New Mayoral Development Zone for South Yorkshire

Stretching along the Don Valley Corridor, the zone will connect the heart of Sheffield with Attercliffe, Tinsley, and Templeborough, extending through to Rotherham Gateway, Rotherham town centre, and Bassingthorpe.

Underpinned by a strategic 30-year vision, the MDZ will focus on regenerating communities through coordinated investment in employment, housing, infrastructure, and skills development.

Led by South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, Sheffield City Council Leader Tom Hunt, and Rotherham Council Leader Chris Read, the initiative is expected to deliver a £1.3 billion boost to the regional economy, alongside the creation of 10,500 new homes and 18,500 jobs.

Focusing on sectors including clean energy, advanced manufacturing, preventative health, and deep-tech, the MDZ will look to place South Yorkshire at the heart of Britain’s energy security and sovereign capability, while providing high-quality jobs.

The cultural sector will also be a focus for future development in the corridor, with Sheffield’s Innovation Spine planning to include creative spaces in amongst its research-to-production offering, which runs from Sheffield Station Campus to the University of Sheffield.

What is the MDZ aiming to achieve?

In terms of development, the Don Valley Corridor will aim to link Rotherham with Sheffield as an industrial innovation district, building on its strengths in advanced materials, aerospace, defence forging and supply chains, robotics, AI, and clean energy.

Plans include creating a new employment cluster around the future Rotherham Gateway mainline station, and delivering mixed-use communities through the 2,500-home Bassingthorpe Farm development and the town centre housing delivery programme already underway in Rotherham.

Attercliffe will see 3,000 homes delivered, including the 1,000 already underway at Citu’s Attercliffe Waterside, and Scarborough International’s Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is also set for further development, with plans to anchor it and the National Centre for Child Health Technology in community health.

The existing Advanced Manufacturing Park, a flagship Harworth development at its former colliery site Waverley, will be ‘strengthened’, while another 2,000 jobs will be made available at the University of Sheffield’s Runway Park. 

Infrastructure pledges

Investment in infrastructure will aim to boost development, including the afore-mentioned Rotherham Gateway Station, tram extensions from Sheffield to Rotherham and Meadowhall, improved M1 connectivity and east‑west links across the Valley, as well as green links between those sites.

Although many of those measures have been previously announced, tying them up into the MDZ masterplan should allow for greater certainty that they will come to fruition.

What the leaders say:

Mayor Coppard said: “The Don Valley Corridor has always been the beating heart of the North’s industrial, manufacturing strength. That may have been forgotten by some, but it’s never been forgotten here; that heartbeat has never stopped.

“Our new plan will put the Don Valley and South Yorkshire back at the forefront of the UK’s manufacturing renewal, not just bringing together assets vital to energy, security and innovation, but powering them forward for the next generation.

“Across the Don Valley Corridor we shape, make. and create the technologies, industries and assets that are vital to the UK’s security, growth and prosperity, but we know we can do even more, creating the vital jobs and opportunities that people here deserve.

“And alongside our plans for the Don Valley’s manufacturing and industrial renaissance, we’ll make sure we’re building the homes and infrastructure people need, so everyone in South Yorkshire can stay near and go far.

“For as long as I can remember, Britain has doubled down on a growth model that meant the South East took both the benefits and the burdens of growth.

“If the whole country is to thrive, and every place is to stand on its own two feet, playing a full part in UK PLC, places like South Yorkshire will need to unlock their own, full potential.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Everywhere I go in the UK I see the talent, the vision and the ambition of our communities, but a lack of investment over decades has held them back. That’s why I’m backing the Don Valley Corridor, boosting the region’s economy and placing it at the centre of national growth.

“Investing in our regions outside of London and the South East will be pivotal to unleashing their potential and turbocharging growth. We have the right economic plan in a changing world: stability, investment, and reform to build a stronger more secure economy.”

Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “We can unlock 10,500 new homes in new neighbourhoods, and nearly 20,000 new jobs in fast-growing industries, all connected by the right infrastructure.

“Cutting edge centres of innovation like the AMRC and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park show what happens when you bring together world-leading research and industry and we will build on their success.”

Cllr Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, said: “For Rotherham, this really is about forging ahead with the next chapter of our borough’s growth, building on the lessons of the AMP as we build on the strengths of our heritage and the opportunities of new industries, infrastructure and investment.

“You only have to look at our plans for Rotherham Gateway to see the scale of that ambition – a new mainline station, new employment space, and the chance to bring thousands of good‑quality jobs right onto our doorstep.”

• READ MORE: Q&A with the University of Sheffield