Revised plans for the town centre

The building that house the indoor market (Barnsley Met Building) is still being refurbished, they're stripping it back to its shell. Two multi screen cinema's would end up with them both going bankrupt and no cinema.

 

has anyone been to gunwharf quays? everytime i think about these plans it makes me think of that place i know its gong to be alot different but still reminds me of it, its not a bad place to go during the summer

 

Agree, which is why the Alhambra scheme should crack on so that by the time the council get round to it we'll already have an operating multi screen cinema.

 

Did you see the plans for the Alhambra? Like the pound shops of the cinema world.

 

My understanding with regard to the bridge across Jumble Lane was that Network Rail wanted to get rid of the crossing but the Council pointed out that this would cause inconvenience for pedestrians so some sort of bridge was required and because it was Network Rail's idea to remove the crossing they should pay for it. Network Rail refused so the crossing remains and the bridge is no longer required. As I park up at the Court House car park on match days and walk across the bridge in the interchange it's no big deal for me.

 

My only gripe with the plans is locating the outdoor market in the new public square, they look an eyesore, leave them in the indoor market. There's enough space dedicated to the market. Concentrate more on the names coming into the shops, restaurants etc and filling these properties, stop sticking market stalls everywhere.

 

I think it should still be closed as there'll be no need for any traffic to cross it once the new service road is constructed (still in the latest plan). I reckon Network Rail refused what the council wanted but would probably pay for a standard sized, basic crossing like what you'd find at Normanton/Woodlesford stations. If they closed the crossing and extended the platforms you could have trains stopping much closer to the town centre too but still with access to the interchange from the current station building.

I've tweeted the council and asked for further info/confirmation but they aren't responding. Probably because I've called them out on the demolition phasing. They say they've changed the phasing which means the Multi-Storey car park won't be demolished until early next year so I've asked if the old TEC site will now go before the car park, this is the only scenario if they've "changed the phasing" but I bet it's not happening. I genuinely can't understand how they can already be months behind schedule when in reality they've barely done a thing. If this was privately funded we'd be starting to see construction work by now. I don't think we'll see any of the new builds (minus the library) until at least 2018!

I've looked through the latest plans and the style, layout and unit sizes look very similar to Friars Walk in Newport which, rather interestingly, is a development managed by the same company the council are using.

 

What? The market stalls are going to be in the middle of that new square? Well that's the cinema and restaurants going bankrupt quickly then

 

Would a basic crossing cope with the footfall on match days?

 

The market done properly with a solid meat and fish market... you know a USP. Something that folk actually visit barnsley from out of town would be nothing but benefical.
The problem youve got is there needs to be more than that.
Needs to be more than the 50 or so cafes.
More than EU supermarkets charity shops poundland greggs and efag merchants.
barnsley has the potential to develop into a town that has a solid retail base. A solid market. A solid influx od both local and out of towners to come do a days shopping.
Wether it happens is a different matter.

 

https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/media/1...nchor=center&mode=crop&rnd=130761547410000000


This is standing at Jumble Lane crossing looking up to the glass building which is the new library, the buildings on the right are currently Groggers, William Hill. These drawings are the last to come out, I don't know if they've changed it like the multi-storey or the crossing. They seem to hold these meetings with market traders who are probably out of touch anyway.

 

One of the problems for me is that the council is trying to push the arcade, sorry the Victorian arcade, as an area of independent boutiques. Apart from the fact that it has charity shops, travel agents, a pub, chain bakery, hairdressers and hearing aid shops leaving precious little room for actual independent unique shops there is the major issue that it isn't in the town centre and isn't in the area being redeveloped. They would have been far better off pushing the new 'street' that they are building right in the heart of the new development and encouraging independent boutiques to fill that.

As you say, a proper market with a USP will attract people in their thousands and a proper in centre area of independent boutiques would do just the same. Combined they could secure the future of the town centre.

The new town square is also a really good idea with restaurants on all sides and hopefully a classy entrance to the cinema and a well designed public library. It really does create a leisure area for the town. The problem is that the centre of that square HAS to be used for more leisure based activities, you can't stick a market in the centre of it. As soon as you stick market stalls in the centre you totally devalue the restaurants because nobody wants to go for a meal and have to walk through a market to get there, nobody wants to go to the cinema and do the same either. There should be plenty of space in the redeveloped and massively expanded indoor market to incorporate the market stalls without the need to stick them in the middle of the town square as well.

Also for the restaurants and cinema to be successful there NEEDS to be a bridge instead of a crossing. People going for a meal on a night don't want to be standing at a railway crossing in the rain

 

Well that is a plan doomed to fail.
If I go for a meal it is as much about the surroundings as it is about the meal itself and navigating through a market isn't my cup of tea. Plus it will be full of scum hanging around sitting on the stalls like the old one was. I used to hate walking through the outdoor market when it was closed it was always full of intimidating scumbags in groups doing drugs or graffiti or shouting.

 

Highly unlikely, which is why the council wanted an extra wide, multi-access bridge in the first place. Shame they didn't include it in their own budget! Though the new service access road would provide an alternative, albeit lengthier, pedestrian route via Lambra Road/Pontefract Road. I still believe a bridge would be much better than the level crossing. Although two narrower bridges would be even better. One from where the current Multi-Storey is into the new car park and one pretty much where the crossing is.

Given the recent amendments to the plans I'd be inclined to completely ignore the CGI's we've seen so far. TBH I'd be inclined to ignore any new ones too because what gets built looks nothing like them!

 

Just to confuse everything....

http://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/footbridge-still-planned-despite-work-to-level-crossing

 

I saw that. It makes no sense though because a) it isn't shown on the revised plans and b) where the bridge is supposed to go is now going to be the back of the cinema and a service road which doesn't seem like the best place to locate a pedestrian bridge

 

Surely it would be a lot cheaper and quite easy to build an underpass?


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Wall to wall scumbags begging and reeking of bodily fluids? No ta.

 

Not sure if you're aware we've got a labour run council. Why would theyworry about the economics