Rotherham
Town Centre
21/07/2010
Rotherham town centre
The creation of a new town centre residential market has kick-started regeneration in the Westgate area. The housing is of high quality and appeals to young professionals wanting to live in the centre of Rotherham, whilst working in South Yorkshire. The new build housing is of mixed tenure and affordable and this investment in Rotherham’s housing market has attracted a further £16 million of Housing Corporation funding and an estimated £120 million of private sector funding.
Transform South Yorkshire (TSY) is one of the organisations that has invested in the regeneration of the area around All Saints Square as part of a twenty five year vision for the town that aims to link dynamic, exciting new architecture with the town’s existing assets such as the riverfront, All Saints Church and the Imperial Building.
TSY has funded two apartment and retail developments in the town centre’s Westgate Demonstrator Project – The Old Market and Keppel Wharf – which have begun to change the look and desirability of the area and are bringing working professionals to live in the heart of the town centre.
In addition to this, over 10 hectares of brownfield land have been assembled through acquisitions in Rotherham, leading to the clearance of unsustainable tenements and demolition of buildings that had become run down. The programmes are continuing to support the housing market in Rotherham and in turn the local building industry to push through the economic recession.
Rotherham is an award winning town
The hard work to regenerate Rotherham’s town centre has been recognised by a number of awards –
• RTPI Yorkshire Regional Planning award 2008
• Local Government Partnership Working Award 2008
• Beacon Status for ‘Better Public Places’ 2008
The Entrepreneurs
Rotherham entrepreneurs bring about a renaissance in town centre shopping
Rotherham’s town centre renaissance is step closer as an art gallery and a number of boutique shops open in and around the impressively revamped Imperial Building.
Transform South Yorkshire (TSY) is one of the organisations that has invested in the regeneration of the area around All Saints Square as part of a twenty five year vision for the town that aims to link dynamic, exciting new architecture with the town’s existing assets such as the riverfront, All Saints Church and the Imperial Building.
Part of the vision for Rotherham is for the town to become a desirable location that people choose to live and work in. TSY has funded two apartment and retail developments in the town centre’s Westgate Demonstrator Project – The Old Market and Keppel Wharf – which have begun to change the look and desirability of the area and are bringing working professionals to live in the heart of the town centre.
The beautifully restored Imperial Building is located opposite The Old Market and Danielle Roden, owner of Yella Brick Road an independent vintage shop inside the Imperial Building, says the building brought her back to work in her home town: “I lived in Thailand for a number of years and I had my own shop on a little island there. I would never have imagined myself working in Rotherham town centre but I remembered loving the Imperial Building when I was a child and when I saw it being re-developed, I knew that I wanted to open a shop inside the building.
She added, “It’s a lovely place to work and I hope that when the other shops open in a couple of weeks time it really takes off and it’s the start of a great new phase for this part of Rotherham.”
Danielle’s shop occupies 35 square-metres inside the Grade II listed building and sells a selection of vintage, couture and high street clothing. Her stock is sourced from locations around the world including Thailand and America but she also visits local vintage fairs and the shop adds a touch of glamour to the growing retail community.
Two boutique clothes shops are planned for the site – one for men and one for women - and an art gallery, which will take its place in the central arcade. Rotherham Open Arts Renaissance (ROAR) will be using the space as an exhibition space for public art by local artists.
