HERE’S a collection of stories from the Barnsley Chronicle’s archives as they were reported in April 1974.
MORE than 30 Methodist churches in the Barnsley area have condemned the council’s plans to raise funds through a lottery.
At a circuit meeting, 32 representatives of Barnsley churches passed a resolution calling for the council to abandon its plans. The churches believe that public amenities should be financed through the rates rather than lotteries, which they believe depend of public acquisitiveness.
John Manning, circuit meeting secretary, said the resolution came from people heavily involved in service to the local community, not only through churches, but many other voluntary organisations.
“Methodists have traditionally been labelled as spoilsports,” said Mr Manning.
“But this is not the old die-hard tub-thumping response. Service to community is a long term commitment, and it needs such planning and serious financing. We felt that lotteries trivialised the matter.”
Barnsley Council’s Labour leader, Coun Fred Lunn, said: “I believe public amenities should be financed through the rates, but at a time when finances are restricted I would support other means which can be employed to supplement the rates and achieve the given objective.”
BARNSLEY markets will lose an estimated £74,000 in the coming financial year —
despite stall rent rises of up to 20 per cent.
Rents in the outdoor and semi-indoor market sections in the complex will rise by 20 per cent, and rents on the terraces by 10 per cent.
Howard Oldfield, a member of the Market Traders’ Federation, said it had urged members not to pay the rent rise because there had not been any talks between the federation and the council.
Dennis Roberts, the council’s Amenity Services Officer, said in the last financial year the markets lost nearly £80,000, and this year they would lose about £74,000, despite the new rent rises.
TWO BROTHERS and a sister are to contest the local elections at Barnsley on May 3 - and all three will be standing for different parties.
Jennie Fox, a former Barnsley Councillor, will be contesting the Central Ward as a Liberal candidate.
At Penistone, her 53-year-old brother Frank Ashton, a pit deputy, will be a Labour candidate, and another brother, Alan, of Worsbrough Dale, will be the Ratepayer candidate in that area.
THE BACKLOG of operations at Barnsley Hospital could take anything up to two years to clear.
As striking porters and sterilisation staff went back to work at the hospital on Tuesday, John Newton, Barnsley area health authority administrator, said there was a backlog of almost 1,000 operations.
“We are getting back to normal, but it will take two years to to clear the backlog of operations,” he said.
