My World: Regenerating Rotherham

“I’m from a town near Sheffield.”

A classic quote people from Rotherham use when describing where they are from to people who aren’t familiar with the area.

Everyone must have heard someone use this line; on holiday, at a job interview, on social media.

Some people reading this may have even used it themselves, with the thought that no one will have heard of Rotherham so therefore they would cut the corner of explaining where Rotherham is by just going with the description from the off.

This quote always has the same impact on me as lines such as “I never go in the town centre.”

I’m sorry, but all three quotes mentioned above are doing Rotherham a massive injustice in my eyes, and here is why.

On pages 16 and 17 of this week’s Advertiser, Gareth Dennison gets behind the scenes of the recently renovated Three Cranes pub on the High Street, which is now Hamby’s Antiques.

This is the latest in a number of the outlets on the High Street to be given a new lease of life and what a fantastic street it now is.

Independent retailers, offering a variety of retailing needs, now occupy the street and it is once again becoming an eclectic mix of arts, crafts and artisan food outlets.

The fact that the Three Cranes is now a used building and in fabulous condition, as well as offering historical and educational elements, is another coupe for Rotherham’s great town centre, which can only get greater.

All it needs now is for the people who ‘never visit the town centre’ to give it a go, to bite the bullet and make a visit.

People travel from Rotherham to York, to Lincoln and to other historical towns.

I’m not saying that Rotherham is on their scale, I’m saying that it is making huge strides in the right direction and what it needs now is for the people of the town to back i t and get behind it.

So the next time you are free on a Saturday morning, why not try the Imperial Buildings or the High Street, if you haven’t been in Rotherham town centre for a few years, you could well be in for pleasant surprise.

What do you think to the High Street and surrounding areas in Rotherham town centre?

Let me know by tweeting @rotherhamtiser