Sitwell Ward Plan
Introduction
Providing vibrant, connected and safe neighbourhoods is a priority for Rotherham Council and communities are at the heart of everything we do. We were elected as your Sitwell Ward Councillors to listen to your views and work with you to make a difference in the local community.
We know many of our residents are passionate about making their community a better place to live and we are here to work in partnership and make these improvements a reality. In order to develop this Ward plan we spoke to you to find out what matters the most. We did this through a number of events and just by speaking to you whilst out and about in the community.
The priorities laid out in this plan will contribute to three key outcomes which are set out in ‘Thriving Neighbourhoods’, our neighbourhood strategy for 2018- 2025:
- Neighbourhoods are safe and welcoming with good community spirit
- Residents are happy, healthy and love where they live
- Residents use their skills and assets to contribute to the outcomes that matter to them.
We’re now looking forward to working together to make these priorities come to life. The Ward plan will be updated regularly and placed on the Council website so everyone can see what’s being achieved in Sitwell. If you haven’t yet been involved but want to have your say, it’s not too late. Our contact details are included on our ward page.
The Ward today
Households
There are 11,908 residents and 4,970 households - the population of Sitwell has reduced since 2011 reflecting the low amount of new housing
The ward has a significantly older age profile than Rotherham as a whole with 25% of residents aged over 65 years compared with the average of 19%.
11.5% of Sitwell residents were from a BME community in 2011, above the Borough average of 8.1%.
Deprivation
Sitwell is the least deprived ward in the borough and has only one significant pocket of deprivation at Whiston East i.e. the area around Greystones Road, which has a high proportion of council housing
The proportion of working age people claiming benefits in Sitwell is well below the Rotherham average, particularly the rate claiming due to worklessness which is half the average.
Health
Generally, Sitwell ward is much better than average for health and lifestyle indicators in terms of numbers of indicators better and worse. No indicators are significantly worse with nearly 15% significantly better.
Sitwell is slightly higher than the borough average for low birth weight births; children obese and overweight in Reception year (aged 4-5); and death rates from stroke
Education
Primary and GCSE attainment in 2014 were well above the Rotherham and national averages.
The proportion with higher level qualifications is well above the Rotherham average but just below the national average.
Crime and anti-social behaviour
Recorded crime and anti-social behaviour in Sitwell are well below the Rotherham average with anti-social behaviour being less than half the average.
Ward priorities
For the municipal year 2020/21 your ward councillors have taken a look at refreshing the local priorities to help meet the needs of the community. After consulting with partners, internal colleagues and, most importantly, the community, the following priorities have been agreed
- Work with partners to address isolation and loneliness, especially amongst those aged 65 plus years
- We will continue to work with Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency and the Council’s Streetpride service to reduce the number of and mitigate the impact of flooding incidents
- We will support new and existing groups, and local schools