Sheffield to Rotherham Growth Corridor
SYMCA is working with Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Council to develop an approach to strategic growth between Sheffield and Rotherham, along the Don Valley. The work aims to enhance existing growth opportunities and bring them together into a co-ordinated wider whole to unlock further place-based regeneration and investment opportunities.
This initial exercise scoping is aimed at developing a programme to launch autumn 2025 which will represent an opportunity for Sheffield, Rotherham, and the region as a whole, to work collaboratively to leverage investment and deliver on our Plan for Good Growth in South Yorkshire.
There are three core features of the corridor that will make it ideal for investment:
- High Value Assets – The Don Valley is home to a variety of high-value assets, such as the Advanced Manufacturing Park, the Sheffield Innovation Spine, and the Olympic Legacy Park.
- Land Availability – local plans in place that are ambitious about growth, with strong local, regional, and national support for quality development.
- Strong Partnership Approach – The Don Valley Corridor project is a collaboration between Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield City Council, and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority; each organisation is focussed on unlocking growth in the region, and each is ambitious how that growth will be achieved. As such, the organisations are keen to work with external investors to ensure that the project is delivered.
Where is the Sheffield to Rotherham Growth Corridor?
The Don Valley, connecting Sheffield and Rotherham, has been at the heart of the UK’s industrial economy for centuries. Being the birthplace of the first, second, and now driving the fourth industrial revolution, the corridor has consistently been at the forefront of industrial innovation.
There is now a renewed focus on bringing together new transport, energy, and place infrastructure into a strategic growth corridor, to complement and support housing growth, to make more of our assets and ensure that Sheffield, Rotherham, and South Yorkshire as a region can benefit more broadly.
A Blueprint for the UK’s Next Industrial Economy
- Home to the next industrial economy: South Yorkshire is the industrial heart of the UK, the growth corridor between Sheffield and Rotherham is driving the 4th industrial revolution.
- Regional capabilities: We will double down on our regional capabilities in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, life sciences, security, creative industries and technology, our flexible supply chains, and our translational research assets.
- New communities: New homes are being delivered at pace and scale right across the corridor. These new neighbourhoods will capitalise on connectivity to economic opportunities within South Yorkshire, and benefit from investment in new energy infrastructure and improved national connectivity.
- Innovation and Growth: As home to the UK’s first Investment Zone, South Yorkshire is building on its research and development success, linking world-class businesses to our research and innovation infrastructure, developing new opportunities in frontier industries. .
- Transport Revolution: With plans for major investments in mass transport to improve local and national rail connectivity, the corridor links Sheffield and Rotherham to international airports, ports, and is the gateway to the North and to the South
- Investment and Opportunity: The corridor presents a unique chance for investors to be part of a transformational growth opportunity at the heart of the region, supported by a partnership that is committed to regional prosperity, good growth and restoring Pride, Purpose and Prosperity to South Yorkshire.