Friday 21 May 2021
Residents Bulletin
Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), we are providing regular email updates to let you know about the latest information we have on local and national measures to contain the virus, any changes to local services and support that’s available.
If you do not wish to receive these updates please click on “unsubscribe” at the bottom of the page.
Further information is available from www.rotherham.gov.uk/coronavirus
Click on the image to sign-up for our new regular news bulletin
As restrictions are lifted over the coming weeks, the need for us to produce a dedicated Covid update for residents is likely to reduce.
We will keep this under review, depending on what happens over the next month or so, but we are likely to end our weekly COVID-19 bulletins.
We know from the feedback we’ve received that many of you value having regular news updates from the Council about services, events and developments, so we will be producing a fortnightly ebulletin called Rotherham Round-up, starting from next week. We’ll also include any covid-related news impacting our borough in the Rotherham Round-up bulletins.
To receive these updates direct to your inbox you’ll need to make sure you are signed up, which you can do here: Rotherham Round-up sign-up
As well as receiving information from across our area, there’s also a chance to sign-up for local news from your community, via our neighbourhood news bulletins using this form. Just tick the box indicating which part of the borough you’re from to receive those too.
Restrictions eased from 17 May
The further easing of restrictions went ahead from Monday 17 May.
While everyone is excited to be able to meet with friends and family indoors again, it is important to meet with people responsibly to stop the spread of COVID-19. Think before you make plans and make sure you follow the guidelines so you can protect yourself and your loved ones.
You are now able to meet with up to 6 people or 2 households indoors. Outdoor gatherings have also been extended to up to 30 people. Here are some things you can do to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 and keep your friends and family safe:
- Meet outside where you can – meeting in an open space has a much lower risk of spreading COVID-19 than meeting indoors.
- If you do meet inside, make sure the space is well ventilated. Open windows and doors to make sure there is a steady flow of fresh air.
- Get the vaccine when it is offered to you but be mindful that others may not have had the vaccine yet.
- Take extra care around more vulnerable friends and relatives. Some people are more vulnerable than others to being seriously ill from COVID-19 so minimise close contact with them.
- Minimise how many people you’re in close contact with, and for how long.
- Get tested twice a week, even if you don’t have symptoms. Around 1 in 3 people with coronavirus do not show symptoms, so can spread the virus to others without knowing. Testing regularly will help to reduce risk, particularly before meeting people from outside your household. You can order free home tests for you and your loved ones that give results in 30 minutes.
- Wash your hands and clean surfaces regularly, especially after you’ve had guests or if you’ve gone out.
Details about some of the services and local attractions which have opened or are planning to open soon are in the graphic below:
Live music at hospitality venues
Following some social media posts and local press coverage this week, it’s important we set the record straight about live music performances at licensed premises in Rotherham.
Live entertainment and music can go ahead under the new step three regulations which came into force on 17 May, but restrictions do remain in place, by law, which require the audience to remain seated and guidance requires that premises take steps to prevent singing, dancing and shouting in the venue.
These are national regulations and guidance, set by the Government, which apply to all hospitality venues in England. This advice has been communicated to hospitality venues in Rotherham.
The full guidance for restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaways is available on the Government’s website.
The rate of cases of COVID-19 in Rotherham has fallen slightly this week and is currently at 28.3 per 100,000, with 75 cases in the borough in the last week. This is still above the England average rate of 21.0 per 100,000.
Unsurprisingly, infections are predominantly in groups of people who have yet to be vaccinated, such as secondary school aged children and younger adults.
We are seeing the emergence of new variants across the country, but vaccination is not only helping to keep people safe from harm, but is also reducing transmission and enabling us to keep the case rate lower. This in turn will help us to continue the easing of restrictions.
You can play your part by getting vaccinated as soon as you are offered it. We urge all adults aged 30 years and over to take up the vaccine when it is offered to them. People aged 50 and over may also be contacted by the local NHS vaccination service or their GP practice to be offered the chance to have their second dose earlier than originally planned.
As well as getting vaccinated, you can help keep the number of cases low by meeting outside where virus transmission is reduced. Rotherham is well prepared to deal with any Variants of Concern. We are working closely with Public Health England to track and trace all cases of COVID-19, and if there were any Variants of Concern and Variants Under Investigation here, we are positioned to react quickly.
Our public health advice remains the same, for all variants of COVID-19. Continue with the basics of Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air – especially meeting people outside rather than inside, to help to protect against all COVID-19 variants. Get your vaccination when invited and if you have any symptoms, no matter how mild, get a PCR test and isolate.
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Latest news from Rotherham Hospital
This week’s update from Rotherham Hospital is that, on Wednesday 19 May, there were five inpatients in Rotherham Hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19, of which one person was in critical care.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 inpatients treated at the hospital since the start of the pandemic to 2,575.
Thank you to everyone working in the NHS and other public services for their hard work, care and support for local residents throughout the pandemic.
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Our Household Waste Recycling Centres are now allowing up to 30 visitors on site to help reduce queuing times.
Traffic management will remain in place to prevent the risk of queuing traffic causing a safety issue to the roads outside the sites.
Visitors to the sites are encouraged to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing while unloading their waste.
- Greasbrough – Car Hill, S61 4QL
- Bramley – Lidget Lane, S65 4LY
- Rawmarsh – Warren Vale, S62 7SS
- North Anston – Magilla, Common Road, S25 4AH
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How does your garden grow?
For many people, spending time in the garden has been one of the positives from the national lockdowns and stay at home advice over the last 14 months.
If you have spent the extra time tending to your tulips or fertilising your flower beds you’re welcome to get involved in the Council’s annual garden competition.
This year, we have the usual favourites as well as new categories for the borough’s children and young people. The categories include:
- Best garden – awarded to the most outstanding garden in the borough
- Best pots, planters and hanging baskets – awarded to the creative use of pots and planters to brighten up any space
- Best vegetable patch – awarded to the best ‘grow your own’ space. Please note allotments are not included in this category
- Best wildlife garden – awarded to gardens that provide sanctuaries to birds, insects, hedgehogs and other local wildlife
- Best young gardener (0-6 yrs and 7-18 yrs) – awarded to the most outstanding garden or vegetable patch created by a young gardener
- Best sunflower (0-6 yrs and 7-18 yrs) – awarded to young gardeners who have grown the tallest sunflower
Each of the adult category will have two winners, one Council and one non-Council tenant each winning £100 worth of garden centre vouchers with two runners up in each category each receiving a £50 garden centre voucher.
The children’s categories will have one first place prize (£100 worth of garden centre vouchers) and one runner-up prize (a £50 garden centre voucher).
To enter the competition simply upload three photos of your garden (one must feature the gardener), along with a few words about what your garden means to you to.
Entries close 11 July with winners announced in August.
This stunning aerial picture was taken from a huge crane by the team working on the new town centre housing development at the site of the former Milfold House.
It’s looking towards New York Stadium and shows construction work on the new Westgate Riverside housing developmentwhich, along with the Millfold site and Wellgate Place, is creating 171 new homes in the town centre as part of a £30m investment led by the Council.
The homes will be a mixture of Council homes for rent, shared ownership and private properties for sale. As you can see, construction work is well underway, with the development set to be completed in 2022.
Creating new communities in the heart of town is part of our long term ambitions to improve the town centre for everyone, supporting existing businesses and encouraging new ones to open there.
Town Centre transformation
There was more exciting news this week for plans to transform Rotherham town centre.
Last year, the Council put forward a bid to the Future High Streets Fund to help deliver some of its redevelopment plans.
This week, the Government officially awarded funds to 57 town centre plans across the country – Rotherham is one of them and is set to receive £12.6m.
It means plans to redevelop Rotherham Markets and deliver a new central library can go ahead. The funds will also support the new Riverside Gardens (part of the Forge Island leisure scheme), improvements to public realm across the town centre, and the expansion and development of Grimm and Co’s new home on Ship Hill.
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