Council seeks solicitors to advise on use of ‘Bare Trust’ for land pooling on 2,400-home scheme

Rotherham Council is to seek to appoint solicitors to a £70,000 contract to advise on the use of a 'Bare Trust' for land pooling for a major development.

The local authority and another landowner, Fitzwilliam Wentworth Estate, are looking to progress the Bassingthorpe Farm project.

Bassingthorpe Farm is a 200Ha site that was removed from the Green Belt as a strategic allocation in Rotherham’s Core Strategy document, adopted in 2014.

The site is expected to accommodate approximately: 2,400 new houses; 11Ha of employment land; a new primary school; and a new local centre.

It is expected that new houses will start being built from 2021/2022.

The solicitors contract is expected to start on 15 April 2020 and run until 31 May 2020.