This week, plans have been unveiled for new housing sites in Rotherham town centre which would deliver 171 homes. The proposals are due to be approved by Labour Councillors at the Council’s Cabinet meeting to be held later this month. 

The plans would build 171 brand new homes across three different sites in the town centre. These homes will include a range of ownership models from new council rent properties, shared ownership homes and new homes for market sale.

The town centre locations that have been identified are the Sheffield Road car park, Millfold House and the former Henley’s Garage site on Wellgate. Rotherham Council has been working with a partner to develop the plans for these locations and planning applications have been submitted for each one.

Cllr Dominic Beck – Labour’s Cabinet Member for Housing at Rotherham Council – has praised these plans and said:

“In Rotherham, we should be rightly proud that we have a Labour Council that is delivering on the biggest council house building programme in our borough for a generation.

 

“We have now published our exciting proposals for new housing sites right in the heart of our town centre. These radical plans will contribute to our wider efforts to regenerate Rotherham town centre.”

These sites are located in key gateway areas on approach into the town centre and will support the wider works to redevelop the centre as a whole. They are former industrial, brownfield sites and these housing plans will help ensure they are redeveloped and brought back into use for housing.

Rotherham Council will be funding these works from its’ Housing Revenue Account though they will also be supported with funding from external grants as well. Not only will the proposals bring much needed extra housing to the borough, they will also contribute the Council’s work to build more council properties for local residents.

Over the three different locations, a total of 92 properties for council rent are planned out of the total figure of 171 new homes. This includes a block of 23 council rented apartments on the former Henley’s Garage site which will be age-banded for residents over 50 years of age in order to provide more properties older people.

Cllr Dominic Beck has also said: “Labour Councillors are delivering on the redevelopment of our town centre and providing these new homes are a significant part of those plans. I am proud of our radical town centre housing proposals and it is a Labour Council that is succeeding in building brand new homes for local residents in Rotherham.”

Providing new town centre homes will contribute to the wider plans to regenerate our town centre. The redevelopment plans for Forge Island under the Town Centre Masterplan have begun which will bring about new social and leisure uses in the town centre which should encourage more people and demand. Building new town centre homes will support this demand and help ensure more people can live, socialise and use the town centre going forward.

These plans are due to be approved by Labour Councillors at the Rotherham Council Cabinet meeting, to be held on Monday 21 October 2019. You can read about these proposals in the Cabinet report ‘Council delivery of new homes on Rotherham town centre sites’ by using the button below.