High street '10 years too late' - ex-councillor

A new high street will be opened "10 years too late", a former councillor has said after its launch faced delays.

Shops and facilities on Olive Lane in the Waverley housing estate in Rotherham are expected to open in early 2025.

Firas Miro, a former Rotherham councillor who lives in Waverley, said residents had been waiting a long time.

He said: "People who bought their houses in 2015 were told that there would be facilities to use locally and that hasn't happened."

There are almost 4,000 homes on the site of the former Orgreave Colliery, which will soon have a medical centre, supermarket, bus station and community centre.

Mr Miro said: "People are keen to see something happening there. The road is pretty much finished. I don't think we have a date. I think it will be sometime in the new year.

"We are very keen to have some shops. There is going to be a GP surgery, a pharmacy and possibly a Tesco Express."

The scheme also includes improvements to the existing public transport infrastructure.

Developers Harworth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service its original plans had been altered due to "struggles" following Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, which had meant "very little investment in retail floorspace".

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