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14th September 2001
BARNSLEY HAS THE COMPETITIVE EDGE YOUR BUSINESS IS LOOKING FOR – AND A FEW SURPRISES UP ITS SLEEVE
Located at the heart of England, with Objective One Status and many other competitive advantages, not to mention a great quality of life – Barnsley is becoming an increasingly compelling location for companies considering a move.
Barnsley Development Agency (BDA) is the Barnsley borough’s powerhouse for leading inward investment and jobs and wealth creation, and one of its key tasks in encouraging and supporting regeneration and inward investment into the borough is challenging and changing long-standing and often inaccurate perceptions about the area.
Eric Hill, Acting Economic Development Manager, explains: “We’ve got so much to shout about in Barnsley, and the BDA is responsible for getting the message across to companies that may consider re-locating to the area, either now or in the future. The process of getting companies interested in the town and getting them to actually move here can take months or even years, and we’re now starting to see the fruits of our work over the past three years or so. What companies tell us when they come here for the first time is that they’re genuinely surprised and impressed with what’s on offer.
“Some of the most surprising aspects of Barnsley are the quality, diversity, and occupancy levels of our town center retail sector, and the availability of high quality residential housing across the borough - at a fraction of the price of similar properties in the south of England or even Leeds. Although that comment in itself could be quite misleading if you don’t know the full picture. We do have an increasing number of properties in the borough in the £250,000 - £350,000 bracket, with a recent sale at nearer the £1M mark – not perhaps the values that people would immediately associate with housing in Barnsley.
“And with soaring land prices only a few miles up the road in Leeds, major employers are seriously starting to look at other options than Leeds city centre, which is where Barnsley can play an important role in retaining and attracting companies within the Yorkshire and South Yorkshire sub-regions. “
The BDA is a partnership made up of the Inward Investment & Development Team, Business Link South Yorkshire, Barnsley Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Community Economic Regeneration Team, and since its formation three years ago, it can already report many successes including the creation of some 400 jobs in the town center area alone. During the period April 2000 – March 2001, seven companies were relocated to the borough, with a total investment of over £5M, providing more than 600 additional jobs across some 31,000sq m of floor space.
Eric Hill continues: “The town centre is one of Barnsley’s biggest assets, and one of its best kept secrets is Barnsley Arcade, which only 18 months ago was in a run-down state with at least one third of its units vacant. Under the ownership of Sfen investments working in partnership with the local authority to provide grants for retailers, the turnaround has been spectacular. The Arcade now boast 100% occupancy, with many high quality specialist retailers moving in, and with improved shop fronts which are all refurbished to a similar, traditional style.”
Another impressive public/private sector partnership is coming to fruition in the form of the retail and leisure development at the Thomas Whitworth building, which is part open and due for completion by the end of the year. The listed building and former warehouse is now home to a range of high quality retail outlets and a soon to open chic café bar that would be just as much at home in Barcelona as in Barnsley.
Part of the town centre’s recent success has revolved around a strategy to attract quality clothing retailers to the area, with an impressive 20% of clothing companies approached by the BDA over the past three years ultimately deciding to have some form of presence in Barnsley.
Barnsley Values Business, as its new advertising campaign will confirm, and the BDA will do everything it can to make relocating to the Borough as attractive and trouble-free as possible. Barnsley has a great deal to offer including the full range of property and land available to investors, from fully-serviced plots, business and specialist supplier parks, to traditional town centre office buildings and development sites. One of Barnsley’s main strategic sites is at Park Springs, Grimethorpe, where 171 acres of serviced development land is due for completion by the end of the year, which is already creating a great deal of interest from potential inward investor companies.
Zenith Park which opened earlier this year, also offers fully-serviced facilities, for general manufacturing and engineering companies looking to re-locate. The new site at Claycliffe on the A635, en-route to junction 38 of the M1, is only a mile down the road from the Barnsley Business and Innovation Centre (BBIC), which provides incubation space and support for high-tech companies, and will assist companies at Claycliffe to access technology support from across the region’s universities.
Barnsley, already an extremely attractive location for business, now boasts the added incentive of being an Objective One status area. Quite literally at the centre of the UK's motorway network, Barnsley is flanked by the MI, the M62 and the M18, and lies within 50 miles of the major manufacturing centres of Yorkshire, Manchester, and the Midlands. The Borough also has easy access to some five international airports with London just two hours away by rail, and is on the doorstep of two main international ports offering still further major gateway opportunities to international markets.
If location alone weren't a compelling enough reason to relocate to Barnsley, the Objective One programme certainly adds enormously to the Borough's appeal. South Yorkshire's European funding is designed to create new jobs, start new businesses, boost the area’s economy, train young people in the skills needed by new industries, and develop and renew deprived economies.
The programme is structured in 6 Priority Areas with various action plans, and
other sources of funding include the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Eric Hill added: “The Barnsley economy today is rapidly expanding as more national and international companies choose to relocate to Barnsley. The opportunities that Barnsley can offer as a superb location to be in are second to none and every day we are fielding enquiries from potential investors who want to bring their business into the town and the wider Borough.
“Having been designated as an area for Objective One status, Barnsley Development Agency is looking forward to working with new and existing companies to profit from the £700 million that has been accessed to South Yorkshire from Europe for economic and social regeneration. South Yorkshire is a vibrant business centre, generating jobs, industries and a wide skills set. At the heart of the region, Barnsley is working in strategic partnership with other South Yorkshire organisations to bring the Borough to the forefront of global recognition of excellence.”
The Borough is gaining an enviable reputation for the strength of its emerging sectors, including digital, telecoms, advanced engineering, metals, and chemicals.
Graham Leslie, Managing Director of Galpharm International, said:
“The financial incentive Barnsley has to offer was second to none. Barnsley Development Agency’s Investment & Development Team ensured red tape was dealt with swiftly, enabling us to get down to the business of moving, and Barnsley Met Training helped us with the recruitment of the right staff.”
Equally, Barnsley is also a diverse economy, with Barnsley companies the leaders in their field in other dynamic sectors such as electronics, ICT, helthcare and food technology, manufacturing, logistics, automotive, and digital printing.
John Jennings, Managing Director of Jennings DAR, commented: “Jennings DAR chose Barnsley as its base for its central UK strategic location, the amount of assistance made available, Barnsley’s motivated and flexible workforce, and the depth of skills base and industrial culture. Barnsley Met Training provided an all encompassing recruitment and training package which proved invaluable.”
Other companies and organisations to benefit from Barnsley’s competitive location and economy include Sash (UK), Trident engineering, Kostal, Louis Renna, Otis Philidas, Living Well leisure, and Duvet automotive.
Apart from the commercial benefits of relocating to Barnsley, the quality of life in the Borough is light years away from the noise, pollution, and traffic chaos associated with larger cities. To find out what your business is missing, contact Barnsley Development Agency on (01226) 784444.
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Barnsley Development Agency
Beevor Court, Pontefract Road, Barnsley S71 1HG
Telephone: +44 (0)1226 784444
© 2001