Rotherham Council sets aside £250,000 to push forward Bassingthorpe Farm ‘urban village’
215 hectares of former greenbelt land is set for redevelopment
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has allocated £250,000 from its annual budget to kick-start the next phase of the Bassingthorpe Farm development.
The 215-hectare Bassingthorpe Farm was removed from the Green Belt and designated for development in 2014.
The area, located in the northern part of the borough and in close proximity to the proposed new mainline station and town centre, is earmarked for a mix of housing, employment, and retail units. The site has been envisioned as the foundation for an ‘urban village’ with more than 2,400 homes, along with a school, medical facilities, and retail and employment opportunities.
Although RMBC owns only 25 per cent of the land, public sector intervention is deemed essential to drive forward the project.
The funding will be used to conduct essential pre-development activities, including viability assessments, infrastructure investigations, and the creation of a collaborative agreement with other landowners. It will also support the engagement of specialist legal and commercial advisors to guide the council through complex negotiations, and will help cover the cost of technical work to assess the project’s viability.
The development is expected to deliver between 1,750 and 2,500 new homes, as well as vital local amenities that will support the future needs of the community.
However, the financial implications for the borough’s long-term economic growth remain uncertain. A delivery model has yet to be finalised, and while the council is seeking additional funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
A council report states that the current funding of £328,993 ‘will be insufficient to progress the project now momentum has been re-established with the majority landowner’.
It adds: “Delivery is reliant upon the agreement of the majority landowners. Public intervention is required to ensure this happens and development of the project will be closely managed to manage the council’s expenditure exposure.”