£20m Levelling Up snub is 'bitter blow' to Rotherham's ambitions

Rotherham Council prepared a second bid for almost £20 million last summer after the schemes were initially rejected by the government in October 2021.

At Dinnington, the money would have been used to clear burned out buildings, invest in the outdoor market and create a new square of food and drink outlets.

In Wath, the library would have been demolished and replaced with a “mixed-use building.”

Rotherham Council leader Cllr Chris Read said: “The Conservative government has again snubbed the communities of Dinnington and Wath, and refused to grant much needed funding for South Yorkshire’s buses. 

“It is a bitter blow to our ambitions for the borough, but when you look at the pattern of places granted funding it's also clear that it is no accident. 

“The Tories know the game is up for them in South Yorkshire and they aren’t even pretending they’re interested in our part of the world any more.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Dinnington last June, when the then-chancellor was shown around Dinnington by Rother Valley’s Conservative MP Alexander Stafford.

Mr Stafford blamed the bid’s failure on RMBC for linking Dinnington to the scheme at Wath.

He said: “I have serious doubts about whether a library contributes to levelling up, but the combination of bids meant that if one element failed, so did the other. 

“I was always very sceptical as to why these such different plans were lumped together.

"We also know there wasn’t a full public consultation with the public to ascertain what the public wanted or needed. 

“I do not know yet if these are the reasons for failure, but we do know that it failed previously due to RMBC’s lack of clarity in the bid on match funding. We will get full feedback in due course.

“My view remains that Rotherham Council does not have a vision or plan for Rother Valley.”

Cllr Read responded: “It must be remembered that this bid was personally endorsed by Alexander Stafford, who brought Rishi Sunak himself to Dinnington to sell it to him.”

Other areas of the borough have received a total of about £40 million through the Levelling Up scheme so far.

Levelling Up minister Dehenna Davison has said there will be another round of funding.