Developing land for investment

Barnsley as a borough has continued to grow as a place to live, work and invest. There's been huge success in bringing in new investment. This is through thriving business parks and improved infrastructure. We're also creating better networking for our businesses.

New distribution centres, an NHS blood transplant facility and new premises for businesses now operate from Barnsley. They've grown from local start-ups to major national companies. It's vital to consider how the borough's changed and continues to evolve to meet the needs of our growing economy. That change will continue now and in the future.

Why is change needed? 

As a borough, Barnsley cannot stand still. We're in a great location with great transport links. The area is attractive to companies looking for prime area for their business. If we don't aid the development of some areas of land, businesses will go elsewhere. It's a hard balance which is being assessed all the time. We need to create jobs and business growth at a challenging time.

With more and better jobs comes a need for housing. Housing proposals will provide the latest high quality, energy efficient homes for our residents.

This is why it's important each application is considered in depth. Then we can create robust masterplan frameworks to work with developers. All masterplans look at the long-term impact on green spaces and make sure plans are in place for the surrounding land to recover.

Do we assess the impact?

The truth is, difficult decisions have had to be made to support our vision for the borough up to 2030.

Any development can have an impact on residents, but in all cases, we aim to minimise this. In developments recently, under the Local Plan, commitments have been made to achieve net gains in biodiversity. This included new community facilities, cycle paths and green spaces. The plans are detailed, and landscaping is a focus throughout each masterplan.

Landscapes and wildlife successfully reinstated

The legacy of mining in the borough left a number of sites in the area unused. They have the chance to be restored to green space.

Local landscapes have evolved in the last twenty years. Through careful planning, development sites have been built in line with clear plans and policies. It'll help maintain and reshape the surrounding green areas. 

We also own and support the development of six local nature reserves in Barnsley. Our Parks Services manage five of these. They carry out a planned programme of habitat management and enhancement. This is for both the public's enjoyment and to attract wildlife.

The future

We'll carry on working with developers and through our masterplan frameworks make sure we get the right developments for the borough. The local environment will always be a priority. It's vital to consider that vast quantities of brownfield land have now been returned to the green belt. Almost every former pit stack is now acres of public, open green space.