 Time for celebration at the latest Towns and Villages Fund project!
Local Ward Councillors have celebrated another success for Rotherham’s Towns and Villages programme, this time at Wickersley’s iconic clock tower.
Over the past few months, the Wickersley District Shopping Area on the north side of Bawtry Road has seen several improvements to the pedestrian area including resurfaced pathways and an improved seating area.
A variety of paving, tarmac and resin bonded aggregate has been used to make the pathways more even, as well as tying in with the nearby building’s aesthetics.
New seating areas have been created so that residents can meet with friends or family, or take a breather while visiting the nearing shops and restaurants.
Ward Councillors have also used funding from their ward budgets for a new electrical connection next to the improved seating. This will be installed in the coming weeks, which will allow for the final part of the footpath to be fully resurfaced.
Wickersley Clock Tower, the centre piece of the area, has been renovated and cleaned. New lights have also been installed to illuminate the clock at night.
New planters have recently been installed in key places along the site.
Ward Councillor for Wickersley North, Cllr Sue Ellis, said: “It is great to see the work on the Towns a Villages project has been completed and the area looking refreshed and reinvigorated. Over 400 metres of resurfacing on the pavements has taken place, making the area look so much better and making it a lot safer for pedestrians. Once the planters are installed, this will be a lovely place for people to use to meet with friends or take a break and watch the world go round.”
Ward Councillor for Wickersley North, Cllr Emma Hoddinott, said: “I am really happy to be here today at our lovely Towns and Villages project. We wanted to improve this area as it is an underused area of Wickersley due to the pavements being uneven and it overall looking a little bit unloved. After consulting with local residents and businesses, we developed the programme of improvements which you see here now, including the renovation of the clocktower. It is really nice to see our heritage protected and being restored.”
Rotherham Council Leader and Ward Councillor for Wickersley North, Cllr Chris Read, said: “This is a really important scheme which has improved one of the most popular areas in Wickersley, where there are a number of leisure and retail amenities. It has given the area a much-needed uplift. It shows just how important the Towns and Villages Fund projects are to local communities, in which the Council is spending an initial £4m on local centres. These projects will make a real difference to communities right across the borough.”
The Towns and Villages Fund is a multi-million pound commitment from Rotherham Council to deliver improvements to towns and village centres across the borough, including this project in Wickersley.
Further information about this scheme and others happening across the borough can be found at www.rotherham.gov.uk/villages.
 Over the last few years, Councillors have been impressed by the hard work and dedication of children at Wickersley Northfield Primary. Their mission has been to tackle hate crime across the borough. They wanted to ensure that key messages reached further than their own school, so came up with innovative ideas to spread messages of inclusivity, how to report hate and what to look out for. #HappinessB4Hate
Councillors Ellis, Hoddinott and Read supported their campaigns by funding elements, including a poster campaign and this promotional video, via their Community Leadership Funding: Wickersley Northfield Primary School's, School Council video.
The school also had the opportunity to attend the Harms of Hate event at Magna, and have had input from the Council's Community Safety team, amongst others.
Last year, Y7 students across Rotherham received a notebook, which included key messages around hate crime. Pictured above are students from Wickersley Sports College, with Cllr Ellis and Cllr Hoddinott.
Tackling hate and promoting community cohesion is the responsibility of all of us. To help us along the way, we have two Police Officers, who are new in post, whose responsibility is to help groups and individuals take action. Please read on to find out more about them.
Hate Crime Police Officer
Hello everyone!
My name is Nickie Walch, and I am the Hate Crime Police Officer for Rotherham. I took over from PC Chris Nicholson in November 2023. My role is to oversee all hate crime and hate incidents reported to South Yorkshire Police for the district of Rotherham. I identify any repeat victims/offenders/locations and I also offer support to everyone who reports hate crime/incidents to us.
Hate crime can have a lasting effect on a person. It is a personal attack on someone because of their individual characteristics. If you have never been a victim of hate crime yourself, you may not understand how that feels, but it is important that we support people, report matters and increase education and awareness.
Please let me know if I can assist you with anything. My working days are Monday to Friday. I work from Riverside, Rotherham.
My contact details are: nickie.walch@southyorkshire.police.uk
Tel: 01709 832707 mobile: 07468473038
Specialist Community Engagement Officer
My name is PC 740 Gavin Worboys and I am based at Riverside House, Rotherham. I am the Specialist Community Engagement Officer for Rotherham and have been in post now for approximately five months. I have 24 years of service in the Police over which 20 years has been spent on frontline uniform duties the vast majority of that period has been served at Maltby Police Station, which covered the Wickersley North area.
My role is now to establish contacts with the varies communities we have in Rotherham and fill the gaps that have existed between the minority groups and the Police. I would like people to be able to contact me if they believe there is a Community/group that would benefit from having contact with the Police whether it be for support, to establish links, to provide information and feedback from their community so that we can act quicker and more efficiently if there are tensions or issues.
I am able to attend Support groups, events, meetings, anything that would assist in building and engaging with the community. I am non uniform so anybody requiring me to attend, it will be discrete. Even if it’s just for a general chat then please feel free to get in touch with the local Councillor or Neighbourhood Coordinator who will forward the details on to myself.
Reporting Hate Crime
You can find loads of useful information on hate crime, here on the South Yorkshire Police website. This includes information on how to report, whether directly to the Police or via a community reporting centre.
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