Action planned as travellers set up 'unauthorised camp' at former bus depot in Rotherham

Caravans have appeared on the site of the former Midland Road bus depot site, in Rotherham, which has not been used for public transport for five years. First Bus moved out of the depot in 2017, which has since been used for police firearms training and Covid testing.

The South Yorkshire Metropolitan Combined Authority (SYMCA) is aware of their presence and planning action.

A SYMCA spokesperson said: “We're aware of an unauthorised encampment and are taking action to move the travellers on. Once sold, the land will be developed to support wider regeneration plans and employment opportunities in the area.”

The site was transferred to SYMCA in 2016, and official documents have warned that they cannot let the site on open market at present for reasons including the poor state of the the infrastructure.

The site has suffered vandalism and theft, and is in a “seriously dilapidated state”, according to documents which are going before the authority.

The site costs £160,000 per year for security and business rates, which “continues to be a drain on the revenue budget”, and funding has been identified to demolish the building if it does not sell.

It was reported earlier this year that Rotherham Council had been in discussions on the future of the site, including looking at potential uses of the power capacity on the site to support electric vehicle charging,” adds the report.