Leisure quarter outlined in town’s ‘masterplan’
Rotherham Council have teamed up with planning consultancy WYG to launch a masterplan to revitalise the town centre.
Major development in the form of a leisure quarter at Forge Island, a new leisure attraction at Guest & Chimes as well as outdoor spaces and residential areas has been planned.
The Forge Island development will include a cinema, hotel, restaurants and potentially a theatre and more than 350 high quality riverside homes have been planned, as well as an outdoor market.
A higher education development at Doncaster Gate is already scheduled to open in September 2018.
Along with WYG, Lambert Smith Hampton have spent the last nine months consulting on the plans.
Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Jobs and the Local Economy Cllr Denise Lelliott said: “The masterplan contains a series of proposals and plans, which brings to life how the town is moving forwards, utilising its river and canal, its open spaces and its feature buildings. At the heart of the plan is to create a much-improved visitor experience with more to do and to see.”
Project director Andrew Clarke said: “It has been excellent to see the level of interest in a town from the development industry. Investors have been asking about progress throughout the evolution of the masterplan. Our challenge now is to translate that interest into built development on the ground and to do so quickly. Rotherham Town Centre requires transformational change and the masterplan will deliver this through a partnership of the Council and the private sector.”
Rotherham Council’s Strategic Director Regeneration and Environment Damien Wilson said WYG Group had effectively produced a masterplan which would re-invigorate Rotherham but that was also realistic to ensure the projects could be delivered.
He said: “This project has never been about just getting a masterplan in place, but getting one that is deliverable and viable. The plan brings ambition but also a pragmatic approach, which will require the Council, private sector and investors to work closely together. The Council’s role will be to enable the transformation of the town centre, by drawing in external funding, providing planning certainty and working with potential investors.”
Rotherham is home to more than 270,000 people and the town’s Growth Plan – which is jointly owned between Rotherham Council and the Local Strategic Partnership – commits to growing the borough’s economy and infrastructure by generating 10,000 new private sector jobs and creating 750 new businesses.
A masterplan exhibition will take place in All Saints’ Square (in the old ‘Thornton’s’ unit) on Wednesday, 28 June from 11am until 7pm.
