The Government made an announcement in May 2002 to establish nine housing pathfinder intervention areas, of which South Yorkshire has been identified as one. This includes North Sheffield, North and Central Rotherham, South Barnsley and West Doncaster. The announcement followed from a proposals submitted by the National Housing Federation identifying the need for massive and long-term intervention into areas with housing market failure in the North of England and Midlands. These are areas with large scale housing abandonment and large areas of empty or hard to let properties.

Each of the nine housing pathfinder areas is to receive a £2.66 million share of total £25 million of the Government’s Capital Modernisation Fund for Housing Market Renewal. To receive this money, each area is required to prepare and submit a Housing Market Restructuring Scheme to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and prior to this, an outline prospectus, which will be developed by partners within the pathfinder intervention area. The scheme’s purpose is to set out what action should be taken to restructure the housing market within the area over a 10-15 year period – in Rotherham’s case, the South Yorkshire area. Other public and private investment will be sought to ensure a comprehensive and coherent approach.

The developing prospectus in South Yorkshire has three strategic objectives around: better quality housing, wider housing choice and more successful neighbourhoods. For more information about the developing prospectus you can visit www.gos.gov.uk/goyh. In Rotherham, partners are currently preparing Area Development Frameworks which will set out the detail as to how the strategy will be implemented in our intervention areas. These areas include: Rotherham Town Centre; a corridor from Rotherham Parkgate to Rawmarsh; an area to the west of Rotherham, including Greaseborough, Kimberworth, Holmes, Masborough, Thornhill and Canklow; an area to the east of Rotherham, including Wellgate, Herringthorpe, Clifton, Eastwood and Dalton; and Rotherham Dearne Valley towns.

Further information about the Area Development Frameworks being developed in Rotherham is available from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. Contact Dominic Blaydon, Strategic Housing Partnership Manager:

Telephone: 01709 310 489
E.mail: housingmanager@rotherhamnow.co.uk