Annual Monitoring Report

27. The AMR is a convenient means of pulling out emerging issues on projects which will have a bearing on the Local Plan and the future monitoring framework. There are several key projects which, due to their large scale and potential impact, are mentioned in more detail here:

Waverley

28. Planning permission has been granted for a sustainable mixed use community with significant housing provision at the former open-cast mining site at Waverley (a major previously developed site), and development is now well under way. At the end of March 2023 approximately 1569 dwellings had been completed on the site with a further 153 under construction. The outline planning permission is for 3,890 new dwellings, and it is currently estimated that 720 dwellings will be delivered in the remaining Plan period to 2028.
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29. The completions achieved on site and, commitments and allocations remaining, have been assessed against the original signed S106 Planning Obligation and any subsequent variations to that S106 planning obligation. Work continues to further understand the implications of not achieving the full capacity of this site, as originally permitted, and to ensure the consequent amendments to the original signed section 106 planning obligation meet the needs of this newly created and emerging community. In xxx a review of this S106 planning obligation and all subsequent variations, has been conducted and this revised S106 planning obligation has now been signed.
     
30. Discussions in accordance with the Planning Performance Agreement, continue between the Local Planning Authority and the landowner - Harworth Estates.  The Council recognises the anticipated 3,890 dwellings originally permitted, cannot be achieved on site. Planning Permissions are however being sought for residential windfall sites outwith the original outline planning permission for Waverley New Community. Significant improvements to public transport are essential. Measures to mitigate congestion on the Parkway and M1 Junction 33 were completed in November 2022, to sustain the managed release of housing land.  Consideration is being given to expanding the primary school provided to serve the incoming residents to this new community, and planning permission has been granted for a new local centre to meet local needs, including for a medical practice.

Rotherham Town Centre

31. The Strategic Development Framework, produced in 2005, set out a masterplan for Rotherham town centre with a broad 25-year vision and 10 key goals. This was refreshed with the adoption in July 2016 of the Rotherham Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document, which reviewed progress to date and set out an up-to-date vision for the town centre and key moves required to achieve this. This was supplemented by a Masterplan (September 2017) which considers how the plans and aspirations for the town centre can be implemented, taking account of the viability and deliverability of proposals, in order to turn the vision and plans into reality.
     
32. The Council has demonstrated its commitment to proactive regeneration by:

• Securing a development partner (Muse Developments Ltd) to deliver a mixed-use leisure quarter including an 8-screen cinema and a 69-room hotel complemented by restaurants, bars and public spaces on Forge Island and the adjoining former magistrates' court site. Completion of Forge Island is anticipated in summer 2024.
• Planning permissions have been granted for the development of Riverside Garden and Rotherham Markets. Helping to deliver new housing developments in the town centre and at Westgate.
• Seeking funding opportunities to help deliver public realm and townscape improvements.

The Council monitors Rotherham Town Centre on a quarterly basis, recording the use class of each unit within both the centre and Primary and Secondary Shopping Frontages. The rate of vacant units and floorspace is also recorded and monitored for any changes.  In addition to various lockdowns closing businesses temporarily, several businesses went into administration, both factors shrinking the retail sector nationally. In Rotherham, easy access to the Meadowhall Centre in Sheffield and Parkgate Retail Park outside Rotherham Town Centre has caused a long decline in the retail sector. All these factors are reflected in Rotherham’s vacancy figures which have not recovered from pre-Covid rates.

In 2023, the vacancy rate in both units (and floorspace) has gradually reduced from 26.5% (24.8% of floorspace) in January to 24.7% (24% of floorspace) in October. This is due to a loss of two units due to a fire at the end of 2022 and an increase in independent businesses within the town centre. These figures remain above the average vacancy rate in UK high streets and regionally in Yorkshire & Humber.

Rotherham Town Centre is currently undergoing significant regeneration, in particular the leisure development nearby at Forge Island, Corporation Street and Eastwood Lane. This raises concern that the vacancy rate recorded does not demonstrate a true picture of the current strength of the retail sector in Rotherham.

The Council records the same data for the other Town and District Centres (as defined in the Local Plan). The vacancy floorspace data for each centre is shown in the table below.

Bassingthorpe Farm

33. Bassingthorpe Farm will provide a sustainable urban extension for the wider Rotherham Urban Area in accord with its status as a Strategic Allocation in the adopted Core Strategy (2014). It is anticipated that Bassingthorpe Farm will provide around 2,400 new homes, however delivery of new homes will go beyond this Plan period (up to 2028) into the next. It is anticipated to take twenty years to build out this new community. The strategic allocation also provides for around 10 hectares of employment land together with associated strategic infrastructure, including contributions to local schools and provision of a new primary school on site in the second phase of development.
     
34. Currently work is underway to prepare a draft Supplementary Planning Document to guide the submission of any forthcoming outline planning application.  Consultation on a draft of this SPD is anticipated in late 2024. The Bassingthorpe Farm strategic allocation is shown as an “inset” boundary on the Policies Map that accompanies the Sites and Policies document, and reference should be made to the Core Strategy Policy CS1 for more details regarding the delivery of this strategic allocation. Site Development Guidelines are included within the adopted Sites and Policies Local Plan (2018).