Rotherham Council has announced the second phase of schemes to be funding through the “Our Places” Fund, part of a £4m package ringfenced in this year’s Council budget.
Communities across Rotherham will benefit from measures set to breathe new life into public spaces, enhance safety and maintain infrastructure across the borough.
In December last year, as part of the Council’s pledge to keep every neighbourhood thriving, Rotherham Council’s Cabinet approved the allocation of £2m of Council and £2m South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) funding.
Following borough-wide consultation and engagement with residents, which identified several important areas for improvement including the condition of shopping areas, maximising opportunities provided by underused land, cenotaphs and memorials and improving the experience of pedestrians, further schemes have now been confirmed.
The areas that will benefit from the package are:
- Swallownest will benefit from public realm improvements around Mason Avenue and Gray Avenue in response to resident concerns around anti-social behaviour. Work will include removing overgrown shrubbery, creating pathways, repairing and repainting railings with additional lighting, creating a better public space for the nearby housing estates.
- In Rawmarsh West, various locations across High Street and Haugh Road will benefit from public realm improvements, including repairs to damaged walls and improved seating areas.
- Lighting will be installed in underpasses and their vicinities in Masbrough in response to perceptions of safety, while localised flooding will be addressed by cleaning out drains and relevelling paved surfaces.
- Honouring Rotherham’s history and heritage, areas around cenotaphs, memorials and monuments in Greasbrough, Dinnington, Treeton, Wentworth and Thrybergh will be improved.
Earlier in the year, it was announced that the funding would be used to expand planned works to Maltby High Street public realm, so that it encompasses the full length of the high street and in Swinton centre, adding to private funding that has already been secured.
Councillor John Williams, Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, said: “We committed to invest in Our Places, and we are really grateful to all the people who took the time to take part in the consultation and suggest improvements that they wanted to see. Many of those suggestions have gone forward for consideration for other funding streams, but we’re now able to confirm a range of works that we intend to take forward across the borough.
“These latest proposals come on the back of our Towns and Villages projects, the major works planned for the centres of Wath and Dinnington, those underway at Rother Valley and Thrybergh Country Parks, nearly a million pounds worth of improvements to children’s play areas, and of course in the town centre too.
“We are committed to forging ahead and building a borough where every neighbourhood thrives, green spaces are clean and accessible, and people feel safe. So I’m pleased to be able to announce this latest programme of works as we forge ahead towards that goal.”
