Frustration at town centre revamp delay

An MP says he is "frustrated" that a scheme to revitalise a town centre will not be completed until 2026, three years after it was signed off.

Rotherham Borough Council was awarded £11m of Levelling Up funding in March 2023 to regenerate Dinnington town centre but it has encountered delays because it does not own the land.

The council hopes to start demolition work early next year and complete the whole scheme by autumn 2026.

The new Rother Valley Labour MP Jake Richards is calling a public meeting and claimed the council was not keeping residents and traders updated on what is happening.

He told the BBC: “I wrote to the council asking for an urgent update as to the status and timeframes of the project as it is frustrating, to put it mildly, that it is taking longer than we would want.

“I do appreciate that the scheme involves complex purchasing of private property and this does take time but the communication from the council has not been good enough up to this point."

The project includes replacing old buildings and market stalls with six new commercial units and a large community building. These would overlook a landscaped town square with new stalls.

The site currently has trees growing out of a burnt out building and an abandoned market.

Shopkeeper Julia Hall became both a Rotherham borough and a Dinnington town councillor because she wanted to make a difference.

She said: “We have been neglected for a number of years in Dinnington. We are really disappointed we have not seen any progress. I think by now at least the spades could have been in the ground but we're not seeing anything."

Fellow shopkeeper Fiona Walden, also a town councillor, said: “Dinnington hasn’t had any money spent in the area for many years and we are all looking forward to these improvements but it's not happening quick enough.”

A Rotherham Borough Council report said: “Lack of public sector control over land and assets is a key risk for the proposed intervention in Dinnington town centre.

“The scheme involves land owned and controlled by numerous private interests. In order to carry out the improvements, it is essential that the council acquires the land to deliver the redevelopment.

“Offers have been accepted in principle on several plots and negotiations on the remaining land and properties are ongoing.”