Funding, new council homes and other developments and policies were discussed and agreed when Rotherham Council’s Cabinet held its latest meeting today, Monday 20 November.
Cabinet members agreed to:
1) Turn a dormant site in Canklow into a day centre, supported accommodation for people with support needs, and 13 new council homes.
A new investment of £1.9million for accommodation for people with complex support needs was agreed, which includes a seven-bedroom property, two two-bedroom apartments, and 13 council homes on Warden Street.
They also agreed an increased investment of up to a total of £6.4million to build and fit out Castle View, a modern, purpose-built day centre to provide opportunities for people with high support needs.
2) Support Rotherham Abuse Counselling Service (RothACS) with a £170k grant.
The service provides free specialist counselling to anyone over the age of 13 who has experienced trauma and abuse, including domestic abuse, sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation or child sexual abuse.
3) Support plans which will see over £300,000 spent over the next three years to support vulnerable residents as the food crisis continues.
To help improve the lives of these people, councillors today approved plans to spend £104,000 a year from 2024 to 2027 for crisis support. Most of the funds will be used to provide crisis loans, with the rest supporting food banks.
4) The extension of two Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO)
The first was a borough wide dog fouling PSPO which was agreed would be extended by a year. The second was a renewal of the town centre and Clifton Park PSPO for a year, which covers various nuisances such as spitting in public and continuing to consume alcohol when required to stop doing so by an authorised officer.
For more about what these PSPOs mean visit the dedicated webpage here.
5) Discuss three licensing policies
Cabinet members also agreed to adopt the Cumulative Impact Assessment, which was introduced because of the number of licensed premises in Wickersley. They also reviewed the council’s Sex Establishment Policy and agreed that the Council adopts the Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Licensing Policy 2023.
These were the main headlines. Other reports discussed at the Cabinet meeting today included, among others:
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A service level agreement with Voluntary Action Rotherham
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The sale of the former Treefield Respite Centre building
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The outcome of a polling districts and polling places review
This morning’s Cabinet meeting can be re-watched on the council’s webcast here: https://rotherham.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/826253
All reports can be found here: Agenda for Cabinet on Monday 20 November 2023 at 10am.