PLANS to convert a former job centre into bedsits are due to be approved by councillors next week.
Roger Beecroft applied for planning permission for change of use of the former Job Centre Plus on High Street, Goldthorpe, to a 15-bedroom house of multiple occupation (HMO).
It was one of 78 job centres identified by the government last year for closure and closed earlier this year - a move branded ‘disgraceful’ by Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey.
A report to be presented to Barnsley Council’s planning board next week recommends the plan be approved by councillors, despite a 147-signature petition raising concerns including loss of privacy, lack of sufficient parking space, and concerns about the effect it will have on the community if the ‘clientele are of an unsavoury nature’ and the effect it could have on house values in Goldthorpe.
The meeting is on Tuesday.
