News: Millions secured for Rotherham transport improvements

Rotherham Council has secured £5m from the government to carry out important transport schemes in the borough.

The funding is from the second tranche of the Department for Transport's £190m Local Pinch Point Fund, first announced in December 2012 that includes improvements and upgrades to vital roads and bridges, new access routes and enhancements to address congestion at local traffic hotspots.

£3.4m has been secured for the £5m scheme to convert Pool Green roundabout (Liquid roundabout) on the edge of the town centre into signalised crossroads. The junction of A630 Centenary Way and Main Street currently experiences significant congestion and the council has previously investigated options to improve the capacity of the junction in order to improve journey time reliability and reduce delay.

With £500k of funding from Local Transport Plan (LTP) and £1m of capital funding from the council, the scheme would also remove the barriers currently restricting the development at important sites such as the New York Stadium, the Guest & Chrimes site, Forge Island, Liquid nightclub and the wider town centre.

Development plots on the west side of the junction would be created, which would be in the Council's ownership, and offer a future capital receipt, which initial views suggest could be worth up to £600k.

Work could start in June 2014 and complete in March 2015.

The council has also secured £1.8m for the £2.6m scheme to carry out structural maintenance to The Old Flatts bridge, the first bridge that drivers on the A630 Parkway cross when heading towards Waverley, the Enterprise Zone, and Sheffield from the M1 Motorway.

A scheme of strengthening is required with additional funding coming from the LTP (£400k) and the council (£500k).

Work could start in January 2014 and complete in July 2014.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, said: "The schemes we have announced are designed to target key bottlenecks around the country, making life easier for the thousands of motorists and businesses who use the local road network every day.

"Investing in these schemes shows that the government is serious about accelerating growth where it is needed most.

"These schemes have the potential to help create more than 100,000 jobs and around 100,000 new homes.

"I look forward to seeing works underway as soon as possible."

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News: Wentworth Woodhouse - case dismissed

Plans to restore Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham to its former glory have taken a step forward following the unanimous decision by the Court of Appeal to dismiss the Coal Authority's case that the claim for compensation for extensive subsidence damage by the owners, the Newbold brothers, should be rejected.

The claim for damages against the Coal Authority, for at least £100m, is in respect of the damage caused by deep and open cast mining and is being disputed.

The Coal Authority attempted to stop the claim in the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal in 2012, arguing that the two damage notices served by the owners were invalid. The contention centred on technicalities on how the form was completed, largely due to it being completed by one of the Newbold brothers, Paul. The authority claimed that he was not the land owner as the property was co-owned by the family and that he did not have the authority to act on behalf of his family.

The judge, Mr George Bartlett QC ruled in favour of the Newbold family but the Coal Authority appealed the decision. The case was heard last month by Lord Justice Longmore, Lord Justice McFarlane and Sir Stanley Burnton at the Court of Appeal.

Sir Stanley Burton said: "On balance I come to the same conclusion as the President (of the Upper Tribunal, George Bartlett QC) that it was the brothers, the freehold owners, giving notice, with Paul being named really as a matter of convenience (and possibly because there was only room for one person to be named on the printed form).

"The damage notices in this case provided adequate information to the Authority. It identified the property in question and the damage it had suffered; it identified the Newbold brothers as the owner of the freehold, and therefore competent to give a notice under section 3 [of the Act]. I am confirmed in my view that the information provided by the notices was adequate, since the Authority was able to and did respond to them and was able to and did investigate the claims."

Both Lord Justice Macfarlane and Lord Justice Longmore also agreed with the President of the Upper Tribunal. Lord Justice Longmore said: "No one in the light of what was said in the damage notice could be in any doubt that it was the owners of site who were giving the notice. The fact that one brother was named in the box entitled "Claimant's Name" does not, to my mind, make any difference to that. To hold that, for some reason, what looks on the face of it to be a good notice is, in fact, a nullity [as if it did not exist or never happened], would be a triumph of form over substance."

Giles Newbold, joint owner of Wentworth Woodhouse, said: "This is a common-sense decision by the Court of Appeal which we very much welcome. However, this is just the start of the process and we urge the Coal Authority to deal with our legitimate claim as quickly as possible so that we can continue our work to restore Wentworth Woodhouse, one of the country's most important houses.

"Legal action has already cost all parties over £1m and it makes no sense for the Coal Authority to continue its legal action over technicalities when the future of this historic building is under threat."

Plans were unveiled in 2011 for the Grade I listed mansion house to create a combination of publicly accessible restored museum to the central and grandest rooms, as well as a 70 suite luxury hotel and spa to the remainder. The proposal hopes to revive the use of the house in such a way that minimises alteration and change to the historic building, making best use of the spaces that can be open to the public.

Plans are underway to establish a trust to save and restore the property with the hope of securing backing from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Wentworth Woodhouse website

Images: Wentworth Woodhouse / twitter

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News: ISG bag new Rotherham Tesco contract

ISG, the international construction services company, has secured the £19m contract to build the new Tesco Extra store in Rotherham town centre.

Planning permission for a new 110,000 sq ft superstore was granted last year which also includes 540 parking spaces and a petrol filling station on a five-acre site that has been home to a number of council buildings.

Procured by developers, TCN UK via a two-stage tender process, ISG will demolish the vacated buildings, construct the store and carry out substantial improvements to the town's traffic management system.

The first phase of the project sees the construction of a new road junction onto Centenary Way, paving the way for the demolition of the Centenary Way flyover. During this phase, ISG will also demolish the Civic Building, Norfolk House and Central Library, retaining the crushed demolition material and re-using this across the site.

Following this extensive ground works phase, which includes major service diversions, ISG will then commence the construction of the new superstore on stilts, which features under-croft car parking. The Tesco Extra will incorporate large areas of glazing and attractive larch cladding to its façade.

The development is set to create 450 jobs (200 full time and 250 part time). 200 of these are additional to the current store on Forge Island and all staff at the current store would be guaranteed a job at the new site.

As part of the project, ISG will undertake improvements to the road system and remove and relocate a grade II listed clock, currently occupying the Civic Site, to Effingham Square, which will also see a major upgrade. The existing pedestrian shopping area in the square will be remodelled with new external paved areas and an attractive landscaping scheme introduced. A new taxi rank will also be created as well as a number of disabled parking bays, with the entire project scheduled for completion in late 2014.

John Gittins, managing director – North East for ISG, said: "Working closely with TCN UK, our two-year involvement has proved vital in progressing this important regeneration scheme to a stage where we are imminently due to break ground on site. Rotherham has ambitious plans for growth and greater inward investment and we are confident that this major new development for Tesco will act as the catalyst for further town centre regeneration and a corresponding increase in regional influence."

ISG has already played a key role in the Rotherham Renaissance project, constructing the mixed use Old Market and Keppel Wharf developments for Iliad.

ISG website

Images: TCN UK

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News: S3 ID secure new Rotherham premises

S3 ID, the provider of cutting edge location awareness solutions, has acquired Reresby House from Rotherham Council.

The major exporter has developed a range of specialist hardware and software products that provide real-time personnel location awareness, mustering and access control. They are used in working environments where a major incident would be catastrophic such as oil, gas and petrochemical plants.

A move from premises at Eastwood took place over the weekend to its new 25,000 sq ft, two storey office at the popular business location at Templeborough.

S3 ID was the first company to receive an Equity Fund investment from Finance Yorkshire when they secured £1.1m in 2011 to enable them to maintain the controlled expansion that they experienced over the previous three years.

Reresby House has previously been home to Rotherham Investment and Development Office (RiDO), Business Link South Yorkshire, The South Yorkshire Investment Fund, the REACT centre and more recently, departments from the council's Neighbourhoods and Adult Services directorate.

S3 ID website

Images: S3ID

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News: RiDO makes US links for Rotherham firms

Rotherham investment Development Office (RiDO), has raised awareness of its Soft Landing Zone with delegates at an international conference in Boston, USA.

Paul Woodcock, Director of Planning, Regeneration & Culture at RiDO, was one of the keynote speakers at the NBIA's (National Business Incubation Association) international conference, who described how the ERDF-funded Growth and Prosperity in Rotherham (Soft Landing Zone) project works by assisting Rotherham companies with accessing international markets. He also outlined to delegates how the project helps foreign inward investors who choose to locate to RiDO's business centres, as Rotherham hosts the UK's only Soft Landing Zone.

The NBIA is the world's leading organisation advancing business incubation and entrepreneur support, and through its Soft Landings programme, NBIA recognises incubators that are especially capable in helping overseas companies enter the incubator's domestic market.

RiDO's business centres are one of just a few business incubation programmes from around the world that have earned the designation since NBIA began the program in 2005.

The Conference on Business Incubation was attended by 635 industry professionals from 43 countries who gathered to learn, share ideas, network with colleagues and be inspired to assist entrepreneurs in new and better ways.

Paul Woodcock, director of Planning, Regeneration & Culture at RiDO, said: "It was an honour to be asked to speak at this global conference. It was a great opportunity to network, make contacts and help to raise the profile of Rotherham and our business centres on an international basis. It also enabled us to make connections with other incubation centres in order to support Rotherham businesses who want to expand or set up operations in overseas markets."

Not only was Rotherham represented by Paul being a keynote speaker, but RiDO also had an exhibition stand to raise awareness of its Soft Landing Zone with international delegates.

Paul Woodcock attended alongside Rotherham Councillor Gerald Smith. During the visit they made some very productive links which included holding discussions with a Spanish manufacturer called El Paso (TX) on behalf of kitchenware designer and manufacturer Yormii, based at the Matrix Business Centre in Dinnington. They also made useful connections for Vitalife Teas, based at RiDO's Fusion@Magna Business Centre with businesses in Canada and Malaysia.

With investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), RiDO is supporting inward investment from overseas as well as helping Rotherham companies to explore potential international trade opportunities.

RiDO website

Images: RiDO

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