Rotherham hotels: Harworth issues statement on unfinished Marriott at Catcliffe

Mystery surrounds the future of a half-finished hotel in Rotherham after the developer fell silent.

Building work stopped last year on a Marriott Hotel at Catcliffe and staff hired ahead of its expected opening were laid off.

Essex-based developer, Stapleford Ventures Ltd, secured planning permission in 2021. In August 2022 managing director Neil Searle said he was "excited to bring the first Marriott-branded hotel to the Sheffield area".

Stapleford Ventures is registered at Charles Lake House, Claire Causeway, Crossways Business Park, Dartford, but does not appear to have a website.

Mr Searle is director of 11 other companies which also don’t appear to have websites including Stapleford Managements, Stapleford Property Investments, Stapleford Racing and Snowblind Ltd.

The Star contacted Rotherham Council and Stapleford Ventures’ former planning agents Barton Willmore but was unable to reach him.

But landowner Harworth said they had passed on a request for an interview.

Harworth owns swathes of land in the area which includes a huge housing estate at Waverley and the Advanced Manufacturing Park.

A spokesperson for Harworth said they were keen to see the hotel finished.

They said: "Due to unforeseen circumstances, construction work on the new Marriott hotel in Waverley has temporarily stalled.

"This part of Waverley is owned by developer Stapleford Ventures Limited who bought the site from Harworth at the end of 2021 and has been leading on the development of the hotel. 

"As master developer for the wider Waverley development, Harworth has been in regular dialogue with Stapleford in recent months as Harworth would like to see the building completed at the earliest possible opportunity. We will continue to keep the community of Waverley updated on progress."

The half-finished building stands on land off Highfield Spring and Poplar Way near the Morrisons roundabout at Catcliffe.