Barnsley town centre retail and leisure scheme seeks development organisation

Barnsley Council is now pursuing a Development Management Organisation to deliver the development of new retail and leisure facilities as part of the Better Barnsley scheme, in Barnsley town centre.

The council is fully backing the retail and leisure elements of the scheme, with an outline planning permission, including a new cinema secured earlier this year.

The outline planning consent comprises 35,000 sq. m of space for the new shops and cinema, and is located next to permissions for the refurbished market and new Library.

In addition, the planning and design work of the first phases of demolition works have been completed, with further demolition works still progressing.

The council seeks a Development Management Organisation to deliver its town centre vision. The chosen organisation will work with the council to design the new retail and leisure units and specific outcomes expected to be achieved include:

• A sufficiently designed and costed scheme to secure investment to build the units
• To begin the process of securing pre-lets from leading brand retailers, new brand restaurants, and leisure operators. This will include a new multi-screen cinema to secure investment
• A detailed planning consent
• The integration of advanced technology and digital installations
• The development of an investment and funding strategy which will lead to the construction and occupation of the units.

Cllr Roy Miller, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place, said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to be part of something spectacular. Barnsley is a thriving market town with a growing economy. We’ve been recently recognised as one of the best performing towns in the UK with regards to private sector employment growth, experiencing a rise of 9.4%, between 2012 and 2013, the best in the UK. Barnsley also ranked ninth in the UK for private sector employment growth over the last 10 years and has employment rates higher than the regional and national averages.

“Our goal is clear, the provision of a comprehensive retail and leisure offer will enable us to attract more visitors, create more jobs, and make Barnsley a better place to live, work and visit for many years to come.”

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