LETTER TO THE EDITOR: SOS: On the brink town centre urgently needs help to survive

As a business owner in Rotherham I currently see the suffering of businesses and the destruction of the entire town centre with no help. There are allegedly 60-plus businesses left in the town centre with expected losses likely to push that to less than 30 by January 2023. There are several reasons but we need to understand why.

We have strangled the town centre to the point where there is no suitable parking

Under the current situation the Forge Island development has blocked any sufficient parking or encouragement to offer suitable alternatives.

The biggest town centre employer, RMBC, has now given staff the opportunity to work from home, depriving the town of all their support.

Rotherham has received funding and one special funding support was the High Street Fund, which has allegedly placed £1m with Grimm and Co. No other business has received any support or funding, and with this in mind where can any business reach out for funding or support?

As a business we put ourselves forward and relinquished opportunities to support the town centre regeneration, but in recent times I’ve watched businesses go to the wall and face uncertain hardships, risking bankruptcy, mental health and suicide in the hope of keeping their business afloat.

• The Primark Building has been demolished and abandoned, left with vagrants having fires, with the GW hotel and Yorkshire Bank facing the problem, and closed ears and eyes simple avoiding the area

• The markets look like an abandoned site

• Rhinos is burnt out (top left)

• Corporation Street buildings (middle left) are burnt out

• Cross Keys empty (bottom left)

• Moorgate Road abandoned.

The list is endless. The town centre has been described as a war zone. To my knowledge no business in the town has either been approached or discussed for funding either through rates or support.

This is your town and this is a representation of the entire borough. We all have to represent Rotherham town centre.

Some of the biggest buildings will slowly be destroyed and that will leave a lasting bad taste around the Forge Island development and will kill the rest. Someone needs to act.

With this in mind I believe there needs to be support and help in what avenues businesses can approach for help.

It has become more and more desperate and sad to see. I hope we can have a positive discussion towards a positive solution and find some help.

Mark McGrail, managing director sme-ltd.co.uk