Parks at heart of Levelling Up cash

The government grant will also see improvements at Rother Valley Country Park, Wentworth Woodhouse, Magna, Gulliver’s Valley and Maltby Academy.

At Thrybergh, phase one of the refurb project will see a new destination waterside cafe and improvements to the public realm and visitor facilities.

Rotherham Council is keen to develop the beauty spot’s rising reputation as a venue for national open water swimming competitions.

An engagement event takes place at the park on Saturday from noon to 3pm for residents and visitors to give their thoughts.

Cllr David Sheppard, Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for social inclusion, said: “Our parks and green spaces are one of the great things about our borough, and we want to ensure that this funding makes our country parks even better for the people that use them, so I hope everyone will have their say on these exciting proposals.

“We want to help local people get the full economic benefits too, so it’s important to me that there will be chances for people to access training and gain new skills to improve their career opportunities as part of our investment plans.”

Other engagement events are planned to showcase the proposed changes to Rother Valley Country Park.

Rotherham secured the £20 million grant to create new jobs and celebrate “hidden gems” and green spaces unique to Rotherham’s heritage, with the aim of transforming the borough into a major leisure destination.

The funding will also be used to transform part of Wentworth Woodhouse’s stable block to include a large commercial kitchen, cafe and events space.

Magna will benefit from a suite of new exhibitions focusing on sustainability and climate change, linked to Stem science, technology, engineering and maths \_ learning.

Meanwhile, a “skills village” will be created at the Gulliver’s Valley theme park to boost training, development and accreditation in the leisure and hospitality sector.

And Maltby’s old grammar school is being preserved as an “incubator space” providing facilities for training, apprenticeships and business start-up support.