I am not a rich person but I'm from Barnsley and I think I have as much to spend in a bigger retailer as someone from Sheffield does. Unfortunately there aren't any in Barnsley so I drive to Meadowhall. That doesn't mean I don't have money to spend it means I don't have the opportunity to spend it in Barnsley
Meadowhall is totally different though... it never rains, is never cold, always has parking nearby, etc. Towns can’t keep up with that unless they put a roof over it. Big retailers won’t go to Barnsley town centre... why would they? There’s cortonwood and other retail parks that are more popular. Barnsley is a famous market town. Putting up the rents to that extent will kill off the markets and kill of the town. BMBC need to be brought to task for this ridiculous idea. Maybe they can make up the shortfall by selling the big tin hut... oh no, they’ve already lost millions on that as well!
Same old same old . The Barnsley rate payer /shopper/ worker will be expected to pay for it all , but the whole project will not offer opportunity to the Barnsley rate payer /shopper/worker to maybe set up a small business within to try and make a living .
I think you've missed the point about Meadowhall its more to do with the folk of Barnsley have more money to spend than on pound shops. It also rains at Cortonwood.
It does rain at cortonwood... but people don’t have to walk further than 100 yds from their car carrying bags full of shopping. Town centres are not where big retailers want to be anymore. However, people do come into Tarn from all over including Sheffield to go to the market... BMBC look intent on killing the market like Sheffield has recently...
I'm friends with an accountant at the council. Been with him to the match today. Every story I've heard of this nature so far has turned out not to be true. I'll ask him about this one.
This was always going to happen. I was driven out of business in Leeds in 2004 due to rent & rates rises of 30k & lost my flat & had massive debts as a result. Being in business is hard. I now run an agency from home (a very small flat in LS6) & have nothing to do with city centre rent & rates.
The market was the best thing about the town centre, coaches used to come from all over the north to visit it. But we shouldn't be surprised by the council's mismanagement, they've being doing that for 50 years at least. They were the ones who knocked down the old Victorian buildings and replaced them with the concrete "brutalist" buildings they're replacing now.
Except that's not strictly true is it. Which current council members were the ones who knocked down the old Victorian buildings?
Stuart the Butcher, its who I've been talking to today. Down the bottom of this report https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/private-firm-to-manage-town-s-new-food-court
I think if the rents go up then the prices will go up. When I’ve spoken to people who’ve visited Barnsley Market they’ve always spoke about prices and how cheap it is compared to other Markets they’ve visited. Not about the buildings or other facilities around those markets but the prices and variety . I hope BMBC doesn’t drive this away ,only time will tell but first impressions are not good imo