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Present Day Rotherham
Rotherham is still largely an industrial town. Although steel is
still made here it it not tempered or forged in the vast quantities of old. The Anglo-Dutch company Corus who runs the large concerns in Rotherham has been taken over by the Indian
company Tata Steel. I would imagine that, in the long term, this is likely to mean the end of steel in Rotherham. 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.
The last colliery at Maltby is still open but it is predicted to close in 2015 when the seam runs out. 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, and flour is still milled as it has been since the town began, but many of the other old trades and industries are long gone. KPNuts, part of the United Biscuit Group has been taken over in 2006.
Towards the end of the Twentieth 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.
I have noticed that in 2006 and 2007 there have been quite a few new restaurants opening in and around Rotherham. Obviously there is a lot of confidence in this sector of the market.
Business in Rotherham 2007
However you look at it in 2007 Rotherham is still a town centre full of building societies, charity shops, cheap clothing stores and training agencies, oh and a newcomer coming up quickly on the outside, mobile phone shops. A new card shop has opened September 2006; by my reckoning there must be at least a dozen places to buy birthday cards in Rotherham centre so this category is becoming a serious contender.
The only street in Rotherham town centre that seems to have any get up and go about it is Wellgate. It is probably no coincidence that it is not pedestrianised and there is on street and off street car parking as well as a multi storey car park. As it is a little out of the centre there are probably cheaper rents and rates as well. To give you some idea of what the costs of settling up business in the centre of Rotherham might be I'll take the old Marks and Spencers store in College Street; a large 1920s building over three floors. It is rumoured that the rent is £250,000 per annum, just a cool quarter of a million quid, with £100,000 business rates on top. Refurbishment costs could well run around £750,000. You can work it out for yourself that you'd need one hell of a turnover to recoup these sorts of costs.
New Sports Facilities in Rotherham 2007
In June 2007 the contracts have been signed to start work on Rotherham's new sports facilities.
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St Ann's Swimming and Leisure Complex - Work is due to commence in July 2007 with a projected opening date of November 2008.
St Ann's September 2007
- Maltby Leisure Centre - Pool, leisure facilities, service centre with council help desks and doctor's surgery. To be finished by 2009.
- Swimming pool at Wath - To be completed in 2008.
- Swimming pool at Aston - To be completed in 2008.
Looks like these have been funded by PFIs (Private Finance Initiatives) so the Rotherham Rate Payers will be paying for them for a long, long time to come.
These are other projects under way in September 2007:–
The Rotherham Renaissance Scheme
Work has started on the Old Market site (Domine Lane car park), the Old Baths site, and a site now called Keppel Wharf off Market Street (the old abbattoir site with a much prettier name). As far as I can remember each of these site is to be a mixture of residential accomodation, offices and retail units. You won't be stuck for somewhere to live in the town centre but you'll probably be stuck for somewhere to park you car, and if you aren't, your friends, family and guests will be.
The Imperial Buildings are undergoing a revamp. It is expected that this will be completed in March 2008 and will provide 19 apartments with retail space on the ground floor.
The River Don Flood Alleviation Scheme
Work is under way on Phase One of the scheme between Templeborough (Magna) and the Centenary way roundabout; it is expected that this will be completed in 2008. Phase Two is is the planning stage. The resulting wetland areas will be managed by the Sheffield Rotherham Wildlife Trust.
The Old Bestobell site
The Rotherham Primary Care Trust is to move most of its services from the old, draughty and probably listed Doncaster Gate Hospital to a new building they have just commissioned from St Pauls Developments. This is to be built on the old Bestobell site next to Bailey House and it is hoped that this will be open by July or August 2008. Problems are the amount of traffic which this is likely to generate in an area of town with restricted vehicular access, not to mention a funny road system, and the fact that on site parking will be restricted. The powers that be in the Primary Care Trust seem to think that most of their patients (and the staff I presume) will use the nearby bus station. I don't think so! There are plans to improve the junction of Greasbrough Road and Greasbrough Street and I wait with bated breathe to see just how this will work. In September 2007 it looks as if work has started.
The Old Guest & Chrimes site
In July 2007 work is under way to clear the old buildings (but not the listed ones) from the site. The various plans for its redevelopment can be read in the Future of Rotherham.
The Waterfront, Wath upon Dearne
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 nor 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.