The Glassworks

Yep, at very short notice as well. It's a shame the Tipsy Cow had to shut for it to happen as I liked that place, but at the same time chuffed Nailmaker have been able to step in

 

Yep shame about Tipsy cow closing

 

It’s a bit embarrassing that the owner has posted screenshots of an email to the council to try and suggest they’re lying about making contact.

Fingers crossed they can get this sorted quickly.

 

I thought exactly the same when I read it,

 

I did a beer tasting at the one in Sheffield yesterday and would 100% reccomend it.

They're wanting to open a second one in Sheffield, as they have in Leeds and Newcastle. They're wanting to do a big one and a little one in every place they've currently got one. So I reckon one in Barnsley isn't likely to happen any time soon.

 

One of the owners is Mat Crisp. Lib Dem councillor for Darton East.

 

Nailmaker have taken over The Wharf in Wakefield over the bridge from the Hepworth Museum on the road to Double Two shirts , went in yesterday decent selection of hand pull and craft beers . Bit of a risky gamble as it’s out of the way and hasn’t really been popular since it was the Jolly Sailor in the 1980’s

 

BBC News - Barnsley Glass Works bars closed over £100k in unpaid rent
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-67192939

 

Glad it's not just me!

 

Any good news coming from the glassworks lately? Nothing of note has opened for ages apart from the odd pop up shop the big bar upstairs died a death also. They’ve purchased the Alhambra but we seem to be creeping towards a lot of empty units again in town

 

Pretty sure a lot of the retailers / entertainment establishments were offered significantly reduced rents to fill the place, will be interesting to see how things go when those intitial terms come to expire and the council want to hike the rates.

 

It’s standard practice to offer lease incentives or other incentives to get tenants. Barnsley isn’t a unique case and certainly won’t be the last. A lot of the incentives on the Glassworks were funds to support fit outs. Without those, half the brands that we do have probably wouldn’t have bothered. With Meadowhall 15 minutes down the road Barnsley will always struggle to attract big names.

For the council, there’s a fine balance between getting a return on investment and keeping the units filled. Rent will need to be charged, but it needs to be carefully managed so that some of the big names remain. Remember we’re going through a cost of living crisis, there’s still a war going on, and retailers and leisure operators are all feeling the pinch. The council did the right thing in investing in the town, it had been on the decline for far too long and we were left with a tired, brutalist town centre that was like a scene from a zombie apocalypse.

Retailers will leave, some will stay, and I’m sure more will join when the time is right, but it won’t be the councils fault if one business decides that Barnsley hasn’t worked for them and they can’t justify being in the town any longer.

There aren’t many units left in the Glassworks really. Those that are empty are all fairly small and won’t be suitable for some retailers and it just might not be the right time for others. The others are both allocated to leisure and that sector is also struggling as people have less money to spend on additional activities. Given what’s happened with the Salt House, the council might now be reluctant to let some lesser known brands, or smaller businesses, take on some of the bigger units, and you couldn’t blame them really.

The council have purchased the Alhambra and are exploring options for that, but it definitely won’t all be focused on retail. They have some kind of strategy for the town centre that doesn’t rely on retail, but again, everything costs money so I guess time will tell.

 

Excellent post.

Fully agree. We’re not unique in giving financial incentives - that’s how it all works.

Just got to hope that trading is sufficient to support these rent increases. They all know they are coming…… Some will be fine, some won’t, and some will use it as a convenient excuse…..

 

Don't disagree with any of that. I never said that Barnsley Council were unique in giving out incentives, just hope it all works out ok.
Huddersfield town centre is an absolute disgrace in comparison! Mind Kirklees Council are in a right mess at the moment. Los of people this way actually pleasantly surprised at how nice Barnsley town centre now looks!

 

Apologies if anything in my post suggested you had - that wasn’t my intention.

There are far too many misguided, armchair experts that are quick to blast the council because they seemingly believe they know better, or that there’s an endless pot of money to be spent in all corners of the borough and that Barnsley has some divine right to be great just “because”.

The council are no angels (there’s plenty of historical events to back that up), but at least they’re doing something to try and make the place better.

 

Pass it most days, coming on nicely. A wonderful addition to our Town, or Tarn

 

I started my drinking career in the Jolly Sailor... proper pub, all separate rooms, handpulled Tetley's, virtually everyone drank Mild or mixed mild and bitter... the place hadn't changed since the 1930’s.