HERE’S a few stories from the Barnsley Chronicle’s archives as they were reported back in 1981.
AROUND 60 guests were evacuated from Ardsley House Hotel when a fire broke out.
The fire, believed to have been started by a faulty electrical fitting in the cocktail bar ceiling, was spotted by the duty night manager Newton Craft.
He said: “Some guests wanted a late night snack, and as I returned with the sandwiches, I saw flames spurt from a light fitting and then across the ceiling.”
Firemen using breathing apparatus brought the fire under control, then residents were allowed back into the hotel. The damage, estimated to be around £1,000, was confined to the cocktail bar ceiling and dining area.
TOWN centre car parking charges are being increased by Barnsley Council.
For the multi-storey cart park and all surface car parks, except Piper’s Cottage, the fees will be: 20p for up to two hours; 40p for four hours; 60p for six hours and 80p for more than nine hours.
Tuesday’s meeting of Barnsley Council’s resources and licensing committee was told that if the fees were not increased the council would lose nearly £90,000 a year on the car parking account.
BARNSLEY’S prospects of getting an independent radio station were given a boost yesterday.
The Independent Broadcasting Authority are looking in detail at the station, it was revealed.
And a rumour that the station would be linked to Doncaster was confirmed.
The move is seen as the first sign that the Radio Barnsley idea is being actively considered.
Proposals were first announced by the IBA in July 1979.
A ‘MAN BAN’ has been placed at one Barnsley shop to tackle overcrowding.
PJ Textiles, on New Street, has placed the ban to keep the shop free from obstructions.
It was the idea of Peter Kwapisz, a director of the firm, who was worried about how overcrowded it would become during sales.
His brother David, who also works for the company, explained: “Last year it was really chaotic. Everybody was falling over everybody else and some fabrics got damaged by cigarettes.
“So this year, we decided to ban smoking, prams and husbands.
“They usually just come in with their wives and stand around waiting. To be quite honest, we simply cannot afford to waste the space, so now we politely ask them to wait outside. It is quite a sight sometimes, to see a crowd of men waiting patiently on the front doorstep, but most of them see the point and wait outside.”
