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[STEMO]

Not Barnsley, apparently:

https://youtu.be/I7aOuYb8DIo

[scimmy_man]

must be a local lass

[dave the builder]

 the virtual people are white
not a pound shop in site
if this video depicts Barnsley
something isn't right

when are they connecting Barnsley to the national grid to run those fancy electric lights etc 

[Lizzie Zoom]

Yes a lovely glossy video of an artists impression of what it will be, including a complete lack of the crowds needed to sustain such a development!

No mention of car park charges, business rates, or how it will tackle the unstoppable evolvement of the retail business towards online trading.  Nothing to really give any new direction, apart from some developers giving themselves jobs and some even getting rich on the back of it.

No, like everywhere else purely throwing money at it is not the answer to reverse the trend of retail in the 21st century.

Take down here in Ashford, Kent.  Massive development with apartments and houses going up everywhere, with new office blocks and industrial/warehouse premises. A International rail link with HS1 the M20 and new roads to service the new developments.  Population in 1990 was 93,000; in 2018 129,000, and in 2021 it will be 141,000.

But despite that, and a town centre development a few years back, with the famous (Infamous) "Shared Space" road system, the five year old centerpiece Debenhams store has now closed; M&S have departed, the main Post Office has gone, but we do have a new Aldi, a Lidl, a M&S Foodhall (all out of town) loads of hairdressers / barbers, cafes, and even a new Metro bank.  In other words, the really big retail names have departed the town itself, with retail parks taking up the remaining trade.  Oh how different from the 1960's!

No, Barnsley should be given credit for apparently trying to resurrect their town centre but it is going to take a lot more than a fancy promotional video 

[Entwood]

Problems with "town" centres can be solved quite easily ... turn them back into "town" centres and not streets full of shops.... if they were a MIX of houses, flats, shops, eating & drinking places they would do much better, as those that live there have somewhere to go LOCAL, rather than the present situation where you have to "go" somewhere to shop, somewhere else to eat, somewhere else to drink and then somewhere else to live !! etc etc

Planners are far to shortsighted as they see the cash cow of "business rates" as the holy grail .. but if the shops are empty they get no rates....

[Doctor Gollum]

Problems with "town" centres can be solved quite easily ... turn them back into "town" centres and not streets full of shops.... if they were a MIX of houses, flats, shops, eating & drinking places they would do much better, as those that live there have somewhere to go LOCAL, rather than the present situation where you have to "go" somewhere to shop, somewhere else to eat, somewhere else to drink and then somewhere else to live !! etc etc

Planners are far to shortsighted as they see the cash cow of "business rates" as the holy grail .. but if the shops are empty they get no rates....

Which is precisely why Horsham has a park and ride that nobody uses. No funding to secure the car park, so it has become a hub of vehicle crime, so no one uses it...

People would rather drive to retail parks or pay the exorbitant town centre car park prices than park for free and risk having their cats nicked...

[STEMO]

That video must must quite old, because the new market hall has been open for six months. Cinema/Bowling alley look about six months off, all the steelwork is up. The Alhambra shopping centre, included in the video, has been there for years and is always busy.
Car parking is £1.80 for two hours, Lizzie.
I only go into town once in a while, and always on the busiest day, Saturday. But it is always busy. Something in it's favour is that Wakefield city centre, only ten miles away, has died a death and a lot of folk come into Barnsley. It has a real old fashioned market feel, I think it will do well.....just not from me.

I wonder where the money came from? EU perhaps? 

[Lizzie Zoom]

That video must must quite old, because the new market hall has been open for six months. Cinema/Bowling alley look about six months off, all the steelwork is up. The Alhambra shopping centre, included in the video, has been there for years and is always busy.
Car parking is £1.80 for two hours, Lizzie.
I only go into town once in a while, and always on the busiest day, Saturday. But it is always busy. Something in it's favour is that Wakefield city centre, only ten miles away, has died a death and a lot of folk come into Barnsley. It has a real old fashioned market feel, I think it will do well.....just not from me.

I wonder where the money came from? EU perhaps? 

That price is certainly less than down here Steve.

Yesterday I parked in town for 40 minutes, and that cost £2-50.  However, after 1500 weekdays and weekends, all day Sunday, certain council run car parks now give free parking in an attempt to build up trade for the town.  They need to!!

As for Wakefield suffering; that is often the way now, with a new or revamped shopping area taking away a fair percentage of the market share available, which no doubt is declining in anycase

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I can see property in Barnsley reaching London levels soon.

1.4 Million for a two bed terrace by 2025 is my guess.

[Doctor Gollum]

I can see poverty in Barnsley reaching London levels soon.

1.4 Million Lira for a two bed terrace by 2025 is my guess.

[Rods2]

Problems with "town" centres can be solved quite easily ... turn them back into "town" centres and not streets full of shops.... if they were a MIX of houses, flats, shops, eating & drinking places they would do much better, as those that live there have somewhere to go LOCAL, rather than the present situation where you have to "go" somewhere to shop, somewhere else to eat, somewhere else to drink and then somewhere else to live !! etc etc

Planners are far to shortsighted as they see the cash cow of "business rates" as the holy grail .. but if the shops are empty they get no rates....

Not true thanks to that financial genius Gordon 'buy gold high, sell low, no boom all bust' McRuin where empty business premises landlord are charged rates after it has been empty after 3 months, except industrial premises which can apply for a further 3 month extension. The effect on this has been to increase commercial price/rent instability still further.where property rented at any price (free 1st 3,6,12 months not unusual) or is converted during a recession into profitable uses (In the great 2008 recession I know somebody that converted his empty office block into flats for this reason.) or pulled down thus leaving a shortage of business premises once the economy & property market picks up with higher commercial building prices or rent & to cover any rent free losses or business rates. This has resulted in many smaller (usually cheaper rentals) selling out to hedge funds & Middle Eastern wealth funds who will double or quadruple rents overnight. Shops & Pubs have been especially hard hit with this which is why so many of both have shut.

Most town centre redevelopments these days are unaffordable to independent retailers, so they end up stuffed with sterile-puerile overpriced me-to multiples. I haven't visited our local shopping centre for over 5 years for this reason, What I can't buy from local out-of-town Aldi/Lidl/Tesco, local small independents or online, I go without.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I can see property in Barnsley reaching London levels soon.

1.4 Million for a two bed terrace by 2025 is my guess.

You'd better get in quick then M'lud, as I'm sure you have the resources to buy half the county which would be a handy addition to your portfolio. 

You could then rebrand yourself as the Earl of Barnsleyshire! 

[pscocoa]

That video must must quite old, because the new market hall has been open for six months. Cinema/Bowling alley look about six months off, all the steelwork is up. The Alhambra shopping centre, included in the video, has been there for years and is always busy.
Car parking is £1.80 for two hours, Lizzie.
I only go into town once in a while, and always on the busiest day, Saturday. But it is always busy. Something in it's favour is that Wakefield city centre, only ten miles away, has died a death and a lot of folk come into Barnsley. It has a real old fashioned market feel, I think it will do well.....just not from me.

I wonder where the money came from? EU perhaps? 

So if I get the Volvo serviced at Riverside Volvo in Wakefield what are the chances of getting a (direct) bus to Barnsley and you will buy me a coffee in the town centre?

[BazaJT]

Town centre car parks round here are free all day on Saturday and Sunday.Monday-Friday they're free for the first 2hrs.If you want about 10 haircuts,20 coffees and donate to charity shops then Scunny is the place to be

[STEMO]

That video must must quite old, because the new market hall has been open for six months. Cinema/Bowling alley look about six months off, all the steelwork is up. The Alhambra shopping centre, included in the video, has been there for years and is always busy.
Car parking is £1.80 for two hours, Lizzie.
I only go into town once in a while, and always on the busiest day, Saturday. But it is always busy. Something in it's favour is that Wakefield city centre, only ten miles away, has died a death and a lot of folk come into Barnsley. It has a real old fashioned market feel, I think it will do well.....just not from me.

I wonder where the money came from? EU perhaps? 

So if I get the Volvo serviced at Riverside Volvo in Wakefield what are the chances of getting a (direct) bus to Barnsley and you will buy me a coffee in the town centre?

That depends on the day and the time, Phil. If it falls right, I'll pick you up. If it doesn't, you can eff off. Ok?