THE Glass Works development is not due to be finished until 2020 but work has already started this week on some of the finishing touches like paving, lighting and street decoration.
Leader of Barnsley Council Sir Steve Houghton said traders and shoppers will be able to see the standard of the finished town centre redevelopment long before the builders leave, with the new meat and fish market and the area around it fully complete by September.
The £8m public realm works, part of the wider £130m development, will see major improvements to the street scene in the new public square which will be where the temporary market hall currently stands, as well as Cheapside, May Day Green, Kendray Street, Queen Street, Peel Square and Midland Street.
It will use a combination of ‘craggy’ natural stone, high-quality paving, lighting, seating, plants, trees and water features, modernising the look of the town centre and opening up new and existing public areas.
Rather than wait until work on the buildings is complete, the public realm improvements began this week and will be completed in sections.
“We’re making sure we’re setting a high quality standard right from the off with the Glass Works,” Steve told the Chronicle.
“We don’t want it to open and then have to be digging up the area around it.
“People will be able to see the standard and the quality of the finished scheme when the meat and fish market (off Cheapside) opens on September 1.”
The new main public square at the heart of The Glass Works will feature attractive terraces made from artificial turf and stone, creating an amphitheatre to host events and performances throughout the year. There will also be a cascading water pool, family-friendly outdoor dining venues and permanent outdoor market stalls.
Peel Square will also receive a revamp with the old public toilets removed and the area re-imagined as a historical town square.
Seamus Lennon, lead architect at IBI Group said: “‘IBI Group has been working with Barnsley Council to completely transform the town centre’s public realm.
“This includes the remodelling of the existing pedestrianised retail streets of Queen Street and Cheapside to the creation of new public squares at Peel Square, the Transport Interchange and the jewel in the crown, The Glass Works Square, where the temporary indoor market currently stands.
“The Glass Works Square will redefine the centre of Barnsley with terraced landscape features, cascading water features, stone walls, and planting. There will be space for hosting events and outdoor dining terraces that will bring life and vibrancy through the day and night to make this space a focal destination for the town. It will all be linked together with a design character representative of the ‘craggy’ Pennine landscape.
“This work will create a revitalised street scene for Barnsley people to be proud of and enjoy.”
Cheapside’s outdoor market stalls have been moved to Kendray Street and May Day Green to allow the works to take place.
Cheapside will be closed to vehicles for 23 weeks but pedestrians will have full access to both the Meat and Fish Market entrance and the retail shops along the street.
