Green light for new “gateway” riverside park in Rotherham

A PUBLIC park beside the River Don — providing a “gateway” to Forge Island — has been given the green light.

The pedestrianised area will go from the flagship cinema development towards Corporation Street and Market Street.

Cllr David Sheppard, Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for social inclusion, said: “Riverside Gardens will transform an under-used site to fantastic public space which will allow residents to connect with the river and nature.

“It will be a great addition to the green spaces in the town centre, providing nearby residents with a space where they can meet and feel the benefits of nature.

“I am glad to see that the riverside, home to some of our favourite wildlife, will be easily accessed and enjoyed by all members of our communities.”

Forge Island — being funded by RMBC and delivered by Muse — will include the eight-screen Arc cinema, 69-room Travelodge and a range of restaurants and bars.

Following the success of the nearby fish pass on the Masbrough weir, Riverside Gardens will also support local wildlife by providing bat boxes and a tunnelled sand martin box along the river side.

The park will be paid for from the £12.6 million grant RMBC obtained from the government’s Future High Streets Fund.

Simon Moss, RMBC’s assistant director of planning, regeneration and transport, said: “More and more people are choosing to move into the town centre, thanks to the fantastic range of housing available at the nearby Westgate Chambers, Milford Rise, Westgate Riverside and Wellgate Place.

“With increasing numbers of people coming into the town centre, it makes business more viable and we are already starting to see new and independent businesses investing in Rotherham.”