Town centre improvements

The development is definitely a much needed improvement to what was in place before. The disappointing thing for me is the state of the new paving, in particular outside the market hall entrance. I was in town late afternoon a few months ago and noticed they allow market traders vans to park up and load/unload their vehicles. This has resulted in many oil/diesel stains on new paving. Take a close look next time you are in town. I guess this situation for the traders isn't permanent once the buildings are completed. But the damage already appears to be done.

 

The overwhleming majority dont.

Only morons tape off litter bins

 

Definately Romanian. Same people if i recall also had the old tobacconists as well.

There was 500k worth of plants seized.

Depending on the plant type and size thats 2000 plants at least.

 

Above the old library was a small museum which think became The Centenary Rooms.

 

Here's the late Ian Nairn lamenting the state of Barnsley and the then proposed "improvements" back in the 1960s. He liked the people though.

 

That guy should have been listened to, and not just in Barnsley. His programmes were before my time but I've seen a few on YouTube and he knows his stuff.

 

I hope the lights they're installing on the railway side wall last a bit longer than the Civic clock.

 

It's supposed to complement the natural sandstone buildings. I guess sand coloured paint is a lot cheaper than real stone cladding.

 

I hope they call the new street "New New Street".

 

Thats what they alluded to initially. It was always referred to as honey in the initial plans.

Personally, if cladding was the only option, I think they should’ve stuck to the more popular grey colour palette. A light grey on top, charcoal grey on the bottom half, silver for the car park, and possibly a bit of navy to break it up. Obviously it doesn’t compare to the original stone buildings, but those colours would surely look better than what we’ve ended up with!

 

Colour not as important as design for me. It’s not monstrous. As some feel. But that’s down to taste. Not everyone will agree. I’m glad we are moving into the 21st century. Colours will come and go in popularity. Grey wouldn’t have been on anyone’s mind 20yrs ago.

 

For me it isn't so much the colour as it is the poor design in using all one colour along the back and main block side of the cinema.
If theyd had used the same design that's on the front incorporated on those sides it would have looked much better.

The good news is that the cladding is just cladding, in 10 or 20 years it can be taken off and changed.

 

I said earlier in the thread some buildings need nurturing and meant the council have got shut of eyesores that needed getting rid of. They will concentrate on the centre where most people venture. Hopefully the next project will be to bring back to life to those areas you mention. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so to speak. People will argue the cost when they think other avenues are more worthy of investment.

 

Not sure mate but I thought it was going over budget. But was factored in as most projects of this scale tend to allus go over. Wasn’t a fair bit allocated from the EU coffers. Nowt to back that up but a fading memory. ?

 

Get rid off pi55 heads and spice heads at the same time

 

There isn't a great deal that the council can do about that when the police, who's headquarters are a few hundred yards away, fail to do their job. Largely due to Tory cuts but also due to apathy.

 

Sadly it's the same in every town and city in the country.

 

Therein lies the problem for me. We’re discussing the potential to change the cladding before the building is even complete. Let’s be real, the likelihood of the cladding being replaced within the next 10 years is extremely minimal. I welcome the development. I can’t wait to see it finished. I’ve backed the council a lot over the last few years. However, I do genuinely think they’ve made a mistake to save on costs.