10,000 more holiday activity opportunities for children, further investments in high streets and a pilot of half price swimming for the over 65s.
These all form part of Rotherham Council’s budget proposals for 2026/27, as councillors look to improve the quality of life for residents in the borough.
Over the next 12 months, the Council is planning to invest in areas which residents have said are important to them during a number of public consultations and feedback sessions.
For the seventh year in a row council tax is expected to rise by less than the government’s referendum limit, choices which will save some households more than £100 next year.
Changes to the way that the government funds local authorities means that Rotherham is expected to receive some £9.2 million in extra funding next year above what it had previously expected.
However, rising social care costs will require a £13.4 million uplift across Children’s and Adult Services. Social care accounts for about 60% of the Council’s expenditure.
Amongst the other proposals:
- More opportunities for children and young people: Investment into the Healthy Holidays programme will create an additional 10,000 free day places for children across a range of activities during the school holidays, adding to those already available to children in receipt of free school meals. A further £100,000 is proposed to create thousands more universal youth work places across the borough, backed by £280,000 of capital investment in new youth outreach and engagement vehicles.
- Thriving Neighbourhoods: A new team is proposed to support High Street businesses in Rotherham’s principal towns (Dinnington, Maltby, Swinton and Wath) as well as the town centre to flourish, providing business advice and support, liaising with other council services, and facilitating local promotions and events. At the same time, a £119,000 investment will support the Council’s Events team to deliver a full programme in 2026/27, building on a 13% increase in attendance at events over the last few years, bringing together people from across the borough. Capital investments in a new building at Ulley Country Park and replacement of the running track at Herringthorpe, alongside additional staffing for Rother Valley Country Park and a pilot to halve the cost of swimming in the borough’s four leisure centres for people aged over 65 will also help more people to stay active in our communities.
- A cleaner borough: A £272,000 investment will double the Council’s Roadside Cleansing team, clearing litter from grass verges across Rotherham, while £129,000 is proposed to improve Household Waste Recycling Centres including by providing an on-site re-use shop. Household Bulky Waste collection charges are also proposed to be frozen.
- Better and safer roads: Rotherham will share an additional £7 million of government road resurfacing investment next year, fixing scores of local roads. The Council is also proposing a £4.4 million package of investment to repair the parapet at Old Flatts Bridge and repair other highways structures, as well as multiple minor other works. Funding is proposed to be made available to design improvements to Treeton Lane crossroads ready for implementation, and to develop ward-specific road safety plans, in preparation for further investment through the government’s new road safety strategy.
- Nobody Left Behind: Last year, the Council’s Welfare Rights team, funded by MacMillan, secured more than £4 million for local residents living in the aftermath of a cancer diagnosis. Unfortunately, the national scheme is being scaled back due to funding shortages. So it’s proposed that in Rotherham the Council will step in and provide up to £135,000 of funding to continue the service for local residents.
A new dedicated team is also proposed to step up activity in the borough’s six selective licensing areas (covering parts of Eastwood and Clifton, Masbrough and Kimberworth, Thurcroft, Dinnington, Brinsworth and Parkgate). £462,000 a year is proposed to provide dedicated civil enforcement in public spaces, as well as direct support and engagement to tenants, and capital investment for physical improvements to be prioritised in partnership with tenants, residents, landlords and local ward councillors. The proposal will work alongside the housing inspection and enforcement activities already committed to by the Council.
The Council has proposed to balance its budget with a 1.95% in the basic rate of Council Tax increase plus a 2% Council Tax increase in the Adult Social Care Levy (a total of 3.95%).
Rotherham Council Leader, Councillor Chris Read, said: “For the second successive year we have seen additional government funding starting to return to Rotherham and while it’s safe to say that there is more to do, we are a long way from the depths of ten of millions of pounds of annual cuts that we faced not so long ago. That means that we can put more resources towards the things that residents told us are important, on the side of our families, businesses and communities. We can begin to improve the quality of life of residents by investing in our parks and high streets, step up efforts to keep our streets clean and tackling the kind of anti-social behaviour that blights some of our neighbourhoods.
“We remain acutely conscious of the cost of living pressures that so many of us are facing. So in setting council tax we have tried to balance those worries against the needs of local services. For the seventh successive year we are proposing an increase below the maximum allowable. Those choices will save a Band D council taxpayer £135 a year, each year going forward. We believe this to be the lowest increase proposed by any Yorkshire council this year so far.”
Budget proposals will be presented to Cabinet on Monday 9 February before going to Full Council for final approval on Wednesday 4 March.
For more information, read the cabinet report here: https://moderngov.rotherham.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=105813&PlanId=0&Opt=3#AI103508
