Police update

Over the last month we experienced an increase in shed burglaries in the Swinton area. A local business was burgled along with a robbery at a local convenience store.

We understand how worrying this is for local residents and as a result a 20 year old local male was arrested by the North Neighbourhood Policing Team, charged with burglary and robbery and has been remanded into custody.

If you have any questions, concerns or views on policing in your local area please contact the Rotherham North Neighbourhood Policing Team.

You can also make reports of crime via the South Yorkshire Police website, or through 101. In an emergency, always call 999.

What are you thankful for?

Sunday, 4th July was national Thank You Day - a chance for all of us to show our gratitude to the people, businesses and organisations who have supported us throughout the pandemic.

While the day itself has been and gone, we'd like to keep the momentum going. If someone has made a big difference to your life over the last 18 months we'd like to hear from you.

Please drop an email to your neighbourhood coordinator (using the contact details below) with your message of thanks, and we'll share your messages in our Swinton Rockingham News from your Neighbourhood bulletin next month. We can't promise to use them all, but we'd still like to hear from you, so please get in touch!

Volunteers update

Over the last few weeks volunteers have undertaken litter picks at the following locations:

• Station Street
• Broadway and the Highfield Estate
• Blackamore Road, Abdy Lane and Wentworth Road
• Golden Smithies Lane

Volunteers at the Broadway shopping area also removed weeds from the footpaths.

Another job undertaken by local volunteers is to water newly planted areas such as Temperance Street and planters on the corner of Lime Grove and at Swinton Railway Station. 

Would you like to get involved and volunteer in your community? Please get in touch with your Neighbourhood Co-ordinator Lucy Reader using the contact details below to see how you could get involved.

Local Food Company Supporting the Community 

Swinton based New York Bakery Company have been giving regular support to needy members of the community by providing donations of their popular bagel products.

On a weekly basis, Councillor Ken Wyatt liaises with the company and collects the supplies. Boxes of bagels are then delivered to Swinton Lock Activity Centre and other foodbanks; some also find their way to breakfast clubs for local school children. Staff members have also organised their own collections of foodstuffs and special treats for special times.   

Cllr Wyatt said "I really want to thank our good friends at the New York Bakery Company for the generous donations they provide to the local community. It’s a real credit to the management and staff who work at the Swinton site; the delicious bagels are very much appreciated by the people we support."

Princes Trust Product Design Programme

The product design programme at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre allows young people to improve their digital skills by working on a group challenge before designing and developing a prototype to present to industry experts.

Get Started with Product Design with Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre

• Address: Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Off Highfield Spring, Catcliffe, Rotherham S60 5BL
• Eligibility – 16-30 years; not in Education, Employment or Training; based in the Sheffield/South Yorkshire area

About the programme:

• Dates: Taster Day – 28^th July; Programme: 02 August – 6^th August
• Work as a team to build a product using Computer Aided Design
• Develop practical skills including cutting drilling and finishing a product
• Explore the world of virtual reality and take part in robotics workshops
• See a 3D printer and manufacturing machines in action
• Build your employability skills and find out about careers in engineering and manufacturing

To sign up or find out more email Brittany.Steede@princes-trust.org.uk call or text 07484 533973 or call 0800 842 842

Tenants – We Need You!

Hi from Rotherfed,

We are here to support Rotherham Council tenants that would like to get more involved and have a say in how the Council can evolve and improve the services they offer.

There are many ways you can get involved and have your voice heard. We know how much you value your home and care about your community, so please get your thoughts, opinions, and ideas across. However you choose to get involved, we will support you 100 per cent of the way.

We are having a Cake and Chat afternoon on Wednesday 28^th July 2pm till 3.30pm at Springwell Gardens Community Centre. Eastwood View, Rotherham, S65 1NG. Please do drop in (Children are most welcome). There is no need to book in for this but if you could let us know you are thinking about attending, we would be grateful.

For more details or to register your details please or follow this link or contact us:

Email: jane.owen@rotherfed.org
Tel: 07399 888034
Web: www.rotherhamfederation.org 

Can you help bring a property in Rotherham back into use?

Rotherham Council is urging people to get in touch and help bring unused and unloved homes back into use.

New Council initiatives to tackle the issue include:

• an online service for people to report empty properties
• a dedicated Empty Homes Officer who will work with owners to understand the benefits to themselves and the community in bringing their properties back into use.
• Work with probate researchers to track people who may be in line to inherit a property from a deceased estate

We understand that there are a number of reasons why a home may become empty and unloved, such as financial difficulties, a change in situation or changes in health and care, but we want to work with empty home owners to make sure they maximise the use of their properties and make sure properties are re-let as soon as possible.

We aim to do all we can to help reduce the impact that empty properties can have on communities and provide homes for families across the borough. With increasing demand for housing we want to do our best to make sure that residents have a choice of private and social housing opportunities available and cutting the number of empty houses will make a positive difference.

Over the past two years there has been a 0.2% increase in the number of empty properties in Rotherham, while this is reflective of the national figure there are approximately 3,460 empty privately-owned homes with the majority of these being empty for over six months.

Property owners can get in touch with the Council’s Strategic Housing & Development Services Empty Homes Team on 01709 808127 or via email at emptyhomes@rotherham.gov.uk

More information, including how to report an empty property, is available online at www.rotherham.gov.uk/housing

Councillors Advice Surgeries 

On Saturday 3rd July Councillor Gina Monk from the Swinton Rockingham Ward joined forces with Councillor Victoria Cusworth from the Kilnhurst and Swinton East Ward to hold an advice surgery for residents outside the Co-op.

The next outreach surgery is planned for the 10th July on the Carlise Park Estate.