The leader of Rotherham Council has explained why pre-let agreements secured for the Forge Island development failed to materialise.
Forge Island is the town centre's new landmark leisure destination being delivered by Rotherham Council in partnership with Muse. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema, a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel as well as food outlets which are yet to open.
Work began on site in November 2022 after Rotherham Council agreed to fund the regeneration scheme itself when the the funding available its delivery partner, Muse, "significantly reduced" due to the volatility of the financial markets.
Rothbiz reported first last year that food operators "have not been able to bring forward" outlets that had originally signed up for the development.
Cllr. Chris Read discussed the deals at a recent council meeting. He said: "Look, what we had with those food & beverage units on Forge Island was a pre-let agreement with largely one company, one umbrella company, who were bringing forward at least four of those units. That company got into financial difficulties - a challenging business situation - perhaps a year after they'd signed that pre-let agreement with us. They looked at a number of options to try and bring forward some of those units but ultimately they were not in a position to do that.
"I'm afraid there's a kind of brute commercial reality that, at times, private businesses will not be able to make the investments that they hoped to be able to make and that they planned to make.
"We want to see those units occupied. We want to see, more importantly, the development be a thriving commercial success and generating more footfall and success for the rest of the town centre, as we are sure it will."
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A triple-header deal was signed with Thistle Group in 2022 who planned to bring Casa Peri Peri, Estabulo Rodizio/Sakku Samba as a dual-branded concept, and Caffé Noor. After the deal fell through, Loungers plc and Sygnature Dish have stepped in to take units, with three still remaining empty.
The actual final cost of the Forge Island project is not yet known as part of the budget includes a contribution towards the fit out of the units. It is still expected that it will be completed within the £47.4m budget agreed by Cabinet.
When asked about council budgets being used to continue the regeneration of Rotherham town centre, Cllr. Read said: "By and large, the majority of that regeneration money for the town centre is externally funded resources - money that comes from elsewhere - it is therefore money that is intended for regeneration purposes.
"I think it is very hard to make a case, and I think actually people would be baffled by it, that you should redirect those regeneration schemes into a village outside the town centre and say for example: "We've decided to build a cinema and restaurant units and we are going to do that in the Todwick village." I think people would find that a bit of a challenge to understand why that was.
"When we asked people [in the budget consultation] their one wish for the future of the borough? Their single top answer was the continued regeneration of the town centre. So that’s what we’re going to do. That is a task that we are undertaking, in a really prudent way, bringing in investment to do it, and it takes up a tiny, tiny proportion of money spent right across the borough."
Forge Island website
Images: Sakku Ltd
Forge Island is the town centre's new landmark leisure destination being delivered by Rotherham Council in partnership with Muse. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema, a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel as well as food outlets which are yet to open.
Work began on site in November 2022 after Rotherham Council agreed to fund the regeneration scheme itself when the the funding available its delivery partner, Muse, "significantly reduced" due to the volatility of the financial markets.
Rothbiz reported first last year that food operators "have not been able to bring forward" outlets that had originally signed up for the development.
Cllr. Chris Read discussed the deals at a recent council meeting. He said: "Look, what we had with those food & beverage units on Forge Island was a pre-let agreement with largely one company, one umbrella company, who were bringing forward at least four of those units. That company got into financial difficulties - a challenging business situation - perhaps a year after they'd signed that pre-let agreement with us. They looked at a number of options to try and bring forward some of those units but ultimately they were not in a position to do that.
"I'm afraid there's a kind of brute commercial reality that, at times, private businesses will not be able to make the investments that they hoped to be able to make and that they planned to make.
"We want to see those units occupied. We want to see, more importantly, the development be a thriving commercial success and generating more footfall and success for the rest of the town centre, as we are sure it will."
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A triple-header deal was signed with Thistle Group in 2022 who planned to bring Casa Peri Peri, Estabulo Rodizio/Sakku Samba as a dual-branded concept, and Caffé Noor. After the deal fell through, Loungers plc and Sygnature Dish have stepped in to take units, with three still remaining empty.
The actual final cost of the Forge Island project is not yet known as part of the budget includes a contribution towards the fit out of the units. It is still expected that it will be completed within the £47.4m budget agreed by Cabinet.
When asked about council budgets being used to continue the regeneration of Rotherham town centre, Cllr. Read said: "By and large, the majority of that regeneration money for the town centre is externally funded resources - money that comes from elsewhere - it is therefore money that is intended for regeneration purposes.
"I think it is very hard to make a case, and I think actually people would be baffled by it, that you should redirect those regeneration schemes into a village outside the town centre and say for example: "We've decided to build a cinema and restaurant units and we are going to do that in the Todwick village." I think people would find that a bit of a challenge to understand why that was.
"When we asked people [in the budget consultation] their one wish for the future of the borough? Their single top answer was the continued regeneration of the town centre. So that’s what we’re going to do. That is a task that we are undertaking, in a really prudent way, bringing in investment to do it, and it takes up a tiny, tiny proportion of money spent right across the borough."
Forge Island website
Images: Sakku Ltd