Plans have been submitted to redevelop a long-standing youth facility in Kimberworth, Rotherham, replacing the current building on Baring Road with a larger, modernised space tailored for youth and community use.

The existing site, which has been home to the Rotherham Blackburn Club for Young People since 1974, would be demolished to make way for a new, modular structure featuring a main hall, youth rooms, an outdoor patio, and enhanced accessibility infrastructure. The proposed facility would expand the internal floor area by 43% and retain four part-time staff roles.

The new design prioritises flexibility and sustainability, featuring timber-effect cladding, black aluminum fixtures, and a flat roof. Ten new cycle parking spaces and added shrubbery to support biodiversity are also included in the plan.

The project, submitted by Corstorphine and Wright on behalf of the youth club, aims to minimise construction disruption through off-site modular building methods. The club remains active during the planning phase, offering regular programming for young people aged 8 to 18.

The public consultation on the proposal is open until June 19. The upgrade is positioned to support expanded services and improve long-term community engagement, particularly in youth development and mental health support.

Harrogate College has been given the go-ahead from the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Planning Committee to proceed with a £22m campus rebuild. The plans were passed unopposed by councillors. In addition to a new state-of-the-art main campus building, the planned facilities also include a renewable energy technology centre. Harrogate College is undertaking this rebuild to strengthen its ability to offer cutting-edge courses in priority growth sectors for Harrogate and the wider North Yorkshire region, including advanced manufacturing, low carbon construction, retrofit, sustainable energy, health science, and hospitality. The improved facilities that learners will benefit from include a mock hospital ward, a digital technology suite, an electric vehicle workshop, and a construction centre focused on modern building methods. Harrogate College are now awaiting written confirmation from the council before commencing the project. Harrogate College’s principal, Danny Wild, said: “It is immensely pleasing to have now secured planning permission to pursue this forward-looking, innovative and value for money investment into Harrogate’s educational infrastructure. “We are now awaiting written confirmation from the local authority to proceed with Harrogate College’s rebuild. “The new campus will enable increased breadth and quality within the curriculum on offer at the college, allowing us to better support local and regional skills needs. As the only general further education college in the area, I’m excited to see the benefits these new facilities will bring local young people, adults and the economy.” David Skaith, mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said: “Everyone in our region should have the chance to thrive – that means connecting our communities to the opportunities that matter. Harrogate College’s redevelopment marks a big investment for the future of our region, giving people the skills and training needed for tomorrow’s jobs and helping our local economy grow.” Construction is due to begin on the rebuild in the coming months, with the new buildings set to open their doors to students in the 2026 academic year.

Sheffield is set to be part of a government-led partnership with Bristol City Council and the London Borough of Lewisham looking to accelerate the development of small plots of brownfield land for housing. The Small Sites Aggregator scheme will see Sheffield City Council work alongside the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), developers and private sector funders. It will look at better accessing smaller plots of brownfield land which are usually challenging to develop. This will help meet housing demand nationwide. The scheme looks to support the delivery of housing on Council-owned small sites in a number of ways:

• Bringing together a pipeline of small sites which will enable economies of scale in development
• Enabling private funding investment into the programme to develop the small sites
• Providing Government financial and expert support to enable Councils to get sites ready for development

The overall aim is to deliver new social rent homes and help address temporary accommodation challenges currently faced by Local Authorities nationwide. Sheffield City Council will form one of the pilot areas for the scheme during this financial year, as well as 2026/2027. There are a number of potential sites for such development across Sheffield, ranging from less than five, up to 15 potential homes on each one. Due diligence will now take place alongside the partnership and then a consultation process to decide on viability for inclusion. Kate Martin, executive director – City Futures at Sheffield City Council, said: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with MHCLG on this exciting pilot scheme to accelerate the development of these smaller plots of land to meet our city’s housing demand. “We already have our own Small Sites Programme that aims to increase housing supply of all tenures on small parcels of underutilised Housing Revenue Account (HRA) land. But small sites can be challenging to develop, with small build numbers making viability often an issue. This pilot scheme will help us to accelerate and develop more of these sites right across the city.”

Barwood Capital has acquired a vacant former car showroom in Doncaster as its third self-storage investment in partnership with Flexiss Group. The deal was completed through Barwood’s Regional Property Growth Fund V, which focuses on repurposing underutilised commercial assets into modern, energy-efficient storage facilities.

The site, a 33,592 sq ft former Arnold Clark showroom on Wheatley Hall Road, is located in an established commercial area approximately one mile from Doncaster city centre. Plans for the redevelopment include over 60,000 sq ft of self-storage space across two levels, with additional external drive-up units. The scheme is targeting an EPC rating of A, aligning with Barwood’s focus on sustainable asset transformation.

This acquisition follows two earlier investments: a former Matalan warehouse in Chester acquired in January 2025, and the Scott Self Storage Facility in Lincoln, acquired in summer 2024. Flexiss Group continues to serve as operator and development partner across all three assets, bringing operational scale and sector expertise to the portfolio.

The Doncaster site is positioned along a key arterial route, with high traffic volume and access to a major logistics hub, factors that support its potential to meet growing demand in an underserved self-storage market.

Construction company Hobson & Porter has won a major decarbonisation and stock condition works contract with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which will see the firm install the latest sustainable technology and refurbish hundreds of homes and buildings each year. The work will be worth approximately £15 million over a four-year period and will see Hobson & Porter refurbishing around 200 council owned homes each year, and significantly improving their energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings to either B or C. The company will also work on homes that the council is currently buying to supplement its existing housing stock. Hobson & Porter has already been tasked with installing 1.5kWp ‘in-roof’ solar panels on more than 20 residential streets as well as making efficiency upgrades to the loft spaces. Structural repairs will also be carried out alongside the full refurbishment of a mix of council owned buildings including offices, industrial units and storage depots. This will include replacing reinforced concrete floor slabs for insulated ones, rewiring, installing new heating systems, underpinning, drainage repairs and internal structural work. In addition, Hobson & Porter will be improving communal areas in assisted living schemes and apartment buildings, as well as refurbishing and demolishing a series of garage blocks. Sam Robertson, from Hobson & Porter, said: “East Riding of Yorkshire Council is a longstanding client so we’re very pleased to win this new contract. Having worked on East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s previous frameworks for the last seven years, I am happy we have been recognised as a key partner in delivering this latest scheme, which is testament to our team’s hard work and high standards of workmanship. “It’s particularly rewarding because it involves a wide variety of work, from refurbishing all types of homes, which will make a genuine difference to local people, through to installing the latest sustainable technology. All this will significantly improve the council’s property portfolio across a large swathe of East Yorkshire, as well as future-proofing buildings and homes for future generations of residents, staff and visitors.” Councillor Gary McMaster, East Riding of Yorkshire Council cabinet member for planning, housing and infrastructure, said: “This contract has been designed to ensure that as many of the homes and buildings that we own and run as possible can benefit from modern and sustainable technology. This will ensure that they are fit for purpose for many years to come and guarantees the most efficient and cost-effective use of resources.”