News: Popeyes opens in Rotherham

American fried chicken restaurant Popeyes UK opened the doors to its first ever Drive-Thru restaurant, with over 50 cars queuing in Rotherham.

The Drive-Thru officially opened at 11am on Monday 15th May at Parkgate Shopping Park, with the launch seeing customers queue the length of 2 football pitches throughout the retail park for its famous Chicken Sandwiches.

The first few lucky customers through the door on day one, won the ultimate prize of free Chicken Sandwiches for a whole year, and the first 25 vehicles within the drive-thru lane and the first 25 pedestrians in the eat-in queue were rewarded with a free Chicken Sandwich and exclusive car-themed Popeyes UK merchandise.

Elizabeth and Victoria Adeosun, mother and daughter local to Rotherham, were the first through the drive-thru and Jamie Poon the first pedestrian through the doors of the new restaurant, bagging themselves free Chicken Sandwiches for a year after queuing from 4am this morning.

Victoria, the winner of free Chicken Sandwiches for a year, said: “I have been to both the Leicester and London Popeyes restaurants, so when I heard that Popeyes was opening near home, I had to be one of the first in the queue, so I made my mum [Elizabeth] get up and come to the opening.”

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Jamie Poon, winner of free Chicken Sandwiches for a year, added: “I found out about the competition a few months ago on Twitter and I have been keeping an eye on updates of the Rotherham opening ever since. I arrived at 4am and I can’t wait to try my first ever Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.”

Recommended reading: Should More Rotherham Businesses Try Freebie Promotions? Mardi Gras style band, the Brass Funkeys, who have performed at Glastonbury and Ronnie Scott's, provided a New Orleans party vibe as the doors were opened for the first time, alongside an orange carpet, hundreds of freebies and limited-edition car-themed merchandise handed out to those attending the official launch.

Not only that, to celebrate the launch of its new breakfast menu, Popeyes UK will also be offering free breakfast muffins to the first 25 cars in the queue at the new drive-thru tomorrow. to celebrate its first breakfast service. Breakfast will start at 8am, with food including the mouth-watering big breakfast roll, cajun hash browns and indulgent nutella-topped buttermilk biscuits.

Neil Williamson, Chief Operating Officer at Popeyes UK said: “We’ve seen some great excitement for the Rotherham launch with fans queuing up from 4am for our Chicken Sandwich. We can’t wait to see the buzz continue to grow and for more people to try the Popeyes ‘shatter crunch’ for themselves. We will also be launching the breakfast menu at the Rotherham drive-thru and we’re looking forward to seeing how this is received as the breakfast offering becomes a staple at more of our restaurants across the UK.”

Popeyes UK website

Images: Popeyes UK

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News: £60m Rotherham solar farm a shade nearer

Plans for a massive solar farm in Rotherham are being recommended for approval by council planners but the Secretary of State will need to see them as it would result in thousands of solar panels installed on green belt land.

Rothbiz reported last year that independent renewable energy firm Banks Renewables had submitted a planning application for a new solar energy park on a 116-hectare piece of agricultural land to the west of the Todwick Road Industrial Estate in Dinnington, around three miles east of Banks’ Penny Hill wind farm at Ulley.

Now the plans are set to go before the planning board at Rotherham Council this month, with members being recommended to give them the green light.

The Common Farm Solar project would have an installed capacity of up to 50MW. This compares to the capacity of up to 20MW at Penny Hill Wind Farm and 44MW at the Templeborough Biomass power station.

Planning permission would be for a period of 40 years. The construction period is an estimated 6-9 months.

On mainly arable fields, Banks' plan for Common Farm is to install rows of 4.5m high solar panels and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Electricity generated will be taken by cables, overhead or underground, to the Thurcroft electricity sub-station around three kilometres to the north of the site, which will help support the long-term security of energy supplies to UK consumers.

Banks has demonstrated that the application site is the only suitable site within Rotherham and admit that the development "will result in a limited number of adverse affects" but state that it will also generate a number of benefits.

Objections have been received from members of the public and local parish councils who are raising concerns over the visual impact and the loss of farmland and habitat for local wildlife, adding that approval would set a precedent for developing land within the green belt.

A planner's report shows agreement that the development will result in some localised adverse visual effects, and that these effects generally reduce the greater the distance from the site.

A 3.5m high opaque fence adjacent to Todwick Road is required as mitigation for glint and glare from the panels after a creating a bund was discounted on cost grounds. The fence itself "will have an adverse impact on the visual amenity of the area."

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The council do not agree with the applicants that the level of impact on the openness of the green belt is minimal and conclude that the solar farm "would lead to both spatial and visual harm to the Green Belt. The impact would be perceived over a large geographical area and the encroachment would result in a significant adverse effect that would have a harmful impact upon openness.

"Whilst for a temporary period, the operational period of the development, at 40 years, still represents a significant period of time for the proposal to lead to loss of openness. The Local Planning Authority therefore consider that the proposed development would result in inappropriate development in the Green Belt."

Developers need to demonstrate very special circumstances for using the green belt land and council planners confirm that "the benefits of renewable energy raise substantial benefits in favour of the proposal" and environmantal, economic and social benefits amount to a total investment of approximately £61.2m over its lifetime, plus an annual package of community benefits totalling £50,000 a year.

The installed capacity is enough to meet the average annual electricity requirements of up to 18,800 family homes and would displace over 11,470 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the electricity supply network each year.

Planners conclude: "The public benefits of the proposal are of sufficient magnitude to outweigh the substantial harm found to the Green Belt and all other harm identified above. These benefits identified attract very substantial weight in favour of the scheme. In this context, the harm to the Green Belt would be clearly outweighed by the other considerations and therefore the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development exist. Accordingly, the proposal would satisfy the local and national Green Belt policies."

The planning board is due to meet to discuss the scheme on May 18.

Should the board vote to approve the plans, they would then be referred to the Secretary of State who will decide if they requires further scrutiny.

Banks Group website

Images: Banks

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News: Cash injection will help Rotherham firm to meet growing demand

A Rotherham firm that helps employers to reduce work-related ill health has secured a £125,000 loan from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

The funding will enable Workplace Scientifics to invest in new equipment and meet the growing demand for its occupational hygiene services. The company – which advises on ways to mitigate workplace hazards such as noise, vibration, hazardous substances and chemicals – was founded in 2020 by entrepreneurs Dave Lombardi and Thomas Wood, who have a background in the industry.

They set out to deliver services in a different way, offering ongoing support to help employers improve safety, in addition to providing one-off assessments. Based in the Moorgate area of Rotherham, the company now employs a team of eight and serves a growing list of clients including Masonite, Magnet, Howmet Airspace, Severfield and Phillips 66. The funding will enable it to create three new jobs over the next six months and provide additional working capital to take on new contracts.

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Thomas Wood believes companies are increasingly seeing the value in taking a pro-active approach to health at work. “Authorities are taking a tougher stance on worker health protection. Breaching the rules can cost millions, but perhaps more importantly, attitudes are changing. Organisations are taking worker health more seriously and understanding their moral duties to create safer working environments,” he explains.

“As occupational hygiene practitioners, we not only help employers to identify hazards that might otherwise go unnoticed, but also situations where they are taking unnecessary precautions, which can be wasteful and costly. For example, we visited one business where the workers had worn disposable ear defenders for years, which was uncomfortable and created lots of plastic waste. We were able to find ways to reduce the factory noise to a level where hearing protection was no longer required. Each company is different and it is about having the right measures in place.”

Recommended reading: Boosting Your Business: Innovative Funding Options for SMEs

Andy Tyas of Mercia said: “Employers increasingly recognise the value of good working practices in safeguarding their reputation and the health of their workforce, and reducing absence and staff turnover. Dave and Thomas are passionate about delivering a high-quality, expert service. The business has gained rapid traction since its launch and its services are in growing demand. This funding will help them to invest in new equipment and expand the team to support its continued growth.”

Keira Shepperson, Director at British Business Bank: “There is an increasing number of entrepreneurs creating proactive solutions, and this business has identified a niche segment in the market to improve occupational safety. The loan will unlock the team’s capability to provide more of its expertise, making a valuable contribution to improving health and safety in the workplace.”

Julia Wilkinson of Funding Round provided fundraising advice to the company.

Workplace Scientifics website
Mercia NPIF website

Images: Mercia

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News: National retailer ready to revamp empty Rotherham unit

A national chain has been given the green light to revamp a large Rotherham retail unit that has had many uses in recent years.

Since Homebase at Parkgate Shopping closed a decade ago, the large unit has been used by Best Buy, Kiddicare and as an outlet for JD Sports Fashion plc's outdoor brands - Millets and Blacks.

Rothbiz reported last year that a planning application had been submitted showing that the Frasers Group was eyeing up the vacant store.

Founded by Mike Ashley in 1982, Frasers Group is now a collection of iconic retail brands - notably Sports Direct, Flannels, GAME and USC.

An updated set of plans from Frasers has now been approved by Rotherham Council that would allow the creation a partial mezzanine for a gym measuring 22,646 sq ft.

The main operators would be Sports Direct and Everlast Fitness Club. Plans also show 6,000 sq ft of space on the ground floor for Fraser Group retailer, USC, along with smaller space for GAME and Evans Cycles. A 7,000 ft unit is also shown which could be sub-let by the group. External alterations include the central entrance feature being moved to the side with another entrance being added.

Sports Direct and USC already have units at Parkgate.

Included in earlier plans, space for designer brand retailer, Flannels has been removed.

As the proposals would take the retail space of the unit up to nearly 70,000 sq ft, and the site is classed as out of town, a retail assessment and sequential test is also included.

Sequential tests ensure that development is located in the most sustainable location first (usually in town centres), before other, less sustainable locations are chosen.

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Approved without going before the council's planning board, planning officers agree that there are no more sequentially preferable sites within allocated centres that are suitable or available to accommodate the proposed development which is based on Sports Direct’s business model to co-locate retailing with a gym. Planners also broadly agree that the application would have no impact on the vitality and viability of any centre.

A decision report adds: "The application site is located within Parkgate Retail Park which is the most successful retail destination in Rotherham Borough. The health check of Rotherham Town Centre within the Retail and Leisure Study focuses on the pressures on the Town Centre arising from competition from Parkgate Retail Park, Meadowhall and the proximity of Sheffield City Centre. The Town Centre has a restricted catchment and a weak market penetration within that catchment. Vacancy rates are a chronic issue in the Town Centre.

"However, there is a strategy to diversify uses and the Council’s Annual Monitoring Report indicates that vacancies do not provide a true reflection of the health of the Centre. The Forge Island Leisure Quarter and developments at Rotherham Market and Riverside Gardens will help to diversify the range of uses within the centre and introduce new activity.

"The Retail and Leisure Study indicates that the health and fitness and gym provision in and around Rotherham Town Centre has been dominated by the Rotherham Leisure Complex. However, since the publication of the Study there has been growth in the gym market. There is now I-Motion Gym, The Gym Group, and JD Gym in the Parkgate area and north of the Town Centre. The Oasis Health Club, Bannatyne’s and gym facilities at the Holiday Inn Hotel at West Bawtry and the Hellaby Hall Hotel at Hellaby provide facilities in the wider Rotherham area. The only gym within the town centre at Rotherham is Next Level Fitness at Quarry Hill.

"It is evident that the health and fitness provision is not a key component of the vitality and viability of Rotherham Town Centre or indeed any other designated centre nearby."

In granting permission, a condition has been included to restrict the disaggregation of the gym and the retail units at a later date, as well as one to stop the new space being subdivided into smaller units.

Frasers Group website

Images: Google Maps

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News: Clegg Construction goes back to school in Rotherham

Clegg Construction has been awarded the contract to work on an exciting £5.9m renovation scheme to repurpose the derelict Maltby Grammar School in Rotherham into a community resource and education facility.

Work got underway recently on the project, part of a winning bid secured by Rotherham Council through the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, that will extend the Trust’s Post 16 specialist facilities, and create an incubator space for training, apprenticeships, and start up support in the leisure and hospitality sectors.

The company has pledged to support a range of local health and wellbeing projects and employment and skills development opportunities during the contract, and it is estimated that up to £1.25m will be pumped into the local economy after Clegg committed to use as many local sub-contractors, suppliers and enterprises as possible.

Ross Crowcroft, Pre-Construction Director at Clegg Construction, said: “Maltby Grammar School has played a pivotal role in the local community over many decades and the team at Clegg Construction is very pleased to be breathing new life into this historic building and giving it a future.

“This project will provide significant new facilities for the area in terms of learning and development. We have pledged to support the local community in a number of ways during the duration of this project as part of our commitment to the communities that we work in.

“We are pleased to have now made a start on site and look forward to the renovation project progressing over the coming months. We have wide experience of working both within the heritage sector and the education sector, so this scheme is a perfect fit for our expertise at Clegg Construction.”

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Built in the early 1930s, the school closed in 2012 and had fallen into a state of disrepair after being mothballed.

Maltby Learning Trust is now bringing the historic building back into use with plans which include the creation of incubator space for training and apprenticeships, bookable workspaces and serviced hot-desking, and start-up support for the leisure and hospitality sectors.

The re-purposed building – known for its impressive clock tower – will also extend Maltby Learning Trust’s Post 16 specialist facilities for students who attend Maltby Academy and Sir Thomas Wharton Academy sixth form provision.

Clegg Construction has just started work on site to refurbish the building and also to build a new steel frame extension in the existing courtyard to provide space for an exhibition hall.

The company is also exploring opportunities to work with the school’s estates team to create outdoor space for tree and flower planting, along with bee and butterfly corridors.

Other members of the team working alongside Clegg Construction include Self Architects, engineer GCA Ltd and employer’s agent and project manager Cube.

The renovation is due to be completed at the end of this year.

Clegg Construction website

Images: Maltby Learning Trust

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