Town aims to level up with bids for nearly £60m

If successful the money would be used to create a new Library and Community Hub in Wath with improvements to the surrounding area, improvements to Dinnington High Street and markets and to accelerate the growth of a new leisure industry. This would include projects at Wentworth Woodhouse, Thrybergh Country Park, Magna and Rother Valley Country Park.

A skills package would also see the creation of a new Skills Village at Gulliver’s Resort focusing on training, development, and accreditation within the hospitality and leisure sector.

Maltby Academy Trust would invest in the redevelopment of the former Maltby Grammar School to create an incubator space for training, apprenticeships and start up support in the leisure and hospitality sectors.

Funding has also been earmarked to help continue the regeneration of Rotherham Town Centre, focusing on two key areas, the Riverside Residential Quarter and the Leisure and Culture Quarter.

Towns were given the opportunity to bid by 18 June 2021, and the number of bids allowed was determined by the number of MPs in a town.

This means Rotherham had the opportunity to submit three bids – one of these with the agreement of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for jobs and the local economy, Councillor Denise Lelliott, said: “We have put together three bids that will reach out to all areas in Rotherham and help us to continue the progress we’ve already made to regenerate our town, create jobs and build a better borough.

“If the Government backs our bids it will provide much needed funding for local infrastructure as well as creating opportunities for people living and working across the borough.”

Rotherham Central MP, Sarah Champion, said: “The Levelling Up Fund is an opportunity to bring investment into our town and support our local communities.

“I hope the bid will be successful and that this money will be put to good use improving our communities and developing the local economy.”

Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford said: “I welcome that the council has pulled together a bid for Rother Valley and that our communities have a fair chance of winning their slice of this funding.

“Having lobbied very hard for our high streets and having been a strong advocate for using this money to rejuvenate them, I am pleased they will form a central part of our bid here in Rother Valley and I look forward to hearing the outcome.”

Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey said: “Rotherham Council and local groups have pulled out the stops to prepare these bids in the short time given by the Government.

“I hope the Government will give the go ahead for this funding – we certainly need it and will make very good use of it locally.”

Revealed in the Government’s Spending Review, the Levelling Up Fund aims to invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK.

The £4.8bn fund will support town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets.

Should the Rotherham bids be unsuccessful, the council has the opportunity to try again in later rounds.