Council remains the governing body and as such will have formal decision-making and overriding responsibility for the money but they explain in a report that a Neighbourhood Board, made up of local residents, community leaders, and organisations will be established to lead the creation of the Plan for Neighbourhoods.

A council report states: "The Neighbourhood Board will empower local residents by partnering with Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR), to facilitate consultation with a diverse range of voices and perspectives that can play a practical role in helping to shape the three strategic objectives of the Plan for Neighbourhoods and deliver change.

"Public consultation and engagement is essential to enable residents and stakeholders to contribute to the development of any regeneration scheme."

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News: Safeguarding lifted on HS2 route through Rotherham

Land in Rotherham outlined for high speed rail is no longer under safeguarding directions, the Secretary of State for Transport has confirmed.

Former owners who sold to the government will be given the opportunity to buy property back, but at the current value.

The announcement comes four and a half years after the scheme to Leeds was scrapped and nine years after property owners first learnt of the plans.

The government announced in 2021 that the HS2 Phase 2b Eastern leg would terminate at East Midlands Parkway and no longer reach Leeds through the communities in the east of Rotherham. A study into how best to take HS2 services to Leeds was announced but never really got underway.

Safeguarding for Phase 2b (Crewe to Manchester and West Midlands to Leeds) was set to be ammended in summer 2024 to allow for any safeguarding needed for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Safeguarding is designed to protect land which the government may need to build and operate HS2 from conflicting development that might otherwise take place. Issuing safeguarding directions also triggers statutory blight - starting the process of the government acquiring property in the safeguarded areas.

A latest report to Parliament confirmed that the safeguarding directions for the former HS2 route through Rotherham have finally been lifted.

Heidi Alexander MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said: "I am today formally lifting the safeguarding directions for the former Phase 2b Eastern Leg (between the West Midlands and Leeds), removing the uncertainty that has affected many people along the former route. Safeguarding along the former Phase 2b Western Leg (between Crewe and Manchester) is not being changed as part of this, and an update on future plans for safeguarding on this section will be provided in due course alongside broader plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

"One small area to the south of the existing station in central Leeds, previously required for the new HS2 station, will remain safeguarded to allow for potential enhancements to the existing station, including for onward travel.

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"I have also today closed the Rural Support Zone, Express Purchase, Rent Back, and the Need to Sell property schemes along the former Phase 2b Eastern Leg. Existing applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

"Removing safeguarding along the majority of the former HS2 Phase 2b Eastern Leg means we are now able to initiate a programme to dispose of over 550 properties on the former Eastern Leg that are no longer required. We expect disposals on the open market to begin in 2026. Before then, former owners whose property was acquired under statutory blight will have the opportunity to reacquire their former property at the current market value.

"We will dispose of land and property in a sensible and sensitive way, ensuring value for money for the taxpayer and avoiding disruption to local property markets."

The scrapped route through Rotherham was announced in 2016 and affected areas such as Wales, Aston, Ulley, Brampton-en-le–Morthen, Thurcroft, Bramley, Ravenfield and Hooton Roberts.

With no station at Meadowhall and just a spur into Sheffield, residents and local politicians believed that the change in route offered "all of the problems but none of the benefits" and had to deal with blight notices and programmes to sell property to the government before compulsory purchase.

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News: Sheffield-Rotherham link road still under consideration

A new link road aimed at opening up land for development whilst reducing congestion around the M1 in South Yorkshire is still under consideration by the Government.

Last week the Department for Transport published a list of transport investment schemes that would (and wouldn't) be covered by the recent spending review.

One project listed as being "under consideration" is the Sheffield Innovation Corridor Road.

The project is described by the DfT as "a new 3.7km transport and active travel corridor broadly parallel to the M1 between J34 (s) to J33 and running from the A630 at Catcliffe to the A6109 at Meadowhall."

An application for the project was made to the DfT's Local Large Major (LLM) fund in July 2016 and £1.4m was secured to work up a business case.

Linked to the innovation district idea and subsequent investment zone designation, the scheme aims to facilitate economic growth by reducing existing network capacity constraints by improving connectivity and capacity to, and within, key development sites in Sheffield and Rotherham.

A Sheffield city region report from 2020 explained: "A significant constraint on achieving the economic growth aims of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) is the capacity of the highway network in the area between junctions 33 and 34 of the M1.

"There are already significant capacity issues, caused partly by the interaction of traffic on the local and the Strategic Road Network (managed by Highways England) at the motorway junctions. There is a limit to what can be achieved through localised improvements.

"The total project value is estimated to be around £100m."

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Effectively the scheme links Waverley in Rotherham with Meadowhall in Sheffield so that journeys can be made without using the M1 or its junctions. The route from the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) would pass the emerging plans for Runway Park on the site of the former Sheffield Airport, development sites at Tinsley like Bessemer Park, the River Don District and Forgemasters' new site south of Meadowhall.

Options already looked at include new and/or upgraded highways and some more significant infrastructure solutions including bridges and tunnels.

Similar plans failed to materialise. The Waverley Link Road was scrapped after Rotherham and Sheffield Councils could not agree on a route. A sourthern route of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme was shelved following government cuts. The northen route saw a new link road built passing under the M1 connecting Templeborough to Meadowhall South.

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News: South Yorkshire shunted into sidelines as MML electrification paused again

Sheffield is set to remain the largest city in the UK without electrified railways after the Government announced a pause of the electrification of the Midland Mainline (MML) in the North and Midlands.

The key route connects London St Pancras and Sheffield via the East Midlands. Working north, Network Rail had previously envisaged reaching Sheffield at the end of 2020 but work was paused at Kettering and effectively cancelled when plans were announced for new bi-mode intercity trains that are able to run on both electrified and non-electrified lines.

Work reportedly continued on the plans but DfT documents relating to the recent spending review show that the off-and-on project has been paused again.

The previous government's Network North document proposed an extension of the electrification of the MML from Sheffield to Doncaster and Leeds (potentially through Rotherham and its planned new station). Electrification to Sheffield was included in the proposition set out in Lord Blunkett's Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail.

Progress on the MML is in contrast to the upgrade of the East Coast Mainline (ECML) that links Doncaster and London which completed in 2020 and paved the way for the introduction of new trains, such as LNER’s Azuma and Hull Trains’ Paragon fleets.

Government documents confirm: "The next phase of electrification [phase 3 to Sheffield] of the Midland Main Line has been paused. Due to rising costs and the substantial electrification that has already been delivered, we are prioritising our funding on other schemes over the Spending Review period. We will continue to keep the potential for full electrification of the route under review as part of our plans to decarbonise our railways and as funding becomes available in future."

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combimned Authority says that it means that Sheffield will be relying instead on older, more polluting diesel trains that are slower, less reliable, and worse for the environment.

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South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “There’s frustration in the region. After decades of national underinvestment in our transport network, we’re having to wait longer for vital rail improvements that would create jobs, opportunities and economic growth. It feels like one step forward and two steps back.

“We were told HS2 would come to Sheffield. That was cancelled. Now electrification of Midland Main Line is being paused. All we’re asking for is a fair deal.

“I’ve raised my concerns directly with the government, and I’ll keep doing so. South Yorkshire deserves a modern, reliable, and sustainable transport network - and I won’t stop fighting for it.”

The region previously missed out when HS2 to Sheffield was one of the first legs to be cancelled which would have reduced the journey time from Sheffield to London from 120 minutes to 87 minutes, with additional seating capacity on brand new electric trains through electrification of MML.

In the wake of the scaling back of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) Rothbiz has previously highlighted some alternative routes and the options most likely to serve Rotherham being an upgrade of the Erewash Valley line and the "Old Road" between Clay Cross Junction and Masborough Junction. An upgrade and electrification of the route north of Sheffield to Leeds has also been looked at, as has a new high speed line between broadly Rotherham and Leeds, known as the "M18 Short Alignment" that would connect to the northern leg of the previous HS2 Eastern leg into Leeds.

The 2025 Spending Review set departmental budgets for day‑to‑day spending until 2028‑29, and until 2029‑30 for capital investment. Whilst committing £92 billion to the DfT, and agreeing more than 50 road and rail upgrades, very little will impact South Yorkshire directly.

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News: Rotherham Premier Inn plans passed

The planning board at Rotherham Council has voted to approve an expansion at a popular hotel, despite a number of objections.

Rothbiz reported in 2024 that Premier Inn had identified a "considerable demand" for additional accommodation at its Rotherham East hotel in the Brecks area. It came eight years after the operator secured approval for a similar scheme that was never built.

Rothbiz has also reported that the latest proposed development would lead to a net reduction of 15 car parking spaces and that the recent introduction of time limited restrictions and charges at the car park led to Rotherham's highways department raising concerns. 144 objections from local residents have also been submitted, almost all related to the loss of car parking or an excacerbation of existing parking problems in the area.

The latest proposal, drawn up by Walshingham Planning, is 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 and lead to a net reduction of 15 car parking spaces.

Following a number of surveys requested by the council, including assessing on-street parking nearby and the use of car park between the hotel and pub and the Sainsbury's convenience store, snooker club and dance school, the planners at Rotherham Council concluded that "the objections raised would not outweigh the judgement that the development would not cause unacceptable impact on highway safety, or a severe impact on the road network."

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It is concluded that, based on the survey’s undertaken, "there is the potential for some displaced parking to on-street parking to take place, for a short time period in the evening, though this is as a result of the activities of the adjoining convenience store, snooker hall and dance hall, where patronage exceeds their 18 allocated car parking spaces" with users also occupying spaces in the Whitbread car parking areas.

The planning board were told that even with the increase in the number of rooms and the decrease in parking spaces, the car park users visiting the hotel and pub could still be accommodated on the site without pushing the customers onto nearby streets.

Jonathan Vose of Walshingham Planning, said: "The proposal represents the expansion of an existing tourism asset on brownfield land, and will contribute to Rotherham’s tourism offer and economy via private investment by the UK’s largest hotelier."

Objectors discussed that shared parking arrangements ended when Whitbread introduced fees for car park users and that they feel that the survey fails to tell the whole story as it was only carried out for three days. Janet Mitchell of the nearby dance school warned that: "We may not be able to continue if people cannot find places to park or just drop and collect their children."

Simon Gammons, senior highways manager at Rotherham Council told the board: "This is an application for a private business on their own land, and their car park. In a perfect world it would be shared and everyone would operate together but, at the moment, Premier Inn own them 80-odd spaces and their hotel, and the facts are that they can accommodate their own traffic. The others can't."

Members of the board were told that it would be up to, and in the best interests of, the convenience store, snooker club and dance school to put in place some management of its parking spaces to prevent users of the hotel using them, but this was not part of the application.

Seven councillors voted to approve the plans, with one voting against and one abstention.

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News: Rotherham Gateway Station funding welcomed

The board at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has approved £11.35m to support the multimillion pound regeneration project around a new Rotherham Gateway Station.

As reported by Rothbiz earlier this month, the gainshare funding will enable the detailed design of the project and move it towards procurement.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “I’ve repeatedly said that significant investment is needed in our rail network - because if we want people to stay near and go far, we need better public transport.

“The £11.35 million investment into Rotherham Gateway Station is a vital step in delivering that future. It’s about more than just a new station - it’s about creating a gateway to opportunity, growth, and innovation.

“The new station will sit at the heart of a transformational regeneration project, supporting high-tech industries, new homes, and green public spaces. It will improve journey times and connectivity not just within South Yorkshire, but to key centres across the North, Midlands, and beyond.

“We do need more government support to complete our vision. That’s why Rotherham Gateway was included in Lord Blunkett’s Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail because it will help connect our people to the opportunities they deserve if we get it right - better jobs, better education, and a better quality of life. It’s one of the ways we’re building a world-class transport network in South Yorkshire that works for everyone.”

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The masterplan for the project was published last week setting out an employment-led phased approach with a new integrated station on the mainline and a tram-train stop on land at Forge Way, Parkgate that aims to transform the regional and national connectivity of Rotherham, catalysing a new Innovation Campus around the station.

The 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.

The business case for the Station and wider masterplan area highlights the potential to create 1,200 new jobs, underlining the significant economic impact the development is expected to bring to the region.

Cllr Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, said: “Back in 2022 we set out proposals to return mainline intercity trains to Rotherham for the first time since the mid-1980s. It’s great now to be able to progress those plans further, confirming additional funding to move to the next stage of development and for site acquisitions. We’re also setting out proposals for opportunities for more jobs and homes in the area around the proposed station, including connectivity into the town centre and access to the tram-train network.

“This is a once in a generation opportunity for our economy and our community, which would put Rotherham residents with half an hour’s travel of the centre of Leeds and an hour from Birmingham, expanding the work and leisure opportunities for Rotherham people as well as access to our borough. We’re determined to forge ahead with securing the infrastructure our borough needs to create new opportunities for years to come.”

The project has also got the backing of the local business sector.

Carrie Sudbury, Chief Executive, Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, said: "This station would act as a catalyst to transform the borough through wider urban regeneration opportunities, creating a new landscape that will be attractive to new industries and delivering transformational social and economic benefits."

Lisa Pogson, Chair of the Rotherham Business Growth Board, added: "The proposed new station offers the opportunity to re-establish fast, direct rail services to business and leisure destinations lost in the 1980s. By integrating Rotherham Gateway into future northern rail timetables as they are developed, the project will also minimise disruption for existing passengers while delivering new, faster connections to key destinations."

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News: Rotherham Gateway Station masterplan published

Rotherham Council has published the masterplan for the proposed new multimillion pound mainline station in the borough showing how a transport improvement scheme can act as the catalyst for a much wider regeneration project supporting thousands of new jobs.

Ideas for a much simpler "parkway" style station have been superseded by plans for a new integrated station on the mainline and a tram-train stop on land at Forge Way, Parkgate that aims to transform the regional and national connectivity of Rotherham, catalysing a new Innovation Campus around the station.

The employment-led masterplan focuses on the opportunity the location offers to further develop the advanced manufacturing cluster within South Yorkshire as part of the UK’s first Investment Zone. Rothbiz has previously reported on estimates that a station surrounded by business, retail, community and housing offerings which could generate 1,800 new jobs.

A phased approach starts with the Station Quarter, on land which is currently Northfields Business Park, which features a station building with a potential business centre, a 150 space car park and bridges over the two lines. Phase 2 (years 5 - 15) involves the creation of an innovation campus on plots of land nearby, one currently owned by NetworK Rail and vacant, the other used by Stobart to support biomass energy production.

The campus of around 180,000 sq ft of commercial space "will renew the existing industrial character, turning its focus towards high-quality employment in the advanced manufacturing sector or commercial use." Buildings for F&B or retail use could also be included to extend the experience of the Station Quarter.

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Phase 3 (years 15 - 20) includes the potential to replace the original car park with a multi-storey car park to the north of the mainline. Masterplanners also add that successful regeneration could prompt the redevelopment of industrial space on Mangham Road / Greasbrough Road, which is currently dominated by MAG's car auction site, into the Northwest Quarter.

Phase 4 (year 20 and beyond) introduces the idea of new housing in the area. To the east of the Station Quarter, the masterplan encourages residential use and the development of a Living Quarter on the land which is currently the large Trade Centre UK car showroom. Residential blocks and townhouses, shown with green courtyards, total 205 flats and 37 houses.

Connections are also discussed in the proposals, including active travel links between the Station Quarter and the town centre. With routes for pedestrians and cyclists on Effingham Street and Rotherham Road, this could also open up sites for development such as around Bailey House and Erskine Road.

Station opening has been pencilled in for "late 2030" creating additional rail services and faster journey times to the adjacent centres of Sheffield, Doncaster and Leeds whilst adding direct and quicker connections to key markets in the North West, the Midlands and the North East, as well as ports and airports.

The masterplan shows that consultants estimate annual footfall at the station to be 0.609 million (access) and 0.584 million (egress).

The conclusion outlines the need for "substantial public sector led intervention" for a £100m+ project. Today, the board at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will be asked to set aside £11.35m to enable the detailed design of the project and move it towards procurement.

The SYMCA paper has the total costs of the project, based on estimates from Network Rail, at £133m, and could be as much as £166m for a four-platform station.

Rotherham Council is also utlising £10m from the Towns Fund to acquire land needed for the station. It is asking its cabinet to approve a further £2m for the acquisition of further land and property to facilitate the delivery of the station masterplan.

The masterplan concludes: "The ambitious Masterplan is purposefully designed to support Rotherham’s economic future, improving opportunities for all residents. A strong employment offer will precede the introduction of other uses in the long-term, including housing.

"Landing a station in Rotherham will bring forward better connectivity to the surrounding areas, activate the town centre, enhance mobility and generate value and placemaking through supported residential developments.

"A high quality public realm and creation of a greater premium on the quality of public spaces used by people has proven to benefit the built environment and uplift values.

"Early spending in infrastructure, local amenities and public spaces creates better places."

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News: Rotherham Council gives update on £16m sustainable transport corridor scheme

Rotherham Council has provided an update on an active travel scheme that will see £16.3m spent on bike lanes, bus lanes and a built up roundabout at Eastwood, on the edge of Rotherham town centre.

Rothbiz reported last year that consultation had begun on "Rotherham East network improvements" in the area along the A630 Fitzwilliam Road, at St. Ann Roundabout and the neighbourhoods of Eastwood and Herringthorpe.

The biggest change proposed is for St Anns roundabout, where the council is proposing to bring the crossings up to ground level and fill in the subways to make the space feel more welcoming.

Two options were put out to consultation - maintaining the layout but with new pathways and cycleways added to link the town centre and Eastwood replacing the subways, and a more substantial change involving closing St Ann's Road to motor traffic at its junction with St Leonard's Road and installing a bus gate at the junction.

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An update from Rotherham Council states: "We had previously proposed two options for St Ann’s Roundabout, whilst replacing the subways with signalised crossings was popular for both options, there was a clear preference for maintaining all arms of the roundabout open.

"Respondents also highlighted that increased greenery and street lighting in the area would be beneficial. We’re also exploring the opportunity to provide allotments for the local college’s lunch time gardening club.

"Consideration is also being given to improving access and egress into Eastwood Village from St Ann’s Roundabout.

"Designs are still not finalised, and we are exploring how to include as much community feedback as possible whilst still ensuring the design is compliant with best practice guidance."

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is providing £16,348,500 through the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS). SYMCA's Active Travel Implementation Plan sets out how, by 2040, a fully connected network of walking and cycling routes will link the region, transforming communities and ensure that people have the means and the confidence to leave their cars at home, and choose to travel on foot or by bicycle.

For Fitzwilliam Road between St Ann’s Roundabout and Mushroom Roundabout the plan is to provide bus priority and separate cycleways.

A bus lane in the Rotherham-bound direction would make bus services faster and more reliable and the bus lane at Mushroom roundabout would be extended to Chesterton Road. Painted cycle lanes are set to be replaced with dedicated cycle tracks to separate cyclists from motor traffic and improve safety and new designated parking spaces are also included.

£4.6m of the funding will support community-driven solutions aimed at improving transport infrastructure and accessibility in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Feedback has so far related to keeping Grosvenor Road open to traffic and businesses identified a need for customers and delivery vehicles to safely access and park.

More focus groups are planned and consultation remains open until August 1 2025.

Consultation website

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News: New park & ride opens in Rotherham

A new 289-space free-to-use Park and Ride for Rotherham Parkgate Tram Train passengers has been opened next to Parkgate Shopping Park, and includes 14 EV chargers, cycle racks, disabled access spaces, and parking for solo motorcycles, as part of a scheme to help improve walking, cycling and transport connections across South Yorkshire.

The £12.9m project has been led by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), working with Rotherham Council, Parkgate development site owners Stadium and contractor Tilbury Douglas. It is one of several projects funded by SYMCA through the UK Government’s £166 million Transforming Cities Fund settlement for South Yorkshire.

It follows the completion of a new link road in December as part of the same project, to make it easier for people to reach the shopping park and reduce traffic congestion on the A633 and A6123. It’s the latest in a series of transport investments in Rotherham, which includes the new electric buses introduced on service 22x funded through SYMCA’s Zero Emission Bus bid.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: "South Yorkshire deserves nothing less than a world-class public transport network so our communities can access the jobs and opportunities they deserve; and that we can all stay near and go far.

“We’re investing serious money into South Yorkshire’s tram system, through projects like the new Rotherham Parkgate Park and Ride. We’ve put £12.9m into this project, alongside over £100m going into the renewal and development of our Supertram network to build a bigger and more connected system that puts people first.

“We won’t get there in one big step, it’s about steady and consistent progress so that we have a network that drives growth and opportunity for the whole of our region.”

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Cllr Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, added: "The new Park and Ride is a real win for Rotherham – it’s about making everyday journeys easier, greener and more accessible for local people. Whether you're hopping on the Tram Train, cycling to the shops, or charging an EV, this investment helps us cut congestion, reduce emissions, and build a better-connected future for our town.

“By improving the travel options in the area, we not only make it easier for people to travel between Parkgate and the town centre – but also help to minimise air pollution and reduce reliance on cars.”

The project has received £11.5m of funding through the Transforming Cities Fund. The investment at Parkgate will ease pressure on the existing entrance and allow traffic to flow more freely in the Parkgate and Rawmarsh areas of Rotherham, reducing journey times for buses in the area.

Rothbiz reported last year how the completion date was pushed back as costs increased.

Mark Kanaris, Senior Operations Manager for Parkgate Shopping Park, said: “As one of the UK’s largest shopping parks, Parkgate attracts visitors from across South Yorkshire and beyond. Being a major employer in Rotherham, we share SYMCA’s ambition to improve journey times, ease congestion and make Parkgate even more accessible for everyone and we’re proud to have supported them in delivering this important infrastructure project.

“This investment will have a daily impact, benefitting the hundreds of people who work here and the thousands of visitors who enjoy our big name stores and restaurants each week. We’d like to congratulate everyone who has been involved in making this such a success.”

The land previously used as a park & ride car park at Parkgate Shopping has already been earmarked for development with plans approved for a 20,000 sq ft food store.

The Parkgate scheme is one of several infrastructure projects to be delivered over the next few years by SYMCA and its partners, including a new Tram Train station at Magna in Templeborough.

Images: SYMCA / Supertram

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News: £11.35m coming down the track for Rotherham Gateway Station

Further funding could be signed off later this month for Rotherham Gateway Station - the multimillion pound regeneration project to get the borough back on the mainline.

The board at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is being asked to set aside £11.35m to enable the detailed design of the project and move it towards procurement.

The total costs of the project, based on estimates from Network Rail, is £133m, and could be as much as £166m for a four-platform station.

The project involves a new integrated station on the mainline and a tram-train stop on land at Forge Way, Parkgate and aims to transform the regional and national connectivity of Rotherham, catalysing a new Innovation Campus around the station.

SYMCA's own website describes Rotherham Gateway has having "the potential to offer the most significant growth and regeneration opportunity across the North of England."

Rotherham Council is leading on the project and so far £1m has been utilised from SYMCA's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) to produce an outline business case with £10m secured by the council through the Town Deal to prepare the Station Masterplan and acquire land necessary to facilitate delivery.

The new mainline station proposed for Parkgate is a Department for Transport (DfT) retained scheme, held back for further review or development before funding is released, so a business case for the project has been prepared in line with government guidance, including the requirements of the Treasury’s Green Book which has recently been updated to support place-based business cases.

The next stage involves the detailed design of the mainline station, the new tram-train stop and the station ‘floormat’ elements, and to ready the project for procurement. A SYMCA paper explains that this is the equivalent of a ‘Decision to Design’ within the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline.

The paper adds: "This is estimated to cost around £11.35m - funding for this work would use an allocation provisionally included within the MCA’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement programme. By accessing the devolved funding for the next stage of design work the applicant aims to ensure the project can progress at pace and ensure that the significant benefits that will be delivered as a result of the Rotherham Gateway Station project can be realised at the earliest opportunity."

Station opening has been pencilled in for "late 2030" creating additional rail services and faster journey times to the adjacent centres of Sheffield, Doncaster and Leeds whilst adding direct and quicker connections to key markets in the North West, the Midlands and the North East, as well as ports and airports.

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The next stage of development work also includes the preparation of a full business case for the government.

The SYMCA report adds: "To the north of the town centre, plans have been developed to establish an exemplar development of high technology industry fit for the future economy that builds on the industrial legacy and supports a thriving local economy, creating employment opportunities for new and existing residents. This provides the opportunity to further develop the advanced manufacturing cluster within South Yorkshire as part of the UK’s first Investment Zone.

"At the heart of these plans is the proposal to radically enhance the connectivity of this site, not only within the borough and South Yorkshire, but to and from other centres of advanced manufacturing, international gateways and London with the development of a new Rotherham Gateway Station."

In addition to the specific facilities associated with the station project, it is envisaged that the whole area will support more than 355,000 sq ft of advanced manufacturing and commercial space and around 250 homes (in addition to the 2,500 planned on the adjacent Bassingthorpe Farm strategic site). There will also be around 100,000 sq ft allocated for green spaces and 32,000 sq ft of public realm.

Around 200 parking spaces have been included and it is not assumed that the new station will require any local highway mitigation over and above the access. Rotherham Council is already considering a scheme to improve the network in the area as part of the Bassingthorpe Farm residential development.

As for the remaining funding, the report notes that sources are being explored, including CRSTS2 (now renamed as Transport for City Regions) "but as yet none is confirmed and so the funding of this next phase including the acquisition of land will be entirely at risk."

Mainliine station costs are estimated at £72,322,000 (upped to £94,300,000 with risk and inflation) with the tram-train stop estimated at £27,714,000 (£39,604,000). Building a four platform station would cost an estimated £94,145,000 (or £127,859,000 with risk and inflation).

Plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail and a 10-year Infrastructure Strategy are expected from the government soon.

Images: RMBC

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News: One hour free parking in Rotherham town centre

Rotherham Council has introduced one hour’s free parking in council-run car parks in Rotherham town centre.

The scheme aims to "support local businesses, boost footfall, and encourage residents to shop locally."

Rothbiz reported in January on proposals put forward for Rotherham Council's latest budget which included £50,000 for free parking.

Free parking is already offered in the town centre at all Council Off-Street car parks on Saturdays and Sundays and on street after 6pm. The latest offer is now in place Monday to Friday. Anyone wishing to take advantage of the hour free parking must get a ticket from the machine.

Councillor John Williams, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, said: “Our introduction of one hour of free parking is another practical step to support our town centre businesses. Anyone needing to nip to the bank, market or into a shop can now do so without worrying about paying, so long as they display a ticket.

“The free parking initiative underlines our focus on delivering a vibrant, safe, and welcoming town centre experience for all.”

In February Rothbiz revealed that Rotherham Council had decided to offer unlimited free parking for patrons of all businesses at Forge Island, the £47m development in the town centre that includes an 8-screen boutique cinema, food outlets and a hotel.

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Also in the council's budget was £570,000 to launch a new "Street Safe Team" focused on increasing safety in town and village centres.

The uniformed team, made up of 10 staff, will target areas including Rotherham town centre, Dinnington, Wath, Maltby and Swinton, using local intelligence to tackle issues and offer a reassuring and familiar point of contact for residents and visitors.

The team will also be able to enforce local Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) to help tackle issues like anti-social behaviour, street drinking and substance misuse, working closely with partners including South Yorkshire Police.

This initiative aimed to provide a welcoming presence for visitors to the area. The team would undertake a broad range of duties which would include signposting or providing information to the public as well as identifying and addressing issues in relation to the general street scene, such as littering, by enhancing the existing enforcement presence. The service was also aimed at enhancing community safety and improving perceptions of safety in town centres. Cllr Lynda Marshall, Cabinet Member for Street Scene and Green Spaces, said: “Our residents have told us loud and clear that cleaner, safer streets matter to them — and we’re listening.

“This investment is not just about more boots on the ground, it’s about delivering real, visible improvements in our communities. From cracking down on fly tipping to creating a stronger presence in our town centres, we’re taking action that people will see and feel every day. This is about pride in place - and we’re proud to back that with this investment.”

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News: Rotherham waits on mainline station funding

The government is yet to confirm funding for Rotherham Gateway Station with the borough waiting on costed plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail and a 10-year Infrastructure Strategy.

The project involves a new integrated station on the mainline and a tram-train stop on land at Forge Way, Parkgate and aims to transform the regional and national connectivity of Rotherham, catalysing a new Innovation Campus around the station.

The scheme was described earlier this year as the number one project in the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's (SYMCA's) submission to the spending review.

A number of other large transport projects were mentioned by chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Spending Review documents this week. In her speech she confirmed that an infrastructure strategy is being finalised and added that "in the coming weeks I will set out this government’s plans to take forward our ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail."

The previous Government's £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands scaled back ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail, with Rotherham and Sheffield both missed off plans.

In 2023, as it axed HS2 reaching the North, the then government's "Network North" plan included a new mainline station for Rotherham that would be added to the route between Sheffield and Leeds, giving the town its first direct service to London since the 1980s.

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The new mainline station proposed for Parkgate is a Department for Transport (DfT) retained scheme, held back for further review or development before funding is released, so a business case for the project has been prepared in line with government guidance, including the requirements of the Treasury’s Green Book which has been updated to support place-based business cases.

The Government's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) (now renamed as Transport for City Regions) was identified for much of the next stage of the project - the development of a full business case which is expected to cost £11.35m.

Last week, £1.5 billion was confirmed for South Yorkshire but only buses and trams have been mentioned so far, despite SYMCA describing Rotherham Gateway has having "the potential to offer the most significant growth and regeneration opportunity across the North of England."

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Responding to the Spending Review, South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: "We’ve not seen the whole picture today. Next week, we’ll hear about the government’s plans for infrastructure, and I’ll be looking for a response to the proposals we put forward through the White Rose Agreement’s Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail, and support for some of our key industrial strengths, including our steel and hydrogen sectors."

Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail is a phased plan to fix Yorkshire’s broken railways, published by Lord Blunkett last month. For Rotherham the plans reiterate the need for a new mainline station given that the borough is currently poorly connected to the rail network, with the town centre served via a loop off the main line, and only having two stopping trains an hour.

Carrie Sudbury, Chief Executive, Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber, said: "A successful local and regional economy is built upon its transport infrastructure. Returning Rotherham to the main line will vastly improve connectivity to centres such as Leeds, London, Manchester and Birmingham whilst at the same time reducing journey times.

"The plan rightly identified that a rail journey must be at least 20% faster compared with a car journey to make in attractive alternative. At present it takes almost the same amount of time to travel between Rotherham and Barnsley via train, as it does to travel between Doncaster and Peterborough. Clearly this needs to change.

"We encourage the Chancellor to prioritise investment in South Yorkshire’s rail infrastructure, which in turn will bring about significant benefits for the local and regional economy.”

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News: Magtec delivers for Royal Mail

Rotherham-based Magtec and Royal Mail have announced that they are trialling cutting-edge electric truck technology, supporting the continued expansion of the UK's largest electric delivery fleet. Supported by an £800,000 grant from Innovate UK, the trial will put the two new 19-tonne vehicles through their paces in real-world conditions, comparing their performance with Royal Mail's existing fleet.

Built in the UK and featuring the iconic Royal Mail red livery, the company’s first ever electric truck will be based at the Greenford Mail Centre in North West London. It will deliver and collect mail to and from nearby delivery offices. Flexible battery options mean that the truck can cover up to 125 miles on a single charge – enough to cover most urban delivery routes. The powerful electric motor delivers the strength needed for heavy loads, while maintaining highway speeds of up to 56mph.

The results of the trial will help Royal Mail and other fleet operators understand the real-world benefits and practicalities of switching to electric vehicles.

Magtec, a leader in electric vehicle components and driveline systems with facilities at Templeborough, brings significant experience to the project, with its electric vehicles already covering over 2.5 million miles on UK roads. It has successfully delivered previous government-backed innovation programmes through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Small Business Research Initiative (SBRi). The new Gen2 system builds on this proven expertise, offering improved efficiency and reliability for everyday delivery operations.

Smaller electric vans are already an important part of Royal Mail’s fleet strategy. By July 2025, Royal Mail will have over 7,000 electric vans in use across the UK. Most of the vans will be charged on-site at Royal Mail’s delivery offices via a purchased 100% renewable electricity supply, meaning they will be zero-emission.

Royal Mail already has the lowest reported carbon emissions per parcel of any UK delivery company* and aims to maintain this position in the long term. The company’s ‘Steps to Zero’ environment strategy set a goal of achieving Net-Zero by 2040. The company has already reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 18% in two years, with a target to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030.

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Marcus Jenkins, CTO at Magtec, commented: “This collaboration represents a significant milestone in advancing EV technology for medium-duty trucks. By addressing the challenges of power inefficiencies and range anxiety, we aim to provide fleet operators with a reliable, cost-effective solution that supports their decarbonisation goals while maintaining operational reliability.”

Anna Pearson, Fleet Innovation and Environment Manager at Royal Mail, said: “We’re excited to welcome the Magtec truck to the Royal Mail fleet. We’ve been rolling out electric vans in our ‘final mile’ fleet for a number of years, and now we want to learn more about how we can decarbonise our national distribution fleet of over 4,000 trucks. This trial will help strengthen our position as the UK's largest electric delivery fleet operator, while ensuring we have the reliability we need for the challenge of delivering to every single one of the UK’s 32 million addresses.”

Martin Welch, Senior Project Delivery Lead at the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), said: “Magtec’s high-performance electric drive train technology is now excellently positioned to seize a growth market opportunity. As demand for electric vehicles increases both for first-build and re-power applications, so does the need for versatile and effective powertrain systems like those offered by Magtec.

“APC is delighted to see the results of its collaborative R&D projects delivering products to the automotive sector at scale. Making these systems efficient and affordable is essential to enable decarbonisation of the range of commercial vehicles currently in use, while still delivering customer priorities like drivability, range, and efficiency.”

Magtec website

Images: Royal Mail

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News: £1.5 billion confirmed for South Yorkshire transport ambitions

One of the first investment announcements from the Government's Spending Review is £15.6 billion of funding for local transport projects in England’s city regions – including £1.5 billion for South Yorkshire.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves described next week's spending review as being "targeted squarely on the renewal of Britain" with more funding heading outside of London.

A review of the Treasury Green Book is set to start a step change in how government approaches and evaluates the case for investing in the regions.

Reeves said: "Connectivity is an absolutely critical factor in unlocking the potential of towns and cities outside of London. One of the areas in which previous governments have promised most, but delivered least. And that will now change.

"Stronger transport links within cities and the towns around them create opportunity by connecting labour markets and making it easier for firms to buy and sell goods and services in different places, to different people.

"We will be making the biggest ever investment by a British government in transport links within our city regions, and their surrounding towns. £15.6 billion in transport funding settlements, to be delivered by our regional mayors."

Previous transport projects in South Yorkshire have utilised the Government's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) with over £50m in Rotherham schemes outlined in South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's (SYMCA's) last allocation of £570m.

In 2023, the government provided an indicative allocation of £1.455 billion for South Yorkshire for "CRSTS2" when Rishi Sunak announced Network North as a replacement for HS2.

Now £1.5 billion has been confirmed for South Yorkshire. £530m is set to be used to renew the Supertram network, providing a fleet of new, replacement vehicles, modernising tram stops, as well maintenance to improve reliability. £350m will be set aside to reform South Yorkshire’s buses, with franchised buses operating in Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham by 2027 and across the whole of South Yorkshire by 2029.

The latest settlement is for 2027-28 to 2031-32 with around £12m brought forward and made available in 2026-27. Funding allocations for the final year of the CRSTS programme (2026-27) will be confirmed in due course.

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Reeves added that investment in South Yorkshire would support "Mayor Oliver Coppard so that, in addition to the reopening of Doncaster Airport, he can renew the existing, and now publicly controlled, Supertram network, with track replacements, overhead line maintenance, and rolling stock renewal with a full fleet of new vehicles by 2032, a bigger and better integrated transport network, linking jobs and homes in Sheffield and Rotherham."

Rothbiz has previously reported on the rising costs of the Supertram renewal which hit £596m in 2023.

Rothbiz also reported in 2022 that ambitious plans for transforming bus services in the region were not been backed by any Government funding. A funding gap was estimated to be between £430 - £474m.

South Yorkshire's Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: "This £1.5bn investment into our transport system will be game-changing for communities across South Yorkshire.

“I know that big numbers like these can often feel disconnected from our daily lives. But put simply, that investment will help us make our vision of a bigger, better integrated transport network under public control, a reality. It will mean new and better buses, new electric vehicles, integrated ticketing and better information. It will mean new trams and better tram stops and lays the foundation for extending the tram network. It will mean our young people will be able to get to jobs and opportunities. That we can all access services, see friends and family, or go for a day, or a night out, without worrying how to get home.

“I’ve been clear that we’ve been ignored for too long, and that South Yorkshire has not received its fair share of funding from successive governments. Today’s announcement by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves of a £1.5bn investment into our transport system shows the government is listening, and backing, South Yorkshire.”

Absent from the announcement was Rotherham Gateway Station, described earlier this year as the number one project in SYMCA's submission to the spending review.

The new mainline station proposed for Parkgate is a Department for Transport (DfT) retained scheme, held back for further review or development before funding is released, so a business case for the project has been prepared in line with government guidance, including the requirements of the Treasury’s Green Book.

CRSTS (now renamed as Transport for City Regions) was identified for much of the next stage of the project - the development of a full business case which is expected to cost £11.35m.

Images: Supertram

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News: Rotherham Gateway Station part of plan to fix Yorkshire’s broken railways

A phased plan to fix Yorkshire’s broken railways, published by Lord Blunkett, could deliver a multi-billion pound boost to the government’s growth mission.

The peer’s review of rail connectivity has identified how constrained and creaking Victorian-era infrastructure is holding the region back, with train services regularly failing to meet the needs of both passengers and businesses due to poor performance and an overall lack of reliability.

Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail sets out a credible and affordable package of investment in new and accessible stations. Alongside modern rolling stock, improved services in the short term, upgrades to unlock capacity at key stations, development of strategic schemes to transform connectivity between the North’s major centres in the long term, will be investment for housing, jobs and growth. In addition, the report calls for increased powers as part of the devolution agenda to drive change.

It highlights the need for substantial government investment and support as part of the proposed 10-year infrastructure plan and spending review to be announced later this summer, with £2.4bn sought for the first phase of improvements between now and 2030 and approximately £14bn required over the next 15 years to deliver the plan in its entirety.

This is in addition to the £2.5bn funding needed to bring trams back to West Yorkshire and investment for tram extension and renewal in South Yorkshire.

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For Rotherham the plans reiterate that the borough is currently poorly connected to the rail network, with the town centre served via a loop off the main line, and only having two stopping trains an hour.

Rothbiz reported in March that Rotherham Gateway Station is the number one project in the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's [SYMCA's] submission to the government's current spending review.

The project involves a new integrated station on the mainline and a tram-train stop on land at Forge Way, Parkgate and aims to transform the regional and national connectivity of Rotherham, catalysing a new Innovation Campus around the station.

Connecting Rotherham to faster regional and national services, the new Rotherham Gateway station will include a main line rail station on the Sheffield–Leeds / Doncaster route, a tram-train stop on the Sheffield Cathedral–Rotherham Parkgate line, and associated station facilities, including a new commercial development between the rail and tram-train stops.

Yorkshire's Plan for Rail explains: "This major transport investment will support a key advanced manufacturing regeneration opportunity while being strategically located next to the borough’s largest housing development site. It will help unlock the delivery of 33,000 square meters of commercial space and 2,750 new homes, providing a sustainable transport option for future residents."

Lord Blunkett described the plan as "credible and affordable" which "presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve rail connectivity, and unlock economic growth and opportunities for all."

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: "David Blunkett has, for the first time, made clear the problems created by decades of underinvestment across the whole of Yorkshire and given us a Plan for fixing them, working together across the whole of God’s Own Country. This is the White Rose Agreement in action.

"The Plan we are launching today would address the fundamental issues we face as a region. Here in South Yorkshire we need more trains, investment in our stations, and better connections to Leeds, York, Manchester, London and elsewhere.

"Ultimately, we simply want reliable, effective rail services, so we can get to work, see friends and family or just go for a night out.

"Through this Plan, there is a pathway with a phased approach to fix our broken rail system. I want to see Sheffield fully electrified, a new station at Rotherham, more capacity at Doncaster and new services between Barnsley and London. Thanks to the work of Lord Blunkett, as the three White Rose Yorkshire Mayors, we will work with the government and rail industry partners to turn this Plan into action. We’re getting Rail in Yorkshire back on track."

Images: RMBC / SYMCA

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