18,500 jobs and 10,500 homes announced in Don Valley development zone plans for Sheffield and Rotherham
A new Don Valley development plan will deliver a £1.3bn boost to the South Yorkshire and UK economy, 18,500 new jobs and more than 10,500 new homes.
A new Mayoral Development Zone, unveiled by South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, the Leader of Sheffield City Council, Tom Hunt, and Rotherham Council Leader, Chris Read, later today, will stretch from the heart of Sheffield through Attercliffe, Tinsley and Templeborough into Rotherham Gateway, the town centre and Bassingthorpe – some of the region’s most important regeneration and growth areas.
Political leaders believe it will restore pride, purpose and prosperity in left-behind communities.
They believe it will see jobs created ranging from clean energy and advanced manufacturing to preventative health.
The Don Valley Corridor brings together new employment, housing, infrastructure, skills and community regeneration into one 30‑year plan designed to revitalise neighbourhoods, connect communities to opportunity, and unlock sites that have been left behind for decades.
Officials say the new community of Waverley, Rotherham, is an example of the type of transformation that is set to extend across the entire lower Don Valley.
McLaren’s factory near Waverley, next to The Parkway, will today (March 25) provide the backdrop to the launch by South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard of the 30‑year Don Valley Corridor Plan.
Mr Coppard said: “The Don Valley Corridor has always been the beating heart of the North’s industrial, manufacturing strength. That may have been forgotten by some, but it’s never been forgotten here; that heartbeat has never stopped.
“Our new plan will put the Don Valley and South Yorkshire back at the forefront of the UK’s manufacturing renewal, not just bringing together assets vital to energy, security and innovation, but powering them forward for the next generation.
“Across the Don Valley Corridor we shape, make and create the technologies, industries and assets that are vital to the UK’s security, growth and prosperity, but we know we can do even more, creating the vital jobs and opportunities that people here deserve.
“And alongside our plans for the Don Valley’s manufacturing and industrial renaissance, we’ll make sure we’re building the homes and infrastructure people need, so everyone in South Yorkshire can stay near and go far.
“For as long as I can remember, Britain has doubled down on a growth model that meant the South-East took both the benefits and the burdens of growth. If the whole country is to thrive, and every place is to stand on its own two feet, playing a full part in UK PLC, places like South Yorkshire will need to unlock their own, full potential.”
He said the plans for the Don Valley Corridor offer a new path, for the UK, the North and South Yorkshire, that allows the expertise, innovation and energy that has always been in the area to restore the area’s pride, purpose and prosperity.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "Everywhere I go in the UK I see the talent, the vision and the ambition of our communities, but a lack of investment over decades has held them back. That’s why I’m backing the Don Valley Corridor, boosting the region’s economy and placing it at the centre of national growth.
“Investing in our regions outside of London and the South East will be pivotal to unleashing their potential and turbocharging growth. We have the right economic plan in a changing world: stability, investment and reform to build a stronger more secure economy.”
Coun Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “The Don Valley Corridor linking Sheffield and Rotherham is a nationally significant opportunity for regeneration and growth. We can unlock 10,500 new homes in new neighbourhoods, and nearly 20,000 new jobs in fast-growing industries, all connected by the right infrastructure.
“Cutting edge centres of innovation like the AMRC and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park show what happens when you bring together world-leading research and industry and we will build on their success. From clean energy, to advanced manufacturing, healthcare and defence, what happens in Sheffield and Rotherham is at the centre of the UK's industrial future.
“This is a plan to give the Don Valley a prosperous future that provides new homes, new jobs, new infrastructure and new opportunities for our residents and businesses.”
Officials say The Don Valley Corridor links one of the UK’s fastest‑growing sub‑regions for productivity, Rotherham, with one of the fastest‑growing Core Cities, Sheffield, creating an internationally recognised industrial innovation district - where advanced materials meet aerospace, where forging meets defence supply chains, where robotics and AI meet modern manufacturing, and where the next generation of clean energy technologies are prototyped and brought to market.
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The plan for the corridor includes:
> Creating a major new employment cluster around a future Rotherham Gateway mainline station.
> Helping to transform Attercliffe with 3,000 new homes (including the 1,000 already underway at Attercliffe Waterside) – and continue to develop the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
> Strengthen the advanced manufacturing district where AMRC, Rolls Royce, Boeing and McLaren are already based and support another 2,000 jobs at the University of Sheffield’s Runway Park.
> Anchoring the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and National Centre for Child Health Technology in the local employment and community health.
> Supporting the creation of a Green Employment Hub, anchored by Blackburn Meadows and energy infrastructure programmes across the Corridor.
The plan also outlines how investment in infrastructure will boost development, including:
> The new mainline rail station for Rotherham at Gateway as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail .
> Tram extensions and mass transit links from Sheffield to Rotherham and Meadowhall.