Rotherham residents getting a ‘rotten deal’ over council money being ‘dumped in town centre’ says opposition councillor

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has proposed spending £2 million over the next two years to continue buying key land and properties in the town centre and surrounding areas, as part of its plans to redevelop and improve the town centre.

This new funding builds on an earlier £3 million allocated over two years.

The aim of these purchases is to make sure land and properties in the town are developed properly, rather than left empty or falling into disrepair.

By acquiring such sites, a budget report states that the council can ensure they are used for important regeneration projects, which will help revitalise the town and support long-term growth, such as the new Mainline Railway station proposals.

However, Councillor Joshua Bacon questioned why the money was being directed at town centre projects when residents had expressed a desire for more spending on road safety.

“From my understanding, that is for buying up properties when they come on the market in the town centre. If you look at the consultation which only 54 people responded to which is a real shame and could be a failure on the council, residents did mention reducing spending on vanity projects, and they mentioned improvements on road safety,” coun Bacon told yesterday’s meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee.

“So, allocating another £2m on buying what could be random buildings in the town centre, ringfencing that money just for that – why have you gone with that decision, instead of looking at this money and allocating it for improvements for road safety?

“I think, really, a lot of people are going to get from this, that they’re getting a rotten deal. That they’re paying well over a grand, at least, in council tax, and they are seeing the dumping of their money into the town centre, rather than on the basics that the council should be delivering such as road safety.”

In response, Councillor Chris Read, leader of RMBC, defended the decision, explaining that the funding was not specifically ring-fenced for the town centre but was part of the council’s ongoing regeneration efforts.

“We need to buy land and property in the town centre in order to facilitate the regeneration project we are committed to,” he told the meeting.

“You comment on the 50-some people who took part in the budget priorities consultation, if you look at the council plan consultation that’s coming forward, where we had something like 2,000 responses, the top wish for the future of Rotherham was town centre regeneration.

Councillor Read argued that revitalising the town centre was essential for the future of Rotherham, citing that the council owns very little land in the area, which has made progress on development slower in recent years.

“I don’t think any of us think that the town centre is the kind of thriving place that we would like it to be. We think it’s reasonable to continue with a prudent amount of money each year in order to facilitate that.

He also pointed out that the council has already set aside funds for road safety improvements, with a programme in place to address local neighbourhood road safety needs. “We set out two years ago a programme of additional capital investment, over and above the nationally available funding in our local neighbourhood road safety programme. We’re about halfway through delivering that,” Councillor Read added.

Coun Read added that the council’s proposed budget will give Rotherham residents ‘probably the lowest council tax rise anywhere in Yorkshire again this year, that allows us to prioritise basic services in communities’.