Fresh Whitehall cash to help regenerate Maltby and boost the High Street
ROTHERHAM is to get £20m to be spent in Maltby over the next decade – with a one-off payment of £1.5m to help boost the High Street in town.
The Government is investing £5bn in such schemes nationally, with decisions about how the money is spent to be driven by local consultations.
Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, Cllr Victoria Cusworth, said: “After 14 years of Conservative neglect, communities like Maltby are finally being seen, heard, and invested in.
"Thanks to our Labour Government, Maltby is set to receive £20 million over 10 years through a new Plan for Neighbourhoods – a transformative initiative aimed at rebuilding areas long left behind. “This is long-term funding for part of Rother Valley that the Tories never gave us in their 14 years. It’s not a one-off gesture – it’s a decade-long commitment to sustained regeneration, rooted in local priorities.”
The town centre investment has been welcomed by Rotherham MP Sarah Champion, with the funding coming from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
It has been awarded under the Pride of Place programme, designed to help beleaguered communities flourish.
Under the “Pride in Place” programme, local communities are due to receive powers aimed at revitalisation of high streets, creating new spaces for local people and saving local treasures such as pubs or libraries.
Those measures are the largest transfer of power from Whitehall to communities under this Labour Government’s Plan for Change.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed said: “Yes, communities have been stretched – but they haven’t given up. They’re working hard to make things better, and we’re backing them.”
“The Government is putting power into their hands so local people decide how best to restore pride in their neighbourhoods.”
Ms Champion said: “This funding is really welcomed, as is the fact that it is for Rotherham people to decided how it is spent.
“Sadly, we have seen our High Street deteriorate over the decades.
“This money is a recognition of the immediate support needed to address issues that matter locally in Rotherham and I can’t think of a better place to start than the High Street.”