The first of the local schemes to be delivered as part of Labour’s local Towns and Villages Fund works began in Greasbrough last week.

The new development will be named ‘Brimmagen Fold’, which is based on historic mapping, and will include a new feature entrance with seating, widened footpaths to improve accessibility, tree planting and railings to deter vehicles from entering the green space.

The works will also make better use of the currently underutilised green space between the two sites to make trips between the park and recreation ground safer and more pleasant for residents.

The Towns and Villages Fund has been specifically earmarked by Rotherham Labour for areas of the borough which are not being supported through national Government funding schemes.

Councillor Sarah Allen, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Working, said: “In their role as community champions, members have been engaging with their communities over the last few months to identify the unloved parts of their ward that could benefit from this scheme – not only by making areas look nice, but also making them more usable by including facilities like seating, lighting or parking.”

The next 5 projects under investigation are:

• New off road parking at Brinsworth Lane Shopping Parade
• Creation of attractive new green space outside Ridgeway Convenience Store in East Herringthorpe
• New off street parking at Laburnum Parade shops near Maltby, utilising and improving existing green space.
• Improvement to area outside of Masefield Road shops near Wath, including highway and green space.
• Refurbishment of Broadway shopping parade on Swinton, improving accessibility and environment.

In total, the Council is working towards implementing 23 separate schemes of a similar scale across the borough over the next two years.

Councillor Denise Lelliott, Cabinet Member for Jobs and the Local Economy, said: “We already have a number of transformative projects lined-up for Rotherham Town Centre, alongside future masterplans for Dinnington, Wath and Maltby. But we want to see every community benefiting, right across the borough, which is why we announced this fund last year – and now the programme is starting to take shape.

“Alongside practical improvements at the heart of each community, we hope that these investments also encourage people to shop locally and in so doing give a little extra help to local shops and retailers.”