UPWARDS of 150 homes could be built on the town centre’s biggest car park as part of ambitious plans to make Barnsley a more attractive place to both live and work.
Barnsley Council is in the process of turning the 800-space Courthouse car park into a ‘Digital Campus’ to encourage modern high-tech businesses to expand and move to the town. It will include housing, high quality office accommodation, college facilities and attractive ‘public realm’ street scene works to create a ‘campus’ feel.
It will build on the success of the Digital Media Centre, which is expanding to form ‘DMC2’ in the building known as The Core just across County Way. The Core is currently home to Voluntary Action Barnsley but that organisation is moving to Priory Campus at Lundwood.
Developers are already invited to submit proposals for the residential development of the lower part of the site, although a major stipulation is that car parking will have to be replaced, and work cannot start until the Glass Works scheme in the town centre is complete to avoid too much disruption to the town centre.
David Shepherd, the council’s head of economic regeneration, said ongoing work to improve the town centre was attracting new business and employment, and the benefits were already happening.
He pointed to many new shops, bars and restaurants which have opened in recent months, new development at Gateway Plaza, and the near-full occupancy of the Victorian Arcade.
“What I said a couple of years ago, when I was being harangued about businesses struggling in the town centre, was that businesses would find their own place elsewhere in the town centre, and that businesses would be encouraged to invest.
“That has happened, and you can see it happening. You only need to walk around the town to see it.”
He said Barnsley was becoming an even more attractive place for businesses to invest and for people to want to come and work.
“If we bring the office jobs and the professional people back into the town centre, you get more spend in the town centre and it builds a more economically buoyant and sustainable place.
“People don’t just want to work on an office park, they want to be part of something.
“If you look at the type of bars and restaurants we’re starting to see opening up in Barnsley, I think we’re going to see a lot more of that in the coming years, and these are the things that help create the sort of environment where people want to be.”
Leader of the council, Sir Steve Houghton said the Digital Campus was the next major scheme to help transform the town centre after the Glass Works, and said it was an important part of Barnsley’s future.
“What’s very clear is that the Digital Media Centre is a major success story for Barnsley.
“Not only is it full, we have demand for extra space which is really good news. We have businesses queuing up wanting to expand or to move into Barnsley.
“We have the opportunity to bring forward some of that now with the Core Building, and to get on with DMC2.”
