Rotherham Borough Council will use £62,975 of a government grant to cover the costs of responding to the public disorder that took place at a Manvers hotel in August.

The Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, its occupants and staff were attacked when a demonstration degenerated into violence which saw more than 60 police officers hurt and the hotel so badly damaged it had to be taken out of use.

The disorder began the night after a stabbing attack in Southport, in which three children attending a dance class were killed.

South Yorkshire Police estimated that 700 people were in attendance at the Holiday Inn at Manvers on August 4.

Anti-migration protesters are seen during riots outside of the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, which is being used as an asylum hotel, on August 4, 2024 in Rotherham. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

To date, South Yorkshire Police has identified 164 suspects. Of these, 76 individuals have been convicted and sentenced, while 14 suspects remain under police bail as enquiries continue. Additionally, the force’s Major Crime Unit has identified 15 more suspects.

The council’s costs, covered by the Government’s £600,000 Community Recovery Fund allocated to Rotherham, include staff time, repair work, and additional measures to improve the security of the area.

The fund, part of a national £15 million initiative, is aimed at helping communities recover from the disorder and is expected to be used before the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

This funding is part of a broader recovery programme to restore civic pride, promote community cohesion, and support local safety measures in the wake of the disturbances.

During yesterday’s (December 16) RMBC council meeting, Councillor Chris Read, leader of the council, said: “Fortunately, in the wake of such terrible activity, the government stepped in with some grant funding to help support councils with the cost of clean up operations and responding to the violence, but also to assist us with community cohesion activity in the borough more widely.

“We appreciate the fact that the government has said that the hotel at Manvers will no longer be used to house asylum seekers, which is really important, and we’re glad that they’ve listened to the arguments that we made around that.”

Coun Read added that the council will work with communities in Rotherham to make sure the money is ‘well spent’, and to ensure that ‘everybody feels that Rotherham is their home, a place where they can be safe’.

The funding will support several initiatives across Rotherham, including:

£15,000 for a restorative justice project, working with victims and perpetrators to address the root causes of the disorder
£10,000 for Manvers community recovery, which will fund events and activities to strengthen community ties.
£180,000 for a community cohesion fund, which will focus on activities that ‘bring people from different backgrounds together’.
£30,000 for a series of challenge events aimed at uniting young people from diverse backgrounds through positive activities.
£45,000 to improve public safety at town centre events through the purchase of safety equipment.

Rotherham riots: Council to get £60,000 of government funding to help with clean up costs