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Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), we will now be providing regular email updates for residents to let you know about the latest information we have and any changes to local services that may be affected.
If you do not wish to receive these updates please click on “unsubscribe” at the bottom of the page.
You can check the latest information on our website at any time by going to https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/coronavirus.
Do you need support during the Covid-19 outbreak?
If you, or someone you know of, is living alone, is vulnerable and has no one else to help with basic tasks, then the Rotherham Heroes volunteers are here to help.
The Rotherham Heroes Volunteer Programme is a borough-wide volunteer programme, coordinated by Voluntary Action Rotherham and Rotherham Council, to help vulnerable people across Rotherham during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We are continuing to work alongside Rotherham’s voluntary, community and faith groups who are already providing an outstanding service to people in need within our communities.
The help given by our Rotherham Heroes volunteers is precious and so we can only provide it to those most in need for the most essential help – please do not ask for help with anything you could do for yourself or is not essential at this time.
Our volunteers can help with:
- Essential shopping
- Dropping off food parcels
- Tackling loneliness and isolation by being a friendly voice on the other end of the phone.
- Prescription collection – picking up your medicines from the chemist
- Dog walking – taking your dog out once a day
- Advice and signposting to support services – putting you in touch with the correct information.
To ask for help please complete the form on our website www.rotherham.gov.uk/volunteer or call us on 01709 807319 between 9am and 5pm.
It’s important to know that volunteers will not come inside your home. If you need help with things inside your home, such as dressing or washing then you should call the Council on 01709 382121 to talk about the services available to you.
Once we have your details and understand your needs our team will then connect you with a volunteer in your neighbourhood.
Garden Waste collection suspended for six weeks
We can continue to prioritise critical services, including providing clinical waste services for the NHS and pink lid bin general household waste collections for all residents by temporarliy suspending garden waste collections.
With around a third of our refuse workers off work because they’re self-isolating to protect others or have health conditions that would put them at risk, we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend garden waste collections for the next six weeks, starting from today (30 March).
And we know that, out of the different types of waste we collect, garden waste can be most safely stored by residents at home for a longer period of time.
We appreciate households have paid for this service in advance. This is obviously a developing situation and customers will be informed of arrangements to rectify any collections missed once the situation has subsided and services have returned to normal. We will review the position again at the end of the six week suspension.
Households are advised to keep their brown bin on their property and not on the pavement. Please only collect cuttings if they can be stored.
We request that residents please do not phone our contact centre so that it is reserved for essential services.
We apologise again for the inconvenience during this time and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Tom Smith, who is in charge of waste collection in Rotherham, explains the reasoning behind the decision in this video
Council’s Cabinet leading Coronavirus response online
Your elected councillors are discussing Rotherham’s response to coronavirus through regular, informal Skype meetings.
Meeting online instead of in person, means councillors can respect social distancing restrictions whilst staying up-to-date with emerging issues and make key decisions.
Following emergency Government legislation which is allowing local Councils to run virtual meetings, important decisions affecting Planning and Licensing issues can now go ahead.
Redeploying staff to keep critical services going
We’re doing everything we can to keep critical services operating, including redeploying some of staff into “critical” roles on a temporary basis.
While some services have been stood-down, others are seeing a surge in demand and/or experiencing high staff absence rates due to the coronavirus, so we’re asking some employees to step-in and fill gaps where they can.
The response from staff has been excellent and they continue to do an amazing job in hugely challenging circumstances.
Other service updates
A round-up of the other latest service updates:
- Cemeteries, burial grounds and crematoria are now closed to the public (except for funeral services)
- Car parks at parks remain open to provide access for the disabled, but people should adhere to advice to exercise locally
- Some library online service will be unavailable whilst the online library switches over to a new IT management system over the next few days, During the downtime, all outstanding loans are being extended to the end of May and annual memberships automatically renewed for another year.
- Due to the coronavirus, new Government regulations mean the Council cannot lawfully remove untaxed or abandoned vehicles until further notice. If a vehicle is causing an immediate hazard to other road usersplease report it online
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