£450,000 has been identified to complete the delayed pocket park and high-quality public space on the High Street in Rotherham.
Rotherham Council purchased the former Primark building on High Street in November 2020, using funding from the Towns Fund Accelerator programme after the Government awarded a £1m grant to kick start regeneration projects in Rotherham town centre.
Demolition work took place in June and the authority had set out to complete the park by September 2021.
Approved plans would see 0.08 hectares of the 0.24 hectares site turned into public space will have a stepped profile and proposals include astrotrufed terraces, seating and trees, as well as branding features such as the red scaffolding with black mesh proposed to encase the site. This could be a space for public artwork, and / or large branding and signage.
Also included in the plans are three "pods" on the site which would be occupied by food and beverage vendors.
Now with a revised target date of March 2022, officers are asking the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) to use its gainshare pot of funding for a grant of £350,000 towards a £450,000 scheme on Rotherham High Street.
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The summary for the scheme states: "Providing an attractive and accessible town centre will encourage more people to visit the area and specifically address current safety and perception issues associated with the site. Several private landlords had invested in properties on the High Street including apartment living above ground floor shop units before Primark vacated the unit.
"Confidence in the High Street began to fade as the unit sat unoccupied for several years, by removing what had become a large negative on the street and replacing with a pocket park it is hoped that confidence will return and future private investment in properties located adjacent to the site and along High Street will become more likely because of these improvements."
If approved, funding will be used for technical design work and construction works to deliver proposed landscape scheme.
The project is currently scheduled to commence on site January 2022 with works complete April 2022.
Subject to necessary planning consents, longer term plans include developing the site for town centre living.
Images: RMBC
Rotherham Council purchased the former Primark building on High Street in November 2020, using funding from the Towns Fund Accelerator programme after the Government awarded a £1m grant to kick start regeneration projects in Rotherham town centre.
Demolition work took place in June and the authority had set out to complete the park by September 2021.
Approved plans would see 0.08 hectares of the 0.24 hectares site turned into public space will have a stepped profile and proposals include astrotrufed terraces, seating and trees, as well as branding features such as the red scaffolding with black mesh proposed to encase the site. This could be a space for public artwork, and / or large branding and signage.
Also included in the plans are three "pods" on the site which would be occupied by food and beverage vendors.
Now with a revised target date of March 2022, officers are asking the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) to use its gainshare pot of funding for a grant of £350,000 towards a £450,000 scheme on Rotherham High Street.
Advertisement
The summary for the scheme states: "Providing an attractive and accessible town centre will encourage more people to visit the area and specifically address current safety and perception issues associated with the site. Several private landlords had invested in properties on the High Street including apartment living above ground floor shop units before Primark vacated the unit.
"Confidence in the High Street began to fade as the unit sat unoccupied for several years, by removing what had become a large negative on the street and replacing with a pocket park it is hoped that confidence will return and future private investment in properties located adjacent to the site and along High Street will become more likely because of these improvements."
If approved, funding will be used for technical design work and construction works to deliver proposed landscape scheme.
The project is currently scheduled to commence on site January 2022 with works complete April 2022.
Subject to necessary planning consents, longer term plans include developing the site for town centre living.
Images: RMBC