News: New demand responsive transport services to be piloted in Rotherham

Connectivity across Rotherham could be improved by innovative new demand responsive public transport services.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard confirmed recently that the region’s first publicly controlled buses will begin operating in Doncaster and most of Sheffield from September 2027. The rollout will continue in Barnsley and Rotherham by the end of 2028, with the rest of Sheffield following in 2029.

Since the Mayor’s decision to take control of the buses in March 2025, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has been working at pace to reverse nearly 40 years of deregulation and put the public back at the heart of public transport. That means SYMCA will control the bus routes, timetables, fares, ticket options and quality standards and will be able to reinvest profits back into improving services.

As part of its work to address connectivity issues across the region, SYMCA is looking to launch a pilot project next year around demand responsive transport.

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Demand responsive transport is a flexible service that provides shared transport to users who specify their desired location and time of pick-up and drop-off. It can complement fixed route public transport services and improve mobility in low-density areas and at low-demand times of day.

Services run without a set timetable and typically use smaller vehicles than fixed route bus services. Dial-a-ride minibus services scheduled through advance bookings are a traditional example. Dynamic schemes enable routes to be adjusted in real time to accommodate new pick-up requests, often made minutes in advance.

SYMCA has begun tapping up the private sector for a provider to supply and operate the software for, and run pilot services, in two separate zones - one in Doncaster and one in Rotherham.

Tender documents explain that the £1.7m pilot scheme would run from April 2026 to March 2027 and involve a minimum of two wheelchair accessible vehicles per zone, running 12 hours a day (6:00-18:00), Monday to Saturday (excluding most Bank Holidays).

The booking system would involve app and phone booking, in real-time and in advance, plus route optimisation.

Rotherham Community Transport has charity status and a fleet of over 30 vehicles and is already offering a number of Door 2 Door services such as its Dial-A-Ride and Shopper Bus.

Images: Rotherham Community Transport

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News: Innovative rail ticket technology trial expands across the North

Rail passengers in South Yorkshire can now join hundreds across England in trialling new digital ticketing technology.

People going between Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster can take advantage of simpler and more flexible ticket options when they travel on Northern rail services.

More than 2,000 journeys and counting have already been made under similar trials on East Midlands Railway and Northern services, which both launched in September 2025.

Digital ticketing trials allow passengers to check in and check out seamlessly on rail journeys, using a location-identifying app on their phone. The app tracks journeys using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology and then automatically charges participants at the end of the day. For ticket inspections and to go through ticket barriers, a unique bar code will pop up in the app to be scanned.

This technology replaces the need for paper tickets or more commonly used mobile tickets bought online or in-app ahead of journeys. Doing away with the need to plan and book travel in advance, the app tracks which trains passengers take, detecting when they have left the rail network.

The latest trial comes as the government is delivering the biggest overhaul of the railways in a generation through the creation of Great British Railways, which will help to deliver better services for passengers and simpler fares across the network.

Thanks to government backing, passengers taking part in the trial will get £15 worth of free travel, with credit automatically added to their account.

Another trial of the technology launched on the Sheffield to Barnsley route run by Northern on December 1 2025.

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Alex Hornby, Commercial and Customer Director at Northern, said: "We’re proud to be at the forefront of modernising rail travel in the North. The success of the first trial has shown that passengers value the simplicity and flexibility that technology brings.

"This second trial is an exciting next step and we’re excited to offer customers in that area a smarter, easier way to travel. This is about removing barriers and making rail the obvious choice for everyday journeys."

Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, said: "It’s encouraging to see new technology being trialled to make rail travel easier for us all here in South Yorkshire. We know ticketing can be a barrier, especially for people who don’t travel often, so anything that helps make the system more straightforward to use is a step in the right direction.

"I’ll be keeping a close eye on how this trial works for passengers. If it helps break down barriers and makes rail more accessible for everyone, then it’s something we’ll want to build on."

Backed by nearly £1m of government funding, the trials are part of plans to modernise our transport system, putting passenger experience at the heart of every journey and encouraging more people to take the train – building on the government’s mission to deliver growth.

Northern Rail website

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News: Fund backs £8m Rotherham commercial development

Local property company EV Waddington has secured part funding for the ambitious £8m second phase of a popular business park in Rotherham.

Construction of three new blocks of speculative industrial buildings and warehouses totalling 91,010 sq ft, which can be split into 13 units, has begun at Kingsforth Business Park, part of the established Thurcroft Industrial Estate.

The most recent phase is part funded by the SY JESSICA Fund (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas). The Fund is designed to promote sustainable investment, growth and jobs in urban areas through providing development support in the form of traditional loans and intervention funding.

Units in phase two have been designed for flexibility and can be combined to offer a range of unit sizes from 5,440 up to 10,980 sq ft and premises will be finished to a high specification to include 5.7-6.5m clear internal height; full insulation with full height roller shutter loading doors; fitted office accommodation to ground and first floor; warehouse lighting; connections to all mains services, including three phase electricity; good sized external loading area with dedicated car parking and fibre enabled.

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Developer Tony Waddington, who was helped by Mercer & Co and Mascot Management on the funding application, said: “The multi-let unit project, made possible with a £1.45m award from the JESSICA programme, helps support continued economic growth in the region, which is key for us.

“This second speculative development demonstrates our confidence in the South Yorkshire market, our product, the location and the appetite within the industrial and logistics sector for units of this size within the region.”

Rebecca Schofield, office head at Knight Frank in Sheffield and head of industrial Yorkshire, which is acting as agent on the scheme, said: “The much needed, speculative accommodation at Kingsforth will bring 13 units from 5,440 sq ft to 10,980 sq ft available offering flexibility to be combined to accommodate larger requirements if needed.

“Kingsforth is aimed at industrial, warehouse and manufacturing occupiers with 6.5m eaves height, full height loading doors, lighting and office accommodation.

“These industrial and trade schemes address a shortage of small units across the region. Waddingtons continue to develop quality industrial units in South Yorkshire helping satisfy the pent-up demand for smaller, flexible units.”

Kingsforth Business Park is accessed from Kingsforth Rd, which offers access on to Woodhouse Green. Kingsforth Lane is easily accessible providing access to Junction 1 M18, approximately 1.6 miles to the North.

Surrounding occupiers on the estate include TG Commercial, Health Beds, UK Doors and Ultimate Battery.

The first phase of Kingsforth Business Park was completed by the progressive developer without funding and is now let to occupiers including The Panel Company, UK Doors Online and EMED. Two units of 5,440 sq ft remain available.

Family-owned Waddingtons, based in Rotherham for the last 80 years, is no stranger to the region having already developed 31 East in Dinnington, The Oval in Barnsley, Northfield Business Park in Rotherham, Vantage Park in Sheffield, Shortwood Business Park in Barnsley, and Aldwarke Business Park and Chesterton Court in Rotherham over the past years.

Waddingtons website

Images: Knight Frank

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News: Work starts as Rotherham leads charge for electric buses

Work has started at a depot in Rotherham to bring the first fleet of zero emission electric buses to South Yorkshire as part of a partnership between Stagecoach and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

Electrification work has begun at the Rawmarsh depot ahead of the arrival of the first fleet of 23 zero emission electric buses to arrive in the region.

The brand-new electric Yutong buses will be introduced on the region’s bus network in the spring and will feature on the 22x and 221 routes which connect the Dearne Valley across Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster.

The project is part of South Yorkshire’s first successful bid for Zero Emission Bus Regional Area funding (ZEBRA) from the Department for Transport (DfT) in partnership with South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and Stagecoach.

DfT contributed £8,351,721 as part of our winning ZEBRA bid and SYMCA also contributed £2,683,051 of their City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) provided by Government.

The infrastructure needed to charge and maintain the electric buses also reflects a major £2.5m investment in the Rawmarsh depot.

The contractor, EO, will install the 23 output chargers as well as two mobile workshop chargers at the depot which will facilitate the running of the zero-emission fleet.

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South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “We think around 200,000 people in South Yorkshire live in areas vulnerable to air pollution, and 1 in 20 deaths here are related to poor air quality. That’s a challenge we simply have to address, and why we need to get cleaner, greener vehicles of all sorts on our roads.

“To meet that goal we’ve funded electric bus projects that are underway across the region as part of the Zebra1 project and we also have a second bid for ‘Zebra 2’ funding submitted to the Department for Transport with Stagecoach and First.

“Not only will they help improve public transport in South Yorkshire, they’ll make a real contribution to us hitting our net zero goals, and making South Yorkshire’s air cleaner. “

Stagecoach Yorkshire Managing Director Matt Kitchin, added: "This marks a huge step towards the future of sustainable travel in South Yorkshire as we await the arrival of the new buses.

“Sustainable forms of public transport are key to reducing congestion and improving air quality across the region and we look forward to these state-of-the-art vehicles encouraging more people to make the switch to bus travel as well as making local air cleaner for all our futures."

The buses will feature a bespoke livery and will be fitted with full electric air conditioning and a bespoke premium passenger saloon for enhanced passenger comfort.

A total of 27 electric buses will be rolled out across South Yorkshire as part of the first stage of ZEBRA.

Images: SYMCA

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News: Boost for new brownfield housing in borough

Rotherham Council has been granted further funding from the Government to support the building of new homes on brownfield land.

Nearly 100 regeneration projects across the country will receive £60m from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Rotherham has been earmarked £431,746 from the Brownfield Land Release Fund. This follows on from £430,000 granted in the first round that was used on projects to deliver housing at Rothwell Grange & Copewell Lodge, and for Place Based Transformation.

Minister for Housing and Planning, Rachel Maclean MP said: "We know we need to build more homes, but this cannot come at the expense of concreting over our precious countryside.

"That is why we are doing all we can to make sure we’re making use of wasteland and unused brownfield land, so we can turn these eyesores into beautiful and thriving communities.

"This is all part of our long-term plan for housing – making sure we deliver the homes we need across the country.

Cabinet Office Minister, Alex Burghart MP added: "This funding will unleash the much-needed redevelopment of brownfield sites: stimulating growth and helping local areas reach their full potential.

"It’s fantastic news for business, and even better news for local people who will now see new investment, job opportunities, and family homes in their communities."

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Rotherham Council has continued to identify brownfield sites for new housing - not least in the town centre where 171 units have been completed.

Looking ahead, contractors R H Fullwood, broke ground over the summer on ten new affordable, energy saving homes in East Herringthorpe supported by a Brownfield Housing Fund grant from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), provided as part of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

£92m has been identified for housing growth in the borough, with hundreds of new homes planned through to 2025/26.

Since January 2018, the Council has delivered 484 new homes for Council rent or shared ownership, with a further 61 currently under construction or in the process of being purchased.

This month, the council's cabinet are due to discuss plans for new homes for council rent on brownfield land in Eastwood and Maltby.

At Eastwood, a £7.905m project includes the site of the demolished Netherfield Court care home, and the former Council car park on York Road, that could be redeveloped with 31 new homes in total, comprising 2-bed, 3-bed, and 4-bed houses, along with some provision for older people.

At Maltby the council-owned Addison Road and Larch Road sites could be redeveloped to build a projected 43 new homes for council rent in a scheme costing £10.965m. A mix of apartments and houses, some units would be wheelchair user dwellings.

The Council says that its Delivery Programme is critical to supporting families who are on the Housing Register. This numbers more than 6,000.

Images: RMBC

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News: Rotherham sites included in South Yorkshire Investment Zone

Huge areas of Rotherham are set to benefit from Investment Zone status, and the support and financial incentives that come with it.

Local leaders have however secured agreement with the government NOT to use tax incentives as a means of attracting new firms and jobs.

Rothbiz revealed in July that the new Investment Zone will use the region’s success in advanced manufacturing and will help make South Yorkshire the best place to start, scale or relocate businesses from around the world, boosting the UK economy.

Primarily focused on connecting Sheffield to Rotherham (where the research assets such as The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) are already located), it is expected to create 8,000 new jobs and bring in £1.2bn worth of private investment by 2030.

An £80m fund (over five years for the Investment Zone) will be used to offer investors, developers and start-ups a combination of targeted support and financial interventions to start, scale up and relocate their businesses.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has recently published a prospectus for the South Yorkshire Inzestment Zone setting out the "next stage in the journey" in expanding the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) to include town and city centres in Rotherham and Sheffield - "reflecting the growing presence of urban start-ups and scale ups, and to provide space to grow for our booming digital and data service companies."

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The designation comes with a flexible funding offer of £80m over five years beginning in 2024/25, which is deployable across a range of interventions (R&D, skills, infrastructure, business support, planning and development) will drive innovation-led growth that will lead to more employment, higher pay and higher living standards in South Yorkshire.

Key Rotherham sites have been included in a proposed spatial core. These include the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) at Waverley, parts of Brinsworth and Canklow, the remaining regeneration sites at Templeborough, the Meadowbank Road area along with Holmes and Masbrough, the whole of Rotherham town centre, the Greasbrough Road area, Eastwood, Barbot Hall Industrial Estate, areas of Parkgate (but not the existing retail parks or adjacent land), and land at Aldwarke (but not the existing Liberty Steel works).

The area in the spatial core around Rotherham town centre is described in the prospectus as "a corridor of realised and future growth potential, traditionally geared toward industry and manufacturing that is now unlocking an enhanced and accelerated opportunity to invest and scale a business in an established advanced manufacturing technology hub.

"Adjacent to the economic assets clustered around the AMP, the zone offers openings for co-location in a rich industry ecosystem of national significance, comprising innovative, successful businesses who are world leaders in their field. A new integrated mainline station will provide strategic rail connections and support the development of a new business district adjacent to the station.

"This location includes key advanced manufacturing businesses (such as AESSEAL, AMG Superalloys, MLT advanced [MTL Advanced], Vector X-Cel Ltd, Trelleborg and Liberty Speciality Steels). Supported through both the Future High Streets Fund, Town Deal and Levelling Up Fund, over a £100m of new investment will revitalise the town. Through this the traditional retail offer is diversifying into complementary leisure and residential uses. A new market, cinema, hotel and restaurants alongside new homes and outstanding public realm will contribute to this vibrant new community."

Key interventions for the zone are being explored but they will not include tax incentives.

A SYMCA paper explains: "The main decision taken on interventions to date is not to pursue tax sites. This position is drawn from evidence that suggests geographically concentrated tax incentives can lead to displacement of activity rather than new activity. SYMCA had to push Government on this. A strong case, based on robust economic evidence, was successful in securing more flexible interventions.

"The risks of displacement ... were considered too large, as were the complications of administering tax sites. The flexibility of £80m funding was considered more valuable."

Interventions are likely to include investment in capital infrastructure (land remediation, new lab space); skills support (training, graduate schemes); dedicated support on planning applications; funding to develop supply chains; and funding to develop the business ecosystem through networking and accelerator programmes.

In the foreward to the prospectus, Oliver Coppard, mayor of South Yorkshire, said: "South Yorkshire has been a leader before: we were the centre of the steel and coal industries and a crucible of the Industrial Revolution; we’re the birthplace of football and the host of world snooker. South Yorkshire is the place countless world leading musicians, artists and thinkers call home, with breathtaking landscapes and warm, welcoming, connected communities.

"But it’s fair to say that for too long our history, our economic assets, our relatively low costs of capital, land and labour, and our high quality of lIfe have not been enough to attract sustained, meaningful investment.

"And while our strengths have sometimes been overlooked by those from outside, what’s perhaps worse is that all too often we have forgotten them ourselves.

"Which is why I’m now determined we will finally make change happen. Our time is now."

SYMCA website

Images: SYMCA

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News: South Yorkshire celebrates gaining Local Visitor Economy Partnership status

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has welcomed the creation of the South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), a collaboration between SYMCA, Sheffield City Council, Doncaster City Council, Rotherham MBC and Barnsley MBC to work together on shared priorities and targets to grow the local visitor economy.

Developed and administered by Visit England, the LVEP programme is one of the key recommendations in the Government's response to the independent de Bois Review of Destination Management Organisations in England.

The LVEP programme, which will be led by Sheffield City Council, will create a national portfolio of strategic and high-performing partnerships working in collaboration locally, regionally and nationally on shared priorities and targets to support and grow the visitor economy.

LVEPs are at tier 2 with Tier 1 set to be a small number of Destination Development Partnerships (DDPs) which will be formed through partnerships of LVEPs.

After submitting an expression of interest, Marketing Sheffield were told that it did not have the geographical coverage required by VisitEngland and the remit wsa widened to South Yorkshire.

With no financial contribution from LAs required at this stage, the LVEP will be delivered as a working partnership thus amplifying the combined efforts of existing teams. SYMCA has indicated a willingness to support with funding and resource.

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South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “Here in South Yorkshire we couldn’t be more proud of our world class music, landscapes, festivals and sport. We’re the birthplace of football and the home of snooker, we powered the Industrial Revolution and have England’s oldest national park. We celebrate art, music and literature like nowhere else.

“And now we have a new opportunity to share our beauty, our history, our culture, and our talent with the rest of our world. Our new Local Visitor Economy Partnership, being developed with the support of Visit England, will give visitors from far and wide the chance to explore and experience South Yorkshire in all its glory. I’m excited to see that partnership develop across all of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.”

Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Councillor David Sheppard commented: “The LVEP accreditation will considerably strengthen opportunities to collaborate more effectively with neighbouring boroughs and the MCA and to partner with the private sector to ensure we continue to promote the many reasons to work, live, visit and invest in Rotherham and South Yorkshire as a whole.

“Wentworth Woodhouse, Magna Science Adventure Centre, Gulliver’s Valley and Rother Valley and Thrybergh Country Parks are big drivers of Rotherham’s visitor economy and the accreditation will help celebrate and promote these attractions and the green spaces that are unique to Rotherham’s heritage.”

The draft plan for South Yorkshire aims to diversify and strengthen the events programme, grow the conference market and develop the city breaks offer.

A DDP may be the most appropriate Yorkshire wide model to take forward over time and SYMCA continues to work in partnership with local and combined authorities across Yorkshire on the Yorkshire Tourism Initiative focused on promoting Yorkshire as a visitor destination. This project is being delivered by Barnsley MBC.

Images: Gulliver's

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News: Rotherham transport investments detailed

Over £50m of investment in Rotherham transport schemes has been detailed by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

Rothbiz revealed in August that a number of transport projects in Rotherham had secured funding from a Government settlement with South Yorkshire.

The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) investment is on its way and £570m will bring significant improvements to South Yorkshire’s transport system, enabling people to make public transport and walking and cycling their first choice for travel.

Rotherham projects include:

Roundabout improvements - £22.38m
At the roundabouts at Ickles (£7.5m), St Anne's (£5m), Worrygoose (£4.88m) and Stag (£5m), new junctions are proposed with bus priority and improved pedestrian and cycle crossings. The aim is to deliver "bus passenger journey time savings, improved bus journey reliability, better walking & cycling journey ambiance and mode shift."

Fitzwilliam Road - £6.6m
Also at Eastwood, widening and improvements are planned for Fitzwilliam Road between St Anne’s Roundabout and Mushroom Roundabout to provide an inbound bus lane and separate cycleways.

Active Travel / Cycle schemes - £6.4m
Active Travel neighbourhoods are to be developed in Eastwood, Herringthorpe (£3.5m) and Moorgate (£1.4m) with the provision of measures to manage traffic volumes, traffic speeds and parking. More cycleways are proposed for Broom (£1.5m).

Wickersley Road - £2m
On Wickersley Road, a new bus lane and cycleways are set to be created along 2km of existing highway space as part of a Sustainable Travel corridor.

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Mainline Station - £1m
The SYMCA is being allowed to only spend up to £1m from the pot between now and 2027 to "develop the Outline Business Case (OBC) for an integrated mainline and tram-train station." £7m is being held back due to uncertainties regarding the timing of the full station scheme that emerged following the publication of the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan and the ongoing HS2 Leeds Area Study.

Waverley Station - £1m
At Waverley, a contribution from the CRSTS is for business case development work up to 2026. Work has been underway for a number of years through the Restoring Your Railway "Ideas Fund" for a new railway station on the Sheffield to Lincoln line at Waverley serving the new community and the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

Local and Neighbourhood Transport Complementary Programme - £6m
Each local authority is to recieve funds for a broad range of the smaller scale interventions required to complement the CRSTS scheme allocations and provide efficiency and effectiveness across the network upon which the regional strategic objectives and investments can be delivered. Also delivering localised investments within communities to open up the network to all users and encourage sustainable access to leisure, facilities and employment.

A number of projects are on standby including the mainline station, 1km of bus lane along the A633 Warren Vale, the provision of cycleways in Hellaby and creating active travel neighbourhoods in Maltby and Brecks.

Business cases are in development for the schemes with the funding to be spent between now and 2027. The settlement consolidates funding from previous allocations of the Highways Maintenance Block, Potholes Fund and Integrated Transport Block.

Images: Google Maps

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News: Allocation of EU funding replacement labelled an outrage by South Yorkshire mayor

South Yorkshire has been allocated £38m in new regeneration funding, much less than the hundreds of millions it previously received from structural EU funding that the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund replaces.

Conditional allocations of £2.6 billion over the next three years have been announced from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) with the cash to be spent regenerating rundown high streets, fighting anti-social behaviour and crime, or helping more people into decent jobs - helping to revive communities, tackle economic decline and reverse geographical disparities in the UK.

The government committed to match the previous EU funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and say that the fund will be much more flexible and locally led, freeing communities from the bureaucratic, rigid and complex processes of the EU Structural Funds.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up Rt Hon Michael Gove MP said: "We have taken back control of our money from the EU and we are empowering those who know their communities best to deliver on their priorities.

"The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help to unleash the creativity and talent of communities that have for too long been overlooked and undervalued.

"By targeting this funding at areas of the country that need it the most, we will help spread opportunity and level up in every part of the United Kingdom."

Previous settlements saw South Yorkshire allocated €410m for 2007-2013 and from 2014-2020 this was cut to around €180m. A legal challenge into the government's decision followed.

The allocation formula for UK Shared Prosperity Fund takes into account both the local population data, and a broadly based measure of need, including factors like unemployment and income levels. This is to ensure the most amount of money is going to areas which will truly benefit from the fund.

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Funding for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025, with this figure reaching £1.5 billion per year by March 2025, delivering on the UK government’s commitment to match the average spending of EU structural funds over the previous programme. Previous EU programmes ramped up and down, and areas will continue to receive EU funding until the end of 2024. Similarly, UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be increased from £40m in 2022/23 to £1.5 billion in 2024/25, at which point it will match the EU funds it has replaced.

The Government added that in England each Local Enterprise Partnership area "will receive the same in real terms as it used to under EU funding," and within each Local Enterprise Partnership area an index of need will be used to allocated funding to each local authority.

For South Yorkshire, allocations are £7,287,599 for Barnsley, £8,960,876 for Doncaster, £7,083,489 for Rotherham and £15,574,166 for Sheffield.

In order to access the funding, lead local authorities are being asked to complete an investment plan by the summer, setting out how they intend to use and deliver the funding.

Outgoing South Yorkshire Mayor, Dan Jarvis said: "This announcement is nothing more than an outrage; a cynical Conservative con that utterly fails South Yorkshire and drives a coach and horses through the Government’s Levelling Up agenda.

"Instead of delivering the additional £900m South Yorkshire is owed, and that I’ve consistently pushed the Government to deliver, we’ve been given little over £38m over a 3-year period. This announcement has been sneaked out just a few hours before purdah and with Parliament in recess – it exemplifies this Government’s complete contempt for people in our region.

"Throughout my time as Mayor I have worked tirelessly to build a stronger, fairer and greener South Yorkshire – but I have done so with both hands tied behind my back, because central government has broken virtually every promise it’s made to our region."

Last year, £1.84m was offered from the Community Renewal Fund to help establish a "Creative & Cultural Skills Embassy" linked to Rotherham's Children's Capital of Culture idea. The Community Renewal Fund is a precursor for the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

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News: Missing Rotherham off NPR network "runs contrary to the desire to "level up" communities"

The Government may have sidelined plans for a new mainline station in Rotherham but work is continuing on the ground to keep the project moving forward.

When the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands (IRP) was published last November, it scaled back ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) with Rotherham and Sheffield missed off the new network. The IRP also showed that the HS2 Phase 2b Eastern leg would no longer reach Leeds and instead included a pledge to look at options on how best to take HS2 services to Leeds.

But with Government cash already earmarked for the scheme, local proponents continue to work up plans for a new station.

The Parkgate area is the front runner and the project could also be tied together with a tram train station.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) worked to get a new NPR station on the mainline at Rotherham included in proposals from sub-national transport body, Transport for the North (TfN). A Barnsley Dearne Valley parkway station too.

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A response to the Government from the SYMCA on the latest plans said: "The interventions that we identified were critical to ‘level up’ South Yorkshire and achieve the wider objectives of our Strategic Economic Plan.

"The fragmentation of HS2 and NPR means that achieving these outcomes is not possible as the IRP stands, putting South Yorkshire at a relative disadvantage when it comes to connectivity with neighbouring cities in the Midlands and North and onward connections further afield, such as the South and South West, Wales and Scotland.

"More importantly, the IRP could increase the disparity between some of the areas within South Yorkshire by omitting our proposals for two new stations in South Yorkshire – in the Dearne Valley to the east of Barnsley and at Rotherham on the mainline.

"Both of these stations would provide access to regional and long-distance rail services to a far greater proportion of the South Yorkshire population, spreading the benefits of the investment and helping to support SYMCA’s economic and housing growth plans. Initial analysis by TfN shows how Barnsley Dearne Valley and Rotherham stations can grow the rail market in South Yorkshire and both provided positive contributions to the NPR business case.

"Indeed, a new station at Rotherham shows a positive revenue case and a high value for money even without the planned NPR and HS2 services. For the IRP not to recognise this clear benefit and seemingly move consideration of this enhancement into a longer-term study of HS2 services to Leeds runs contrary to the desire to ‘level up’ communities.

"The omission also undervalues the complementary investment that devolved funding within South Yorkshire was seeking to align with the proposals. SYMCA included further work on the new mainline station at Rotherham in its recent City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement programme and Rotherham Council is seeking to purchase the required land as part of its agreed Towns Fund programme. Lack of recognition in the IRP of the new station puts this complementary investment, and the overall outcomes envisaged, at some risk."

The Government had already indicated a commitment of £20m through the Towns Fund and City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) programme to support the development of a new mainline Rotherham station at Parkgate.

In spite of the Government's ommision, Rotherham Council and the private sector led Town Deal board are working on a business case focussing on the benefits of the station and the regeneration opportunities around it.

Consultants LCR have been appointed to work on a station masterplan and the strategic acquisition of land is also being prepared.

Rotherham Council's cabinet has recently granted permission for the authority to acquire, negotiate and use Compulsary Purchase Orders to obtain land to support regeneration. This includes land facilitating the development of a new mainline station where "selected acquisition is required to de-risk the project."

Images: DfT

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News: Rotherham label company tagged for future growth

Hine Labels, based in Rotherham, has bounced back stronger from the impact of Covid-19 lockdown, after it took the opportunity to refocus and develop its people through training part funded by Sheffield City Region Growth Hub’s Skills Bank.

Hine, known as the Label Experts, saw business reduce significantly back in March, but they managed to stay open as much of their work was in the food industry, although a number of employees had to be temporarily furloughed.

The company, based in the Greasbrough Road area, had secured a productivity grant of £100k in 2019 to extend its workspace by double the size as it had outgrown its premises and capacity issues were preventing further business expansion. Hine Labels also invested in Lean Training to help the company to increase productivity.

Anita Hine, managing director of Hine Labels, said: "Work dropped off drastically in March but the furlough scheme proved to be a lifeline for our employees – many of whom have been with us for several years. We kept a core team working and focused on meeting customer needs and maintaining our high standards of service and delivery. We received large orders for hand sanitising labels, which essentially kept our cashflow going at this difficult time.

"We had just appointed a Marketing Manager, Caroline Haywood of Purple Genie too and she embarked on a digital marketing campaign aimed at generating more orders from existing customers. As the business was quieter, we decided to take advantage of this and focus on setting our company up for growth."

Hine Labels appointed Genius Division in Barnsley to build a new website and a modern brand identity. The company also set out to differentiate its traditional trade work from its online offering – Houp.com, which is a new e-commerce site developed for customers who wanted small orders of pouches and labels.

Hine Labels has also created several new roles in recent months, including Digital Finishing and Despatch Supervisors, a Quality Manager and a Health & Safety Manager. Another major impact of the training is that Hine Labels has been able to reduce waste, which should also have a beneficial impact on its bottom line.

Anita added: "I'm delighted to report that we have come out of the pandemic as a much stronger business. We have been able to bring our employees back from furlough and have moved into the new extension. Our workflow is now organised in a more efficient way and the new extension means we can become a BRC High Hygiene factory, so could produce our new flexible packaging range."

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Over the last few months, Hine Labels has embarked on Lean Training with Lee Marlow of Astrum Business Transformation Ltd, which was fully funded through Skills Bank.

The Lean Training has led to a fundamental shift in the way Hine Labels ran the business. The company now has two separate workflows: one for traditional flexo printing and the other for digital printing. This means that the digital workflow can be much more automated, allowing for greater throughput.

Anita added: "Lean Training has helped us to identify the blockages in our production process. As a result, we have, for the first time, introduced shifts to improve efficiency. Staff have responded well to this as they were part of the process and recognised the need to change.

"Astrum worked with staff at all levels of the company and this has helped to bring about cultural change. As a result, we were able to move from a mindset of ‘we’ve always done it like this’ to embrace new ways of thinking, harnessing peoples’ skills to really benefit the company and change thinking across the entire business. Staff are now encouraged to put ideas forward and where these are adopted, we make sure the change is implemented effectively and safely channelled through the quality system. It really has transformed us from a small family firm to be ready to meet the challenges of a larger, more productive enterprise."

Rachel Fletcher, Sheffield City Region Growth Hub Business Advisor, said: "Hine Labels is a very forward-thinking business that recognised the need for change and has embraced this fully. The company is reaping the benefits of its larger facility and the Skills Bank training has meant a whole shift in culture and focus which will set them up for more growth. We are very excited to see what the future holds for Hine Labels."

Anita concludes: "We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from the Growth Hub Business Advisors and the Skills Advisors, in particular Rachel Fletcher and Julie Mather. We expect to see significant growth in the next 12 months and hopefully this will mean we can create more employment opportunities.

"We are projecting a significant increase in turnover for the coming year and feel sufficiently confident to invest a further half a million pounds in new equipment due to arrive early in the New Year."

Skills Bank is a programme developed by the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership which matches private sector investment in skills training with public funding to help businesses invest in their workforce and improve their productivity. Funding is available to businesses that make a strong case for how the investment will deliver growth.

Hine Labels website
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News: Prime Minister heads to Rotherham

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is using a high profile event in Rotherham today to renew a drive to give more power to Northern regions.

In a speech at The Convention of the North, he is expected to reiterate that he remains committed to delivering the Sheffield City Region (SCR) devolution deal – and to opening up negotiations with Leeds and West Yorkshire.

Organised by NP11 in partnership with Government the one-day event at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham brings together the North's political, business, community and academic leaders along with young people's groups, with the aim of making a powerful, unified case to the new Prime Minister and Government for tangible investment in the Northern Powerhouse.

The Government is set create a new Northern Powerhouse growth body to drive forward the region'’s economy, and with the powers to bring together major organisations working in the region.

A Chair will be appointed to head up the body, working closely with the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse.

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Speaking to local business leaders, mayors and councillors, the Prime Minister is expected to say: "It is time that we gave more people a say over the places where they live, and it is time that we gave you the proper ability to run things your way.

"We are going to maximise the power of the north. And we are going to make sure that it is people here who are in control over the things that matter to them.

"On entering Downing Street, the Prime Minister made it his priority to level up and unlock the potential of every corner of the UK – not just London and the South East."

Last week on a visit to Yorkshire, he reaffirmed his commitment to delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail. The first step will be the Manchester to Leeds route, with detailed plans published this autumn, following the review into HS2.

The new route is expected to cut journey times significantly and provide additional capacity for people across the region.

Today the Prime Minister will reaffirm that one of his top domestic priorities will be to give more powers to local leaders to ensure communities are in control over the things that matter to them, such as transport, infrastructure and housing.

He will conclude his speech by saying: "If we succeed in levelling up opportunity across our country, and if we truly put the power in your hands, then I believe you will do for the North – and for our whole country - what the railways did two centuries ago.

"That is the true potential of this Northern Powerhouse Partnership. And this is a Government that will back you to deliver it."

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News: "Tribe" launches to attract young women into engineering

"Be brave, try new things and don't be afraid to ask questions." That's the advice Nuclear AMRC researcher and Great British Bake Off winner Rahul Mandal gave to a room full of girls at the recent launch of the #AMRCtribe campaign.

As a STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) ambassador, Rahul said he was honoured to help kick start the campaign, which has been developed by the University of Sheffield AMRC to tackle one of the serious challenges facing engineering - attracting more women into the industry.

The #AMRCtribe campaign has set up an exclusive social media group to address this, providing a safe and supportive environment where young women can have the confidence to talk – outside of the school gates – about their interests in STEM subjects and pursuing STEM-related careers. This will be supported by social events to encourage the tribe to bond and foster close relationships between the members.

With bases on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham and a partner in the HVM Catapult (the government's strategic initiative that aims to revitalise the manufacturing industry), the AMRC focuses on advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. It is a partnership between industry and academia, which has become a model for research centres worldwide.

Jenny Cassy, director of learning for Futures at Fir Vale School Academy Trust, attended the launch at the AMRC with girls from the school. She said: "It's been a fantastic day. What I think is really good about the tribe is the idea of being able to share information and for the girls to know what grades they need to get here and what they need to do to prepare for that.

"When our girls went on the tour of the AMRC, they all came away saying they want to come here. These are girls that live 15 minutes away from here and they had never thought about it before.

"From seeing and speaking to people they could relate to, and seeing facilities and showing them what's on offer, it has really opened their eyes to the opportunities that are there."

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The institution operates the state-of-the-art AMRC Training Centre where current demographics, also seen among other STEM related subjects, remains predominantly and stubbornly male. This environment can be a powerful deterrent to young women identifying and choosing engineering as a compelling and attractive career choice.

"Put simply, there are not enough female engineers in the UK," said Rahul, who spoke to the girls about his role at the Nuclear AMRC and, of course, his passion for the science of baking. "The AMRC wants to help change that and I want to do everything I can to encourage young women to think about taking up engineering and encourage them towards STEM subjects."

The launch fittingly took place during International Women in Engineering week and was attended by 60 girls from six schools across the Sheffield city region who gathered at the AMRC's Knowledge Transfer Centre to learn more about #AMRCtribe and how they can benefit from being part of the group.

The schoolgirls were given tours across the AMRC campus to see first-hand some of the advanced technologies being developed by our researchers and engineers, such as 3D printing and Virtual Reality.

Ami Swales, from the AMRC STEM and Outreach Team, said: "Currently only 11% of the workforce in engineering is female which is much lower than other countries in Europe. We realise we need to act and promote positive role models and introduce the concept of engineering as a career to young women at school age.

"From our work in going out to schools across the city region, we found that within many of the schools there were pockets of young people that had an interest in STEM subjects but because that wasn’t shared by their peers they didn't go on to study those subjects.

"That's why we decided to do something about it by creating the #AMRCtribe, a close knit, supportive forum for likeminded girls so they have somewhere to talk to each other and encourage each other.

"It is about raising awareness of STEM in a way that is attractive to young women and overcoming the predominantly male stereotypes that dominate the sector.

"The goal for us is to get more women into STEM careers no matter what the route they take to get there. We think this will open up a new world of opportunities for young women and provide the wider UK industrial base with the diverse and talented workforce it needs to grow and prosper in a sustainable way."

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News: SCR devolution set to proceed pragmatically

Secretary of State James Brokenshire has indicated that the Government is prepared for the Sheffield city region (SCR) devolution deal to move forward, four years after it was signed.

Rothbiz reported in March that Dan Jarvis and the four leaders of South Yorkshire's local authorities had reached a consensus on the way forward for devolution. The pragmatic solution allows for each authority to move to other devolution arrangements, should they wish to do so, in 2022 – the end of Mayor Jarvis' current term of office.

A lack of consensus from the leaders of South Yorkshire's four councils had denied the SCR the chance to conclude a devolution deal with the Government.

The 2015 deal included a mayor with responsibility over the region's transport budget, strategic planning and skills funding. It also promised £30m a year for 30 years to invest in local strategic priorities.

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Responding to the latest correspondence, the Secretary of State welcomed the commitment to the 2015 deal and the solution to its implementation that will see investment in the city region.

In a letter to the local councils, James Brokenshire MP said: "In principle, if you and your councils now consent, we are prepared to implement the deal with an understanding that after 2022 those councils that do not see there future in the city region should be free to join an alternative wider Yorkshire devolution group, leaving the SCR with a commensurately reduced devolution deal, and with such provisos as for example there remains an integrated transport system."

Work between the city region and the Government will now take place to ensure that the deal can be implemented.

Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council said that he was pleased the Government was willing to move forward with the two stage process, adding: "I hope we can now move quickly to implement it."

An estimated £75m a year of Government funding earmarked for much-needed economic development projects is yet to make it to the SCR due to the stalled devolution deal.

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News: First day of term at new University Centre Rotherham

The new £10.5m University Centre Rotherham (UCR) has opened its doors to students and adult learners for the first time today.

UCR is a brand new campus dedicated to offering degrees and professional training qualifications, providing a state-of-the-art teaching facility in the heart of Rotherham town centre.

On Doncaster Gate, UCR is operated by leading education and training provider RNN Group and is part of the Rotherham Plan 2025, a strategy set out by the Rotherham Together Partnership to improve the economic and social wellbeing of the borough. Currently only 17% of the population in Rotherham and Bassetlaw have a higher or degree-level qualification (level 4 or above), compared to the national average of 27%%

RNN Group expects to run 50 different university-level courses by 2020, adding to the 32 higher-level courses currently on offer, and has been working closely with employers to develop courses covering digital, creative, health, technical construction, engineering, and leadership and management, to meet the needs of the local economy.

The target is to attract 1,000 additional students over the first five years. Tuition fees will be under the £9,000 charged by many universities, making degrees more accessible for people in the town. Details of some of the courses available can be found here.

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John Connolly, chief executive of the RNN Group, said: "We are delighted to welcome students to the brand new UCR campus this autumn.

"Studying at UCR means students can achieve their career aspirations without the need to live away from home or travel long distances and offers opportunities for those already in employment who want to study a degree or higher-level qualification around their work and family commitments. We're aiming to inspire students at UCR to become the business leaders and entrepreneurs of the future."

The centre, where plans for a second phase are already in hand, was built by Willmott Dixon. Rotherham Council provided the land in a cut price deal. The Sheffield City Region (SCR) Combined Authority agreed to fund infrastructure works. A grant of £3.5m was approved with the balance coming from RNN Group. Lloyds Banking Group, has both supported and partly funded the project.

Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, said: "Having a university centre here in Rotherham will develop both education and business for future generations here in Rotherham.

"It makes sense to attract new students and local businesses in order to offer the best educational and business experiences. This centre will play a pivotal role in closing the skills gap in the town and support the local economy by increasing access to higher-level skills."

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News: Clock is ticking on SCR business support

Rotherham businesses only have until next month to make use of a grant support project via the Sheffield city region (SCR).

The SCR Growth Enhancement Project provides local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with grant support up to £5,000 towards consultancy projects, intensive one-to-one support from a business growth specialist or key account manager or access to free masterclasses delivered by private sector experts.

The opportunity to access grant support is only available until the September 19, so businesses who are hoping to take advantage of this initiative need to act fast and contact the SCR Growth Hub in a hurry to submit their application.

The SCR Growth Hub is the model that coordinates and simplifies business support so that it joins up national, local, public and private business provisions across the city region.

Support is available to high growth businesses, and the project is financed by the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.

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The project has so far committed to support over 190 businesses financially, with a vast sum of over £784k across the region.

Masterclasses and one-to-one support from a Business Growth Specialist or Key Account Manager will continue to be available to eligible businesses until the end of March 2019.

The Sheffield City Region Growth Hub Enhancement Project is receiving up to £2.7m of ERDF funding.

Rothbiz reported in March, that a number of projects to support businesses in the SCR had been developed to utilise European funding before Britain leaves the European Union (EU).

The calls, totaling £7.2m focus on high growth SMEs, the digital sector, improving supply chains, investing in R&D and helping SMEs to harness graduate talent.

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News: Plans to get new prefabs sprouting up in Rotherham

New methods of off-site construction are set to be used to quickly build 12 bungalows for older people in Rotherham as part a pilot project by Rotherham Council.

Testing alternative modern construction methods, the authority is set to go out to the market to find construction contractors who specialise in elements of off-site construction, ranging from buildings being erected from factory made frames, panels or sections to whole buildings being lowered onto site.

The brief will be left open with a view to getting the widest possible range of options to consider from manufacturing and building companies.

It is proposed that the whole of the scheme is to be funded by the Council. More than £50m of the Housing revenue Account has been identified in the business plan for housing growth over the next five years.

The aim is to help the Council get nearer to its targets for house building in the borough. The overall number of homes in the borough increased by 479 units in the 2017/18 financial year, below the Council's target of 641 units.

Council-owned sites have already been identified at Symonds Avenue, Rawmarsh, Hounsfield Crescent, East Herringthorpe and Hounsfield Road, East Herringthorpe.

The aim is to build 12 new Council bungalows for older people to rent and if the pilot proves to be successful, it could provide a delivery route for many of the other 200-300 small sites in the borough.

Prefabricated houses were built for Rotherham after World War II. One example, the "Tarran" estate at Maltby, was demolished and work is underway at Braithwell Road by Council partner, Wates on 83 properties for sale (pictured, below).

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Cllr. Dominic Beck, Cabinet Member for Housing at Rotherham Council, said: "The housing industry is recognising the potential offsite manufacturing holds for the housing market. As a modern and efficient council we want to ensure we look at all possible options to deliver inspiring, energy-efficient homes for families across the borough. Our mission is to build better homes and build them in a better way.

"We also want to ensure there are enough affordable homes so families can stay in the borough or to entice new people to move to Rotherham."

The funding for the pilot modern construction homes is expected to come from the Council Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and an application has been made to Sheffield City Region's (SCR's) pilot Housing Fund £500K of grant funding. This is currently being assessed with a view to seeking approval from the Sheffield City Region's Housing Investment Board later this summer.

Colin Blackburn, Assistant Director for Housing Infrastructure and Planning at the Sheffield City Region, said: "There is a national housing shortage across the UK, including here in Sheffield City Region. We welcome the local authority's approach to delivering additional new homes through innovative and efficient ways of building, which will provide high quality, desirable properties in local communities at affordable prices."

Plans are also being presented for Rotherham Council to sell some small sites to local developers to enable the building of a further 22 affordable homes in key areas across the borough.

Arches Housing Association and Johnnie Johnson Housing Association have plans for £3.23m of investment into the borough with grants being sought from Homes England.

If the land sales are agreed, Arches will build fourteen new two-bedroom homes at Hornbeam Close, Flanderwell; Greenwood Crescent, Wickersley; Willow Close, Flanderwell; and Craig Walk, Bramley. New methods of modular construction are also being looked at here.

At Orchard Place in West Melton, Johnnie Johnson has plans for up to eight new two bedroom bungalows.

The total value of the land is £323,000 but the sales are set to be at a much discounted rate totalling £110,000.

Images: Willmott Dixon / Wates

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News: SCR Growth Hub support continues

The Sheffield city region (SCR) has achieved a second record-breaking year with its key business advice service, the Growth Hub.

The SCR Growth Hub is the model that coordinates and simplifies business support so that it joins up national, local, public and private business provisions across the city region.

For the year ending April 2018, the service and its growth team worked with 5,086 businesses, and saw over 1,200 jobs created as a result of their support.

Businesses across the city region are able to tap into a wide range of support programmes worth £50m. This means that the range of expert help that companies are receiving varies tremendously: Original Recipes of Chesterfield had help with designing moulds for a new and popular wholesale range of terrines, while Webster Technologies had advice on improving its international marketing.

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Alexa Greaves, chair of the Growth Hub Board, said: "The Growth Hub provides a comprehensive service of business support, and takes a straightforward approach – putting in the right support at the right time.

"I'm delighted to see these figures – it's a tribute to the energy of businesses across the city region and to the expert advice and signposting of the advisors.

"Our highly experienced team of specialists have worked at director or managing director level in growing businesses across all sectors – sales and marketing, coaching, finance new product development etc.

"They will review a business in depth to really get to grips with what that enterprise needs to flourish, and what is the most appropriate help and advice.

"We have a huge pool of knowledge and access to many funding streams. And because we work in partnership with many other organisations across the region and nationally, and even internationally, businesses who talk to us have an even broader range of openings."

Specific support for businesses includes free, impartial business support and masterclasses through the Enhancement Project whilst the Launchpad programme gives new and start-up businesses the support they need through networking events, workshops, coaching and one-to-one mentoring. Any businesses with a bright idea and the potential for growth can progress to applying for three months of intensive support.

RiDO, the regeneration arm of Rotherham Council, delivers the start-up Launchpad programme for Rotherham on behalf of the SCR Growth Hub, which is supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

RISE, run in partnership with the universities, aims to increase graduate employment in small and medium sized enterprises.

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News: Funding boost for Bassingthorpe?

The Sheffield city region (SCR) has passed another hurdle as it attempts to kickstart housebuilding using millions of Government funding.

Launching a Housing White Paper last year, the Government announced the Housing Infrastructure Fund, a capital grant programme of up to £2.3 billion, for new physical infrastructure which will unlock sites in the areas of greatest housing demand and help to deliver up to 100,000 new homes in England.

Funding is being awarded to local authorities on a highly competitive basis, with Rotherham Council making bids to bring forward development. The first at Bassingthorpe Farm for £31m would deliver essential transport and drainage infrastructure and the second in Rotherham town centre for £10.6m would enable flood alleviation and ground preparation to for the delivery of around 400 homes.

Now a joint bid from the SCR has been named on a list of successful authorities that will now co-develop plans with the Government to unlock housing sites.

The forward funding has been earmarked for a small number of strategic and high-impact infrastructure schemes. The Government is set to put in the first amount of funding, which then gives the market confidence to provide further investment and make more land available for development and future homes. Bids are capped at £250m.

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Sir Edward Lister, Chair of Homes England, the former Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), was at a meeting of key housing figures to be updated on the progress of the SCR's radical new Housing Compact and its first initiative "More New Homes."

The Compact is a partnership of local authorities, housing associations and arms length management organisations, and is the first of its type in the UK. It is tackling the need to build more homes faster in the SCR and could deliver at least 1,500 new affordable homes each year.

Sir Edward, said: "We need to work together to identify more ways that Homes England can work with the Sheffield City Region team to help them achieve their ambitious housing targets. We will work with the City Region to build on the collaborative working arrangements."

Huw Bowen, the Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council and lead Chief Executive for Sheffield City Region for housing, added: "Having affordable and high quality homes available for a workforce is vital to economic growth in the whole region."

The SCR has a target of delivering up to 7,000 new homes annually. 6,200 homes were created in the city region in the past year – double the annual figure just three years ago.

Rotherham Council has a target of 641 new homes for this year but this is unlikely to be met.

The authority is pushing ahead with its own housebuilding plans and the Local Plan is nearing adoption. Removing uncertainty over land availability, the plan includes 100 new housing sites, many of which can be developed immediately with enough land for 6,500 new homes. The total amount of housing land available at the time of adoption will accommodate around 14,500 new homes.

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The SCR said that housing developments attracted a high level of interest at international property showcase MIPIM, including the major Bassingthorpe Farm development in Rotherham.

The controversial development site is heading to the market with the landowners looking for commercial partners to help bring forward 2,400 dwellings and 11 hectares for employment use. As part of the Local Plan core strategy that was adopted by the Council in 2014, the 215 hectare area close to Rotherham town centre has been removed from the Green Belt and designated as a Strategic Allocation and the main location for new housing, employment and retail growth.

A promotoer partner or development partner is beign sought and the MIPIM brochure stated: "This superbly located former Green Belt 200Ha site is close to Rotherham's town centre as well as surrounding countryside, the Grade I Listed Wentworth Woodhouse and Parkland and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.

"With a comprehensive masterplan in place the site will accommodate 2,400 new homes, 13Ha of employment land, a new primary school and attractive local centre all set within a green infrastructure, with strong cycling and pedestrian links creating an attractive place to live and work.

"The two landowners (Fitzwilliam Wentworth Estate and Rotherham Council) have been working together to progress this exciting opportunity. The project will be seeking development partners later in 2018 to achieve a start on site in 2020/21."

Previous work has shown estimated delivery costs of over £350m for the project with the infrastructure needed to bring forward houses, associated retail and employment uses estimated at over £50m. Work to improve the nearby road network is underway.

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News: £400m investment fund targets growing Rotherham businesses

A slice of the new £400m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) is set to help the growth of SMEs in Rotherham and the rest of the Sheffield city region (SCR).

Based in Sheffield, the NPIF works with ten Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), combined authorities and Growth Hubs, as well as local accountants, fund managers and banks, to provide a mixture of debt and equity capital to northern-based SMEs at all stages of their development. NPIF is providing funding to fund managers who will offer Microfinance, Business Loans and Equity Finance.

Acquiring Enterprise Ventures 18 months ago, Mercia Technologies PLC, has been appointed to manage more than £108m of new venture capital and loan funds through the NPIF. The recently re-branded Mercia Fund Managers is managing a £57.5m NPIF Equity fund, which will provide finance of up to £2m for businesses in Yorkshire, the Humber and Tees Valley and a £51m NPIF Debt fund, which offers loans of £100,000 to £750,000 to SMEs in Yorkshire and the Humber.

The debt finance investment in the SCR is being managed by a familiar face - Pete Sorsby, formerly of RBS, and the fund managers have a strong track record of supporting companies with high growth potential, delivering several notable successes for similar funds, including Rotherham-based Xeros plc.

Launching at the end of February 2017, following a delay due to uncertainties over Brexit, the NPIF has already supported a number of firms in the SCR. Libertine FPE Ltd is using a £500,000 investment to advance its "Linear Power Systems" technology and set up a new headquarters in the city region with product development and testing facilities. And Televideo, a Sheffield-based outside broadcasting company which is one of the UK's leading suppliers of sports programming has secured a £150,000 loan to invest in new 4K equipment.

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The Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) and Finance For Enterprise (FFE - formerly Donbac) secured the tender for providing Microfinance (£25,000 – £100,000) in Yorkshire and the Tees Valley area.

BEF and FFE provided 23 loans in three months since March 2017 using the NPIF scheme, with £1m loaned to SMEs across the region.

NPIF funding is drawn from several sources including the UK Government, the European Investment Bank, the British Business Bank and the European Regional Development Fund.

Sean Hutchinson, senior manager at British Business Bank, said: "The Yorkshire, Humber and the Tees Valley regions have been incredibly receptive to the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. It is very positive that Fund Managers have already seen a large number of businesses making enquiries for funding, demonstrating the strong appetite for growth."

In total, more then £10m has been invested across the Northern Powerhouse region.

Jake Berry, Northern Powerhouse Minister, said: "It's fantastic to see that so soon after we launched the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund it's already provided £10m to support Northern businesses. The Fund is a great example of what can be achieved when the Government and businesses work together and is all part of our plan to boost the northern economy, creating more jobs and attracting investment in the region."

Keith Morgan, CEO of British Business Bank, added: "The North of England has long been a key region for innovation and economic growth in the UK. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is now providing the financial backing to tap the growth potential of businesses across the North, helping both the regional and the national economy.

"Passing this £10m funding milestone in such a short space of time since launch is a fantastic achievement for the fund, our fund managers, and our partners in the 10 participating Local Enterprise Partnerships."

SCR Growth Hub website
NPIF website

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