Got a Story? - 01226 734262
News
Public help needed with village murals
TWO new murals at the Horse and Groom Square in Goldthorpe are set to be painted - and residents are being encouraged to take part.
Artists Tom Jackson and Craig Evans - who work together as STATIC - drew up the design for the public square following widespread consultation with people of all ages in the Dearne.
There will be a large mural on the exterior wall of Goldthorpe Library and a smaller, companion piece...
Care home staff prepare to take the plunge with sharks
WORKERS at a care home in Mapplewell will be facing their fears this summer - when they swim with sharks for charity.
Four members of staff at Deangate Care Home, in Mapplewell, will be making the plunge on July 23, at Sea Life, Blackpool, to raise money for their residents’ fund.
The team includes Rachael Addy, activities coordinator at Deangate, who last year won Community Hero at the Proud of Barnsley Awards.
Rachel raised over...
Hoyland RAF veteran secures volleyball finals place with Help for Heroes team
AN RAF veteran from Hoyland has made it to the finals of the Volleyball England Grand Prix with his Help for Heroes team.
Following a 14-year career in the RAF, Chris Platts was medically discharged after developing a debilitating back condition known as spondylolysis pars defect.
This is a condition caused by a fracture in the lower back that usually develops in younger people as a result of repetitive stress and strain.
After years of...
Year-on-year rise in town centre visitors continues
MILLIONS of people are flocking to Barnsley town centre every year, new figures obtained by the Chronicle have revealed.
According to a Freedom of Information request, more than 25 million visitors have been recorded since 2021/22, with year-on-year rises being recorded ever since.
The 2023/24 financial year, which saw 6,983,944 visits, is set to be surpassed when the following year’s statistics are published, with projections of 7.7 million being forecast.
According to the council, the
24-hour plan to raise cash for charities
A STAINCROSS man who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer is set to embark on a 24-hour fundraiser alongside members of a community gym to raise funds for two charities close to his heart.
John Firth, 57, has been attending The Box - a gym on Carlton Industrial Estate - for the last 16 months and he says it’s the best decision he’s ever made.
He describes the members as a second family, with himself...
Bin collections come under fire again
BARNSLEY Council apologised this week after ‘heavier-than-usual’ green bins led to rounds taking longer to complete - but a local councillor has hit out against the ‘excuses’ bosses are using.
During the first two months of this year Barnsley Council’s bin collection crews missed more than 100,000 bins due to the ‘extreme’ weather conditions, as well as the implementation of the council’s new safety scheme Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero.
It resu
Anne remembered as a ‘true socialist’
TRIBUTES have been paid to an inspirational Barnsley woman who co-founded the national Women Against Pit Closures movement during the miners’ strike who died last week.
Anne Harper, better known as Anne Scargill, died last Thursday at the age of 83 having battled against dementia.
Born in Barnsley in 1941, she was the daughter of a miner at Woolley Colliery where her future husband - National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) president Arthur Scargill - also...
Mayor pushing for improvements on trains
SOUTH Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has made his case to improve rail connectivity in the town following a meeting with the Transport Secretary - and it includes increasing the frequency on the Penistone Line.
The route, which starts at Barnsley Interchange and makes its way through Dodworth, Silkstone Common and Penistone stations on its way to Huddersfield, is already set to benefit from a raft of work.
Labour - in its budget - confirmed the...
Councillor calls for information after park vandalism
A LOCAL councillor is encouraging residents to get in touch following reported vandalism and criminal damage at Mapplewell Park.
It’s reported that after 4.30pm on Tuesday evening, Mapplewell Bowling Club was tackled by vandals.
Coun Steve Hunt has asked for anyone with any information to contact the police.
He said: “This damage involved two road signs from the kids’ cycle track being ripped out and thrown onto the bowling green.
“Guttering at the bowling green...
TV cameras roll down on the farm
CANNON Hall Farm will be back on the television screens next week.
Springtime on the Farm will air on Channel 5 at 8pm on Tuesday to Friday.
The Cawthorne farm is the official host for the show which has won a TV Choice Award for best factual programme three times in a row.
Presenters Helen Skelton and JB Gill are also involved in series eight of the show.
Director Rob Nicholson told the Chronicle: “Springtime...
Mike keeps his dad’s promise to return for show
A BARNSLEY legend - and indeed a national one - will be honoured by his son later this month with Mike Parkinson set to pay tribute to his father at the Civic.
Mike, youngest son of the late Sir Michael Parkinson, is back in Barnsley for a ‘Parky on Parky’ tribute show, ten years on from the last time they shared the town centre venue’s stage together.
Mike told the Chronicle: “It was important I...
Ex-miners still waiting for justice on their pensions
A LOCAL MP has vowed to support former pit workers who are calling for ‘justice’ over their pension scheme.
A demonstration was held at Barnsley South MP Stephanie Peacock’s Hoyland headquarters on King Street by ex-workers last Friday.
The location was chosen due to her work on both the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS) and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS).
Following years of campaigning, Labour delivered justice on the MPS last year by returning..
Council ignored fire fears, claims resident
A HORRIFIED woman whose home went up in flames and sustained a six-figure sum in damage has called on Barnsley Council to finally take responsibility after her pleas for action to be taken on a fire hazard were allegedly ignored.
Tracy Knowles, 60, said she had been in regular contact with Barnsley Council over the state of a neighbouring garden, on Rylstone Walk, Stairfoot, which she believed was not only an ‘eyesore’ but had the...
‘Major step forward’ in flood fight
VITAL flood alleviation work which is set to provide reassurance to in-fear communities whose homes have been ravaged by burst rivers multiple times in the last decade will continue at pace thanks to more government cash.
Marie Tidball, who represents Penistone and Stocksbridge, spoke out after meeting with Environment Secretary Steve Reed to press the case for more investment in local flood prevention.
The upper reaches of the 69-mile-long River Don, which flows through Penistone,...
BAFTA pair dedicate win to home town
A PAIR of game developers from Barnsley dedicated their BAFTA win to their home town this week after picking up the ‘Best British Game’ award.
James Carbutt, from Wilthorpe, and Pogmoor’s Will Todd received seven BAFTA Game nominations for their project ‘Thank Goodness You’re Here’.
And at Tuesday night’s awards ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the duo picked up the coveted award.
James said: “It’s a great honour to be here and...
Harley hits 20 million YouTube views
ONLINE sensation Harley Charlesworth hit 20 million YouTube views recently and is also helping Brazilian youngsters learn English potentially with a Barnsley accent.
Harley, who will be six later this month, has almost 130,000 subscribers for his unique brand of children’s horror videos, which he uploads to his channel ‘Harley’s World’.
The King’s Oak Primary pupil makes the videos with his dad and producer, Kieran, who is a professional photographer.
Kieran uses
Air pollution ‘proving fatal for one in twenty’
ONE in 20 adult deaths in Barnsley were caused by air pollution in 2023, new figures suggest.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) analyses the proportion of deaths among those aged 30 and older caused by air pollution, specifically by fine particle matter (PM2.5).
The figures show 5.2 per cent of deaths among this cohort in Barnsley in 2023 were attributable to particulate air pollution.
It was up from 4.9 per cent...
Coach’s call will see him head to Japan
A SHADOW scholarship coach at Barnsley Football Club has made the Team GB Men’s squad for the Deaflympics later this year - but he’s asking for supports from residents to get there.
Hashim Mahmood must raise £2,500 to cover essential costs including kits, accommodation and insurance for the Deaflympics in Tokyo later this year.
He was only a few months old when he contracted an ear infection that led to him becoming profoundly death.
But...
‘Assertive’ plan could have helped Claire
A CORONER has recorded her official concerns over the mental health care a vulnerable Barnsley woman had received in the run-up to her being found dead in a stream almost three months after disappearing.
Claire Driver, 44, was reported missing to South Yorkshire Police on June 24.
A month-long search around Silkstone - the last place she was seen - was conducted but the search ended as there were no more leads to follow and...
Fury over loss of council properties
A ‘SCANDALOUS’ decision to flatten two sought-after council properties in order to make a development site more attractive to housing firms will not result in them being replaced - despite no progress being made at the site in years.
Letters were sent to several neighbouring properties on South Road, Dodworth, several years ago to inform them of the demolition work which lasted about a month.
The cost of demolishing the two properties and making the...
