Further free parking for Forge Island

Free parking is set to be extended to users of all businesses at Forge Island in Rotherham town centre.

Forge Island is Rotherham's new landmark leisure destination delivered by the council in partnership with Muse. The £47m development includes an 8-screen boutique cinema operated by The Arc Cinema and a 69-roomed Travelodge Hotel. Food outlets include Vetro Lounge, Sygnature Dish and Heavenly Desserts.

Since the first openings in 2024, footfall across Rotherham town centre was 10% higher than the previous year but there has been problems with the car park.

In February 2025, Rotherham Business News reported on a free concessionary parking offer for users of the businesses on Forge Island but the tariff for the 340 space car park has never been implemented due to "operational issues."

In October, Parking Services staff were drafted in to ensure the site is used appropriately after the council received a number of complaints about parking availability at Forge Island.

Now a decision has been made regarding a hybrid, ticketless system that will introduce new concessionary free parking and new parking charges.

The authority has had to weigh up issues such as potential higher parking fees that could deter visitors and impact the trading of the businesses, with the problem of "heavy usage by non-genuine customers," given the proximity to Riverside House, the police station and the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

The chosen option introduces concessions for all other businesses as part of the Forge Island development alongside the current free parking for cinema and hotel users.

Parking concessions will be extended to customers of all businesses located within the Forge Island development and that those concessions provide for 4 hours of free parking.

A decision dated December 24 2025 states that the authority will implement parking fees of up to 1 hour for free with up to 2 hours costing £2.50, up to 4 hours would be £5, and up to 24 hours would be £8.

The council will review the charges after 12 months.

To facilitate the new system, ANPR cameras would be used and tablets will be installed within the businesses in order for users to enter their car registration number and validate their parking. Validated free parking will be offered to vehicles displaying a valid blue badge.

Forge Island website

Images: Muse