Funding boost to speed up town's £11m revamp

An extra £200,000 has been awarded to support a major revamp of a town centre in South Yorkshire.

The extra funds were approved by Rotherham Council and will go towards an £11m project to revitalise the Laughton Road area of Dinnington.

The new funding was crucial to ensure the project, including new shop units, a town square, and a community building, stayed on track as it moved towards its extended completion date of 2028, according to a council report.

Local residents have previously been left frustrated by delays to the scheme since the original funding was awarded in March 2023.

Several buildings and market stalls, which the council has previously described as "underused" and "poorly maintained", were set to be demolished to make way for the development, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The project has been met with delays because the council does not own the land involved.

With land ownership fragmented and several private properties still to be acquired, the clearance process has proved complicated, slowing progress.

However, Rotherham Council announced at the beginning of the year that it planned to use its compulsory purchase powers to secure 24 parcels of land.

Those would include key sites such as the indoor market and Band Hall.

According to the report seen by councillors, the extra £200,000, from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's Feasibility Fund, would act as a financial cushion, meaning work could continue even if unexpected issues cropped up.

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