The site remained derelict until the mid-1990s, when Rotherham Council started a regeneration programme with funding from the
European Regional Development Fund and Derelict Land Grants. Manvers,
Wath Main Colliery and the
Wath railway marshalling yard were demolished, cleared of contamination and landscaped. A nature reserve managed by the RSPB
Old Moor Wetland Centre RSPB reserve containing the 45 acre Manvers Lake was created and the rest of the site was developed for light industry and commerce with
call centres for companies such as Ventura (bought out by
CAPITA in 2011; CAPITA fully took over on 1 January 2012), TSC,
T-Mobile and others occupying purpose-built units. The site contains the area's largest area of private employment. It was the location of the nursing
campus of the
University of Sheffield and is now home to the Dearne Valley College [DVC]. A 9-hole golf course and driving range, hotel, restaurants and residential home were built after plans for a multiplex cinema was objected to by Barnsley Council. In 2008 the British Canoe Union took a 250-year lease on Manvers Lake. A boat house complex with a cafe, slipway and parking was completed in 2010. With
Sport England assistance an annex was added in 2015. The multi-sport club, Manvers Waterfront Boat Club, established in the boat house has 800 members who take part in canoeing, kayaking, triathlon, running, cycling, angling, dragon boating and model boating. In 2016 management of the boathouse, lake and public areas were vested in The Manvers Lake and Dearne Valley Trurt, a registered charity. Several distribution and warehousing centres dominate the area.
Maplin Electronics and
Next are two of the companies located here, Maplin after moving from
Wombwell, two miles away. In 2015 an incinerator complex was completed on the eastern edge of the site. Construction of housing developments around the lake at Manvers begun in 2009 were completed in 2015 comprising than 300 homes consisting of apartments and houses. Retail outlets, a health centre and restaurants were completed in 2016 to add to the Blue Bell public house already on the site. ==Sources==