Bookable spaces

We offer a range of sites that give you the chance to promote your business, charity or products. You can do this in:

• Barnsley town centre
• Cudworth
• Goldthorpe
• Hoyland
• Penistone
• Royston
• Wombwell

Event space

You can hire a static pitch in Barnsley town centre and Wombwell, Penistone and Hoyland. Our pitches start from 3m x 3m in size.

We don't have static pitches in Goldthorpe, Royston or Cudworth. If you see a space you'd like to use here, we'll consider this.

Roaming bookings are available if you prefer to promote to a wider audience, rather than use a static site. Roaming bookings are available at all our sites. 

Charitable street collections

Our pitches and roaming bookings can be used for charitable events. Hire fees apply to all bookings.

To book a space solely to carry out a charitable street collection, we can offer you this free of charge.

Booking restrictions

We're unable to accept bookings which conflict with our core values or policies. This means we won't accept requests for space for any promotion related to:

• gambling
• tobacco
• vaping
• any other smoking related product

We'll consider requests for bookings involving alcohol on a case by case basis. We'll consult with our Public Health team about these. Our decision on whether to accept the booking will be final.

Things to think about

• Weather - all our spaces are outside and uncovered.
• Access - as they're in and around the main high streets, some of our sites can't be accessed by a vehicle. They may also have some restrictions on when you can come and go.
• Power - there is no power source at any of our spaces. You'll need written permission prior to booking if you want to use a generator.
• We don't supply any equipment. The consent holder is responsible for the set-up of their event unless help is requested (additional costs will apply). 
• Public liability insurance is needed for all bookings. This must have a minimum cover of £5 million.

Town centre management reserve the right to charge extra fees if extra staff time is spent on the managing and monitoring of your event.

Conditions of use and cancellations

You need to comply with the council’s equal opportunities and health and safety policies.

For full details of our terms, please read our conditions of use.

How to book

We recommend you contact us first before filling in our booking form. We can only grant a consent once we know how much space is needed. We also consider the nature of your promotion and the nearby businesses, to ensure  minimal disruption to other users. Please email us at towncentre@barnsley.gov.uk for more details.

Please complete our online form to request a booking. You'll need to upload a copy of your public liability insurance in the form, and any other supporting documents. This includes a risk assessment if your event is large or complex.

Once your booking has been confirmed and accepted we'll issue a formal written consent and permit.

Leaflet distribution

You need to apply for a consent permit to hand out free printed material. This includes leaflets, cards, free newspapers, menus or other promotional material. A permit is needed whether the material is given out by an organisation or a person.

In Barnsley town centre the consent permit applies to the town centre only. In Cudworth, Goldthorpe, Hoyland, Penistone, Royston and Wombwell it also applies to the surrounding areas of the high street.

You can't use this consent to hand out products, samples or use any static space for equipment etc. If you need a static space, please apply for a bookable space to hold an event.

We don't allow anyone to attach or place any free printed material on parked vehicles, buildings or any other structure. The material must not be in the form of a sticker or any other self-adhesive backing.

Exemptions

Consent isn't required if the material being distributed is:

• for political purposes
• for religious purposes or other beliefs
• on behalf of a charity
• inside a building, bus or taxi
• in letterboxes

Permits and fees

Waste management

You're responsible for leaving your allocated area site clean and tidy. Litter must be collected and removed within a 50m radius of your activity.

You must not use the public refuse bins for any waste left over from your activities. Please take your waste with you and discard of it responsibly. Should we incur any extra cleaning costs, an additional fee and admin cost will be charged to the consent holder.

Conditions of consent

Full details of our terms, please read our conditions of consent.

How to apply

We recommend you make an initial enquiry before filling in our booking form. This is to check if a consent permit could be provisionally allowed for your activity. It also checks if the areas you'd like to distribute is available. We need to process your application to confirm your consent permit has been officially granted. Please email us at towncentre@barnsley.gov.uk to find out more.

Complete our online form to apply. In the form you'll need to upload a copy of your public liability insurance. You'll also need to provide a copy of all printed material you want to distribute.

If we approve your application, you'll need to pay the fee as soon as possible. We'll issue the consent permit when the fee's been paid. We'll email this to the address provided in your application form. You can also be given a printed permit. This can be collected from the customer service desk in The Glass Works market.

Buskers and street performers

We welcome activity which enhances the experience and atmosphere of our high streets.

Buskers and street artists don't need a licence to perform in the Barnsley borough, unless you're performing for a charity.

You must follow our code of conduct to consider the needs of others nearby.

Code of conduct

• Children under the age of 14 aren't allowed to busk. We recommend young people under the age of 16 be accompanied by an adult.

• Specific area zones are allocated for busking. This is except for when pre-booked events/activities are taking place. The following areas will permit one busker per zone. We recommend of a 100 metre gap between performers.
  
  
  • Zone 1 – Cheapside
  • Zone 2 – Queen Street
  • Zone 3 – May Day Green
  • Zone 4 – Peel Square
  • Zone 5 – Market Street
  • Zone 6 – Albert Street

• When choosing your pitch, please avoid blocking access to shops, offices, residences and fire escapes. You also need to avoid other amenities, such as cash machines and phone boxes.
  
  
• Please be respectful to street traders including The Big Issue vendors. We recommend at least a 20 metre gap.
  
  
• You also need to make sure your presence doesn't cause an obstruction of the highway. This includes the gathering of crowds. You also must prevent any trip hazards from your equipment. This includes the placing of donation hats or buckets.
  
  
• We ask that you don't perform for longer than three hours from the same place. This is to respect residents, workers and other users of our high streets.
  
  
• Amplification isn't encouraged as it often causes complaints. We ask that noise levels be kept at a reasonable level. This will avoid being asked to lower the volume or stop performing.
  
  
• You should have a varied repertoire so as not to cause undue nuisance to residents, retailers or any other users. Make sure your performances aren't delivered in a manner that's dangerous to yourself or anyone else.
  
  
• Barnsley is a family friendly borough. Your actions, appearance, dress, lyrics, script or props must not be of a nature that could cause offence or alarm to other users of our high streets.
  
  
• We know members of the public may wish to contribute for enjoyable performances. You must not actively solicit monetary contributions. This includes signs or the passing around of a hat.
  
  
• Care must be taken in protecting your own equipment and/or any contributions gained.
  
  
• You must comply instantly to any request made by the Town Centre Wardens, South Yorkshire Police or any officer of Barnsley Council. This may involve lowering the volume, moving locations, or even cease performing altogether.

Read our code of conduct.

Report a problem

If you have a problem with a busker or street performer, please speak to them to try and resolve this. If the problem continues, please contact us.

For more details

For any enquiries, or if you're a large group who want to hire a dedicated event space, please contact us.