Rotherham today: opportunities and challenges

A borough of spirit and opportunity

Map of Rotherham Borough showing features and attractions.

Rotherham is rich in character, creativity and opportunity, with a strong sense of pride, purpose and resilience.

Nature and industry sit side by side, with 70% open countryside alongside a thriving business base and world-leading manufacturing.

Our heritage, from mining to steelmaking, continues to shape the borough, alongside destinations like Wentworth Woodhouse.

We value community, with an active voluntary sector reflecting the generosity and energy of our people.

Through initiatives like the Children’s Capital of Culture, we champion young people and their voice in shaping the borough’s future.

This is what makes Rotherham our home – and the foundation for the next 10 years.

Opportunities

Rotherham is a strong borough, with valuable assets and resourceful, industrious residents helping to drive productivity, momentum and optimism. As a partnership, we want to build on these strengths:

  • We are delivering the largest regeneration programme in a generation. This includes £200 million of government investment, with a further £1.2 billion in potential private investment linked to Rotherham Gateway Station.
  • Residents value where they live, with higher satisfaction levels than the England average.
  • We have the fastest-growing economy in the North, with productivity increasing by 64% over the past two decades.
  • Rotherham is a great place to visit, with 4.2 million visits to attractions in 2025, generating £600 million for the local economy.
  • We are well connected geographically, with 4.5 million people living within 30 miles of the borough.
  • We have a strong culture of care and community, with around 1,400 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and more than 10,000 volunteers.

Challenges

We must also recognise the significant challenges and inequalities we need to address through the Rotherham Plan and our gamechangers.

These five challenges will act as a key measure of our success:

  • One in five residents live in the 10% most deprived areas in England, and 31% of children live in poverty.
  • Residents experience poor health earlier than average and spend longer in poor health, particularly in the most deprived areas.
  • One in four working-age people are economically inactive. Long-term sickness rates are higher than average, and skills and qualifications attainment is lower than in comparable areas.
  • Public transport limits access to opportunity. Only 24% of residents are within a 30-minute walk of a train station, compared to 51% nationally.
  • Rotherham town centre has a higher vacancy rate than the national average, affecting footfall and perceptions of safety.