12th April 2002
BARNSLEY HAS A REAL SPRING IN ITS STEP
By John Penney, Chief Executive of Barnsley Development Agency

Barnsley may be one of Yorkshire's best kept secrets in terms of inward investment opportunities and potential, but all that is set to change after Barnsley Development Agency recently embarked on its first commercial property breakfast in Leeds.

Feedback from the event - which was held to inform the Leeds commercial property sector about everything the borough has to offer potential investors - was overwhelmingly positive. Over half of the respondents said their impressions of Barnsley had positively changed during the course of the event, and almost 95% said they would now recommend or consider Barnsley as a business location.

Around 100 delegates attended the property breakfast, where the keynote speech was delivered by Paul Barber of Priority Sites. Other speakers included Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council's executive director of environment and development; and the 'Barnsley Bard', Ian McMillan. We embarked on our inaugural property breakfast in Leeds to get the message across to key decision makers who have real influence over inward investment decisions. Barnsley has some fantastic success stories to tell, and a massive part of the battle in turning around often negative perceptions is to communicate a clear and concise message, that Barnsley values business.

What BDA is really about is getting people to totally re-think Barnsley, and to stimulate investment, development, and jobs for the town and borough. Those words are easy to say. But what we are now starting to see on the ground in Barnsley in abundance are real life examples of new investment and development, changing the face of the town and borough in a highly positive way.


New development blossoming
One area where real things are happening on the ground and opening up real job opportunities is in Grimethorpe, where the future is now bright thanks to Grimethorpe Regeneration Executive (GRE) and BDA.

Grimethorpe now has more to offer potential commercial investors than ever before. Acting as a single focus for regeneration and investment initiatives, GRE is facilitating the phased creation of Park Springs employment site, which offers inward investment and indigenous business growth opportunities. Park Springs is supported with funding from Yorkshire Forward, English Partnerships, European Regional Development Fund (Objective One Programme), Single Regeneration Budget, and private sector investment.

For example, nearly 90 new jobs are set to be created in the area when construction of four advanced factory units is completed by Yorkshire Forward in the summer. Infrastructure work on the Park Springs site was completed early this year, allowing work to begin on this first phase of development. Shaun Higginbottom of GRE and BDA said: "Park Springs is within an Economic Zone designated under South Yorkshire's Objective One Programme, enabling up to 35% of eligible costs to be recovered by investors.


"Park Springs has an excellent road infrastructure, an available and skilled labour supply and comprehensive financial incentives to compete with any area in the UK. This is a truly unique opportunity for investors to take advantage of these benefits at the beginning of what will be a great success story." Currently the subject of a phased reclamation programme by both Yorkshire Forward and UK Coal, the 68 hectare Park Springs development offers affordable, quality opportunities for inward investment and business growth that is benefiting the wider regional economy. Moreover, the new £9.5 million link road means that Park Springs is now only 15 minutes from both the A1 and M1.

Before the new link road was built, access times were well over 30 minutes, and M1 traffic had to negotiate Barnsley town centre to reach Grimethorpe. Now all that's changed for the better, and the possibility of re-establishing the former rail connection at a cost of £2.5 million may further enhance Park Springs’ strategic location in the future.

For more information on Park Springs or GRE, contact Shaun Higginbottom at Grimethorpe Regeneration Executive, The Acorn Centre, 51 High Street, Grimethorpe, Barnsley S72 7BB. Tel 01226 716700, Fax 01226 716499.
E-mail: enquiries@gre.park-springs.com or
shigginbottom@barnsleydevelopmentagency.co.uk
www.park-springs.com
www.barnsleydevelopmentagency.co.uk

If you require any further information please email us.

Barnsley Development Agency
Beevor Court, Pontefract Road, Barnsley S71 1HG
Telephone: +44 (0)1226 784444

© 2002