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Love Where You Live
Love Where You Live is more than just an initiative – it’s a community movement. It’s all of us working together, listening to each other, and making a real difference.
It’s about creating a Barnsley that’s vibrant, welcoming, and full of opportunity – a Barnsley that we’re proud to call home.
Love Where You Live is a £3.5 million investment by Barnsley Council in our communities. We’re investing in projects to improve community facilities, parks and the street scene, making our neighbourhoods more attractive and our communities stronger and more connected.
Love Where You Live is all about trying something new, getting involved in your community and making a difference. Why not put on an event in your area with one of our Unity and Inclusion Grants, or become a volunteer at a community group or organisation in your neighbourhood?
Love Where You Live is for everyone. Together, we can make Barnsley a more connected, welcoming and thriving place to call home.
Upcoming events
Wherever you live in the borough, there’s always something happening in your local area to get involved with. Find out what’s on in your local area.
Keep updated
Sign up to your local newsletter compiled by your local Area Team to stay in the know and be connected with your community.
Ward community enhancement projects
We’re bringing forward community enhancement projects in every Barnsley area in consultation with local councillors and the community.
As of March 2026, the following ward projects have been completed across the borough:
- Central: new seating at Nelson Avenue in Monk Bretton.
- Darfield: new planters at Great Houghton.
- Darton East: improved street lighting in Darton.
- Darton West: safety improvements at Harry Road Recreation Ground.
- Dearne North: new roofing for the St Helen’s Church and church hall, and new flooring for the kitchen at Houghton Road Community Centre in Thurnscoe.
- Hoyland Milton: improvements to Blacker Hill war memorial garden.
- Old Town: community safety enhancements at Brierfield Close, Old Town, tree planting at Brettas Park and safety improvements at Honeywell Close in Honeywell.
- Stairfoot: a new heating system at Christ Church Ardsley.
Our Area Teams are working with councillors to identify and bring forward projects in every ward, funding investment in community facilities and environmental improvements.
Parks and green spaces
Our parks and green spaces staff are coordinating and delivering an unprecedented number of improvement projects across the borough.
We’ve allocated £2.1 million to parks and green spaces improvements, making our parks and playgrounds safer, better equipped and more welcoming. Make sure you’re following our Barnsley Parks and Green Spaces Facebook page to stay up to date on what improvements have been made near you.
Unity and Inclusion Grants
Our Unity and Inclusion Grants have made a great start in funding projects that bring communities together.
Community groups can apply for £5000, or £10,000 across two years, to fund community projects. Find out how to apply for a community grant.
Activities funded by the grants
- Elsecar Cricket Club hosted three community events with different themes – curry, Caribbean and Italian – which combined food and culture to break down barriers.
- At Thurnscoe, Retro Fitness used their grant to fund inclusive kickboxing sessions promoting fitness and fun to people of all ages from the Dearne.
- In November 2025, the Dearne Playhouse and Welfare Park in Goldthorpe hosted the magical Glowthorpe lantern festival, bringing hundreds of people together for a lantern parade and light and sound-themed celebrations. The grant funded a programme of workshops to produce lanterns with the themes 'Love Where You Live' and 'growth', while the festival itself was supported by the Love Where You Live Cultural Fund.
- In December 2025, Worsbrough Working Men’s Club hosted Flavours of Christmas, where the community came together for an evening filled with laughter, music and fabulous food.
It's been a great year for this grants scheme, which has helped groups to organise cultural events celebrating our diverse cultures. Look out for details of more events and projects funded by these grants over the coming months.
Housing and environmental task force
Since our Housing and Environment Neighbourhood Task Force was launched in August 2025, they've made great strides in tackling excess waste, graffiti and environmental issues across the borough.
As of January 2026 the taskforce has completed 15 scheduled weeks of clean-ups so far, removing a large volume of waste and working with council colleagues, councillors, partners from Berneslai Homes and volunteers to collect litter and cut back overgrown vegetation.
We've removed more than 80 tonnes of waste, filled 650 purple bags, and been supported by over 200 volunteers. Take a look at one of our clean-ups in Cudworth.
We’re working on a 2026 schedule to carry out more community clean-ups. The team are also visiting schools across Barnsley for special assemblies to spread the word to pupils about how we're working together for a cleaner, greener Barnsley.
If you’d like to take part in or organise a litter pick in your area, visit our litter picking page.
Caretaker teams
We’ve now fully recruited into our new area caretaker teams, and we have road sweepers and sprayers making their way across the borough. Across our social media pages, you can see before and after photos showing all the efforts our caretaker teams are putting in.
The Neighbourhoods Team have also been carrying out a bin audit to support residents who need new bins but may not be able to afford them.
Love Where You Live Culture Programme
Our Love Where You Live Culture Fund is helping people celebrate their area’s community, heritage and culture.
In November 2025, theatre company LUNG published their 'Calling Barnsley' book, bringing together monologues sourced from our Barnsley communities. The phone box where you can hear these stories will be touring the borough; if you see it in your area you can dial a number and hear a captivating story.
To keep residents exploring their local area, A Walk Around Town packs have been produced to showcase what local residents love about where they live. Grab one from your local library get exploring.
How you can get involved
We value any contributions that you make in your local area. Whether it's some kind of volunteer work or being involved in decision making, it makes a real difference for people who live there.
