Rotherham Active Travel Projects Put on Hold to Prioritise Mainline Rail Return

Several planned active travel schemes in Rotherham are to be paused as funding is redirected towards restoring mainline rail services to the town, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has confirmed.

The decision affects projects funded through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) and follows government approval for the Rotherham Gateway Station project to move forward to a full business case stage as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Council leader Chris Read explained that the original CRSTS programme was developed without the Gateway Station scheme, after repeated requests to the previous government for permission to include funding for a full business case were unsuccessful. To meet funding criteria at the time, alternative transport projects were therefore added to the programme.

As a result of the revised priorities, several active travel initiatives are now being mothballed. These include proposals at Worrygoose Roundabout in Wickersley, where nearly £4.9m of improvements had been planned, such as bus priority measures and safer pedestrian and cycle crossings. Plans for the Wickersley and Brecks Active Travel Neighbourhood, which aimed to introduce low-traffic “liveable” streets and strengthen links to the borough’s cycling network, have also been paused.

In addition, work at Ickles Roundabout has been halted. That scheme was intended to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists through new crossings, realigned routes and traffic-calming measures, while also addressing congestion and flood risk associated with nearby development.

Cllr Read said the Gateway Station approval represented a major milestone for Rotherham. He noted that the town has been without a mainline rail connection for more than four decades and said the project offered far wider benefits than rail alone, including direct integration with the tram-train network, new jobs, housing delivery and renewed investment along the Don Valley corridor.

He added that while the paused schemes could be revisited in future funding rounds, the council’s priority is to support what it views as a nationally significant project that will deliver long-term benefits for the borough and its communities.