Present Day Rotherham
Rotherham is still largely an industrial town. Although steel is still made here it not tempered or forged in the vast quantities of old. The Anglo-Dutch company Corus who ran the large concerns in Rotherham has been taken over by the Indian company Tata Steel. From the middle of 2009 redundancies and closures are taking place within the steel plants in Rotherham. It is obvious to many people in town that these actions, blamed on the credit crunch, are initial manoeuvres preparatory to moving the whole show to India. I understand that most of the trade is in special steels. Many of the firms that used to buy steel for their manufactories like chain making and stove grates have also gone, yet there are others that have taken their place. The scrap metal, sorry, recycling companies, have always done well around here and continue to do so. In January 2009 Corus have announced redundancies in Rotherham due to the downturn in global demands for steel.
The last colliery at Maltby is still open but it is predicted to close in 2015 when the seam runs out. In 2009 Hargreaves Services who own the pit are intending to make a major investment here which will extend the working life of Maltby Colliery until 2025. There is a nice trade in opencasting and coal washing. When the last dregs of whatever the developers can squeeze out of some of the old pit sites has been squeezed they are supposed to leave nice, uncontaminated land suitable for the next lot of developers to come in to build housing and shopping centres.
Glass is still made here, as are nut confectioneries, but the flour milling operation has closed and the yard is used for distribution purposes. Many of the other old trades and industries are long gone.
Towards the end of the 20th Century, Rotherham became a major player in the call centre trade, as redeveloped light industrial sites attracted some high-tech industries. Many of the jobs offer nothing better than poor conditions, bad pay and no security, yet people stand for it because it is all there is. I have to say here that some folk are very happy working in such places - they are clean, warm and comfortable and much better than the chicken factory. For example in November 2006 advertised wages for Ventura Customer Service Advisors working late evenings are £12538pa plus Next benefits. This of course goes a long way to buying a house in Rotherham when a basic two-bedroom flat starts around £75,000. You would need to borrow 10 times this salary to afford a three-bedroom semi in a decent area.
There are innumerable firms on innumerable trading estates and in loads of workshops all over Rotherham sinking, swimming, struggling, surviving and succeeding across a broad range of industries. Having said this Corus announced 700 redundancies, and Burberry revealed that they were closing their Rotherham factory in April 2009 with a loss of 170 jobs.
Rotherham Town Centre 2009
I have to say that the centre of Rotherham get more like a ghost town every time I visit with Woolworths the latest of the large-scale casualties, following Rosebys. Burger King has closed, as has Birthdays, Bay Trading Company and so on The Market Hall is almost fully let in 2009 after several closures in 2008, but the except for the food stalls the outside market keeps on deteriorating. However I called for a browse around the bric-a-brac market twice in February 2009 an it was heaving both times. The Farmers' Market on the last Wednesday of the month is still going but the number of stalls attending are much reduced.
As for new shops opening in Rotherham centre there is Renoirs Lounge Bar in the Crofts, Ideal which is a home furnishings shop opposite Boots (now closed - didn't last long) and the new Wetherspoons refit of the Litten Tree now called The Corn Law Rhymer. Internaçionale have taken over the Mark One shop. B&m Bargains have taken over the old Woolies store.
A new town centre initiative started in March 2009 and details can be found at Rotherham Town Centre Inititative.
The South Grove Development 2009
The site of the old South Grove School and the land behind it as far back as the bottom of Grove Road has been filled by a variety of office buildings, though some of the space has been put to other uses. In April 2009 this looks to be in full use or close to it. A wander around revealed that parking in and around is an absolute nightmare so obviously no reasoned thought has been put into creating sufficient parking for people using the office space let alone the poor visitors to any of these firms.
The Imperial Buildings 2009
The Imperial Buildings have undergone a re-vamp. I took a good look at the outside and it seems as if a good lick of paint on the outside has been omitted from the refurbishment thus far. March 2009 the first residents have moved into the flats. Hope none of them have cars! The first three shops have been let under the town centre initiative but by September 2009 have not yet opened.
All Saints Buildings 2009
The old All Saints Building has been demolished in 2009.
The Cinema House 2009
The Cinema House on Doncaster Gate has been demolished in 2009.
Old Market and Keppel Wharf 2009
As for the new apartments and shops being built by Iliad the old market site and the old baths site (now Keppel wharf); these have been completed mid-2009 completion but I do not know how many of them have been purchased or let.
The Old Bestobell site 2009
The Rotherham Primary Care Trust has now opened on the old Bestobell site in January 2009
The Old Guest & Chrimes site 2009
This has been cleared except for the listed buildings but no redevelopment seems to be taking place so far.
The Waterfront, Wath upon Dearne 2009
In Wath upon Dearne part of the site of the old Manvers Main Colliery, coke works and Wath concentration yard will now be developed as the "Waterfront". This area around the lake was once earmarked as a country park but the lure of profit has proven too strong. The new development will consist of 471 homes and apartments, retirement homes, a pub, an hotel, retail facilities, business park and pay and play 9 hole golf course. Work has started in 2007 but has not yet got very far. When its done it won't leave much room for the walkers and cyclists so I guess we'll have to scrub it off our list of regular walks. In 2009 some of this has been put on a back boiler because of the recession.
Ron Hull opencast site at Parkgate
September 2009 the new B&Q store has opened. There are other buildings on the site for sale or to rent.
Moorgate
At the top of Hollowgate there are apartments being built where the old row of terraces was demolished. Part of the British Wagon offices has been demolished and that to is due to have apartments built on it along with the conversion of the old houses.
Other continuing gaps in the fabric of Rotherham in 2009 are the Old Henley Car Showrooms on the corner of Wellgate and Hollowgate. Good news is that Doncaster Gate Hospital has been acquired by Rotherham Council and is to be used for temporary office accommodation; also the Lombard building further up Moorgate has been acquired by Rotherham Hospital and will be used for some NHS service and for parking.