The regeneration of Rotherham town centre is one of the top priorities that residents set for us. Like many places, residents here have greeted the decline of the high street, the withdrawal of major shopping brands and decaying public realm with a foreboding sense of permanent decline.
In our case, the downward trajectory probably started earlier than for many others, with our neighbouring centres at Meadowhall, the out-of-town centre at Parkgate, Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Worksop town centre all within easy driving distance of many of our residents – and this was even before Amazon arrived.
The Council has been successful in securing significant central Government investment over recent years, strengthening the interventions that the Council has been able to make. We’ve brought cinema back into Rotherham for the first time in thirty years as part of our flagship Forge Island leisure development. Our markets complex is undergoing a £40+ million redevelopment, which will also bring our central library back into the heart of the town. Our public spaces are being upgraded, our events programme boosted, and we’re putting in place additional support for traders and local businesses.
Rebuilding the Town Centre Community
But making all that investment sustainable requires more people to live in and around our town centre – in what we’ve begun to call our town centre community.
Our town centre is already home to approximately 3,500 people. Incomes are relatively modest, households are younger than the borough average, and most households live in private or social rented accommodation.
The introduction of additional residential accommodation is a key component in supporting the continued diversification and long-term vitality of the town centre. Increasing the resident population within the centre will help to generate sustained footfall and local expenditure, which are widely recognised as key factors in supporting the viability of high streets and town centres.
A greater level of town centre living will also contribute to activity beyond traditional trading hours, helping to support the evening economy and a broader mix of uses, including leisure, food and beverage, and community services. This in turn supports a more resilient and vibrant town centre, reducing reliance on traditional retail and aligning with national trends which identify housing-led regeneration as a key driver in the revitalisation of town centres.
Why Council Leadership Matters
In 2023, the Council built the first new affordable homes in decades in the town centre. This Council investment has delivered 171 new homes across three Council-owned sites at key gateways to the town centre.
The focus of this investment was to deliver mixed tenure communities – and whilst the majority of these homes were for council rent or Shared Ownership (forming part of our wider commitment to the delivery of new council homes), we also delivered a small number of homes for private market sale.
The delivery of Council-led housing in Rotherham town centre has required overcoming a number of challenges, including development viability in a relatively low-value market, the complexity of bringing forward brownfield sites, and the need to create a new residential market within a traditionally retail-focused centre. Success has depended on significant public sector investment, strong project management and complementary investment in leisure, culture and public realm to create an attractive and sustainable place to live.
Without the Council taking on the risks associated with site assembly, viability gaps and placemaking, much of the town centre residential offer that now exists would be unlikely to have come forward through the market alone. The market wasn’t failing because nobody wanted regeneration. It was failing because nobody could take the first step.
The Next Phase of Regeneration
Rotherham town centre is now entering a new phase of transformation, with significant opportunities emerging through the delivery of the Town Centre Masterplan and the Council’s programme of Strategic Sites. Building on substantial public sector investment already made across the town centre, the focus is now shifting towards creating an even stronger residential offer that complements new employment, leisure and cultural opportunities. It’s an approach that also helps to reduce the pressure on green belt development, given our National Planning Policy Framework housing delivery target has effectively been doubled.
A key driver of future growth will be the proposed Rotherham Gateway mainline station and the wider regeneration corridor that surrounds it. The station will reconnect Rotherham directly to national rail services, acting as a catalyst for investment, new jobs, commercial development and housing growth. Its strategic location between the town centre and the planned Bassingthorpe Farm development creates a unique opportunity to link a major new residential community with the town centre, supporting demand for new homes and reinforcing the role of the town centre as a key destination for living, working and leisure.
It’s in this context that the work being done by the Northern Housing Consortium’s Renew project is so important. Their recent report found that housing-led regeneration can unlock at least 500,000 good quality homes across the North of England, but only with the right support. In communities like mine, new sustainable housing developments are key to long-term regeneration – not just putting a lick of paint on existing infrastructure. That means that viability gaps will have to be filled. The state must be actively involved if the market is going to be able to deliver. We need advocates in national Government to fill the gap left by the last Government.
For Rotherham, investment in the town centre is not just a vital place-based regeneration programme, but also a catalyst for improving opportunities, health and quality of life across the surrounding neighbourhoods.
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