Rotherham seeks strategic development partner for 21st century garden community at Bassingthorpe Farm

Rotherham Borough Council and Fitzwilliam Wentworth Estate are seeking preliminary market feedback on the appointment of a Strategic Development Partner for Bassingthorpe Farm – a 21st century garden community.

The Strategic Development Partner will be responsible for planning, servicing, delivery and/or facilitation of the phased development of the 187-hectare site adjacent to Rotherham Town Centre.

The development will be guided by a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) which sets out a vision for a “21^st century garden community” to promote an active lifestyle for residents and curated shops, job opportunities and green spaces.

The site lies within a corridor of agricultural land, and any proposals must maintain a green gap to the urban area of Rotherham and be considerate of the Greasbrough Conservation Area, and Grade-I listed Wentworth Woodhouse and registered parks and gardens that border the boundary.

The preliminary market engagement for the development, which is set to provide 2,000 homes, will take place between 10:00am to 12:30pm on Tuesday, 13th October 2026 at the ARC cinema, Rotherham. The event will see a presentation of the opportunity in advance of tender publication in 2027. Developers wishing to attend the event can register their space with: Laura.Dryden@rotherham.gov.uk .

The PME event will be followed by a Request for Information circulated via Rotherham’s procurement e-tendering portal YORtender (yortender.eu-supply.com/) on 14th October 2026.

General queries about the preliminary market engagement process and the scheme should be sent to the Procurement email Procurement.capworks@rotherham.gov.uk.