News

WORK has started on a £12m speculative development of industrial units just off the M1 at Junction 36.The new development, called Kestrel Park, will provide 77,411 square feet of industrial space across seven units ranging in size from 3,000 sq ft to 21,500 sq ft and is expected to generate 185 jobs.Carnell Management Services (CMS) is delivering the new commercial development, supported by the Property Investment Fund and the South Yorkshire Jessica...

A WOMAN who was banned from keeping pets but was found to have breached the disqualification by owning a cat has been fined.Sadie Whiteley, of Peveril Crescent, Barnsley, had initially denied the offence but changed her plea to guilty.The 28-year-old, who appeared at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court last week, was given a rehabilitation activity requirement. She was also told to pay £514 and re-banned from keeping pets for ten years.

STUDENTS at Wigfield Farm are excited to welcome four new residents.The Barnsley College campus has been given two miniature donkeys and two Shetland ponies from Cannon Hall Farm.One of them, Casper, is a palomino Shetland colt who was born during Channel 5’s Christmas on the Farm and was originally known as ‘French’. He’s joined by Finnian, another Shetland pony, along with two miniature donkeys, Flower and Platinum.They’ll be living...

OFFICERS from one local neighbourhood policing team have made thirty arrests and seized over half a million pounds worth of drugs in the last six months.The Barnsley North East Neighbourhood Policing Team, which covers Royston and Cudworth and surrounding areas, has recently been clamping down on drug related-crime.Of the 30 arrests, 24 people have been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, with 23 of...

BARNSLEY Council are asking for volunteers to help out at this year’s Barnsley 10K.The event, which will take place on Sunday, June 29, will see thousands of people take to the street to raise money for good causes.The council are currently looking for people to volunteers as race marshals, water station assistants and crews on the day.Anyone looking to get involved should contact Barnsley10k@barnsley.gov.uk.

A DRINK-DRIVER who was more than three times over the legal limit has been given a suspended prison sentence.Craig Lang, of Lobwood, Worsbridge Bridge, drove a Mercedes van and was stopped on Whinby Road, Dodworth, on February 3. He had 120mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.The 61-year-old was given an eight-week sentence, which was suspended for 12 months, because of the high reading and ‘poor standard’ of driving witnessed. Lang...

A NEW exhibition co-curated by Action For Autism Barnsley (AFAB) has been dubbed ‘brilliant’ by a local MP.The ‘Four Seasons in One Day’ exhibition at the Cooper Gallery was praised by MP for Stocksbridge and Penistone Marie Tidball, who also visited an AFAB weekly session to chat with members.She said: “It was fantastic to visit such a brilliant exhibition curated by local talent. I thoroughly enjoyed the multi-sensory, multimedia experience....

WOMBWELL councillors joined up with primary school pupils for a ‘litter blitz’ recently.The community clean-up saw the councillors work with Park Street Primary School’s eco reps as part of the Great British Spring Clean.Councillors Brenda Eastwood, Robert Frost and James Higginbottom said: “We were really pleased to take part in this community clean-up with Park Street School to ensure that the school and surrounding streets are kept clean and tidy for...

A BARNSLEY takeaway has been handed a new two-star food hygiene rating.Punjabi Aroma, based on Lower Castlereagh Street, was given the score following an assessment on February 27.Two other Barnsley establishments received new five-star ratings. Carlton and Smithies Club, based on Haddon Road, was given a five-star score following an assessment on March 31 and the Lemon Tree in Barnsley town centre also received top marks.

THREE people who were arrested as part of a covert operation to crackdown on the supply of drugs have been jailed for the roles they played in flooding Dearne Valley towns and villages with crack cocaine.Taylor Caddick, Billy Jones and Andrew Walton all sold drugs for the 'bring and ring' Bolton Line, which operated in the Bolton-upon-Dearne area.All three were caught in the act supplying wraps of crack cocaine, predominantly in...

A MAJOR route into the town centre will be closed tomorrow (Sunday) evening as work continues on widening the road. From 5pm until 4am the following day, Old Mill Lane will be closed between Harborough Hill Road and Old Tannery Road. A signed diversion route will be in place. The closure will be in place while work continues on a South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority-funded project, which aims to increase the number of...

A LOCAL visitor attraction is introducing a new volunteer day with the opportunity to work on an historic steam engine.Elsecar Heritage Centre has announced the new Thursday initiative to run alongside its regular Monday session giving more opportunities for volunteers to assist with preserving the Newcomen Engine and caring for its green spaces. A heritage centre spokesperson said: “A massive thank you to the incredible volunteers who have attended sessions over recent weeks to...

SUPERMARKET shoppers in Barnsley can put an extra pre-packed bag of food through the checkout this Easter to support families struggling during the school holidays.All large Tesco stores will have food donation bags available – which are packed with healthy, long-life food items – for shoppers to buy up to April 20.The aim is to help tackle food insecurity for children who go without free school meal provision during the holiday...

PLANS to temporarily transform a Barnsley car park into a depot for the council’s home-to-school transport service were rubber-stamped this week.The scheme involves re-purposing the John Street car park into a makeshift base – for approximately 12 staff members and 70 mini-buses – in a bid to address safety and capacity concerns at the Smithies depot.A planning report stated that health and safety concerns have been raised regarding vehicle storage and...

A BARNSLEY business is creating fifty new jobs after securing a £200k investment.Barnsley-based Andel Limited, a leading designer and manufacturer of innovative flood defence and water-saving technologies, has secured the investment from UKSE to support its expansion.The funding will enable the company to fit out a new unit, increasing its research and development (R&D), manufacturing, and warehousing capacity, while also paving the way for significant job creation.Andel’s work focuses...

PLANS to convert a cafe into a takeaway have been turned down by the council.An application for work to take place on Agnes Road in Kingstone was originally submitted to the council in January.These plans were rejected by the planning board earlier this week.A report states: “During the application process, a number of concerns were raised regarding additional parking and congestion on Agnes Road from customers and delivery drivers,...

THE founder of a kids' activity group is aiming to raise thousands of pounds by completing a 109-mile trek.Ian Ball has been a volunteer at the Dearne Kids Outdoor Activity Group and helped found the group which had its 30th anniversary last year.He is planning to walk over the Cleveland Way – from Helmsley to Filey – from May 3 to 11.It’s hoped that it will raise enough money to go...

THE former TGI Fridays restaurant in the Glass Works could soon be turned into a bar if plans are deemed acceptable.The restaurant chain opened in the spring of 2022 and was one of two major restaurants alongside Nando’s in the town centre retail hub and received a seven-figure fit-out from Barnsley Council.However it was confirmed late last year that it would close its doors.Plans have now been submitted by...

A BARNSLEY drug dealer, who was jailed after large quantities of money and Class A drugs were found in his house, has been ordered to pay back over £65,000 he made from criminality.Work by the Economic Crime Unit (ECU) resulted in the convicted drug dealer being ordered to pay back almost £66,000 which he made from his illegal activities.The order was secured through the work by the ECU’s Asset Recovery Team....

TWO community projects funded by Pride of Place grants have resulted in inspiring new artworks in the area.Artist Jayde Marie Bell has painted a vibrant mural at Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church celebrating the Dearne’s nature and heritage.It features the word "hope" and a line of song lyrics reading “Come, set our hearts ablaze with hope, Like wildfire in our very souls.”The Pride of Place grant also funded creative sessions run...

POLICE have issued advice after new figures revealed that over 350 reports of investment fraud were made in South Yorkshire last year.New data from Action Fraud revealed that 354 reports of investment fraud were made by people in South Yorkshire in 2024. This resulted in a reported total financial loss of £6,102,931 – averaging around £17,200 per report.Investment fraud occurs when criminals approach individuals, often out of the blue, and persuade...

TWO talented game developers from Barnsley have won a prestigious BAFTA Game Award.Will Todd and James Carbutt won the British Game Award at the BAFTA Games Awards on Tuesday.Their game, 'Thank Goodness You’re Here!', draws inspiration from Barnsley Archives’ online films, which led them to create a fictional town in their game reflecting Barnsley and its communities.Council leader Sir Steve Houghton said: “I’d like to say a huge congratulations...

BARNSLEY College students are spearheading a groundbreaking digital tribute to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.The college is inviting people worldwide to take part in #VEHAPPY, a dynamic online arts project celebrating victory, unity and resilience.Launched this week, the campaign invites participants to upload their V for Victory selfies to ve80.com/vehappy, becoming a pixel in a living digital mosaic that will recreate the iconic moment Winston Churchill addressed jubilant...

A MAN who has been charged with attempted murder will appear at Sheffield Crown Court later this month.Nathan Cockayne, 22, was remanded in custody ahead of his appearance on April 22. Cockayne, of Keppel Road, Sheffield, was charged following an alleged altercation at an address in Barnsley on March 14.A PERSISTENT thief who clocked up a total of 16 offences in a week-long crime spree has been given a suspended sentence....

A BARNSLEY Special Constabulary inspector has been awarded a Royal Humane Society award after she saved a three-year-old boy’s life.Special Inspector Louise Rock is a volunteer police inspector within the Special Constabulary, and was on her way to work in June 2024 when she came across a road traffic collision on Haigh Lane in Barnsley.As she arrived at the scene, she noticed a car had collided with a wall, blocking the...

OVER 500 bags of litter were collected in Barnsley during the recent Great British Spring Clean.Volunteers, area teams, residents and councillors came together during the initiative which ran between March 21 and April 6 with 505 bags of waste collected in total.Litter picks took place across the borough, including Thurnscoe, Goldthorpe, Wombwell, Worsbrough, Hoyland, Kingstone and more, and the collected waste equalled just over 1.5 tonnes cleaned up from parks, green...

POLICE are appealing for witnesses, information, and dashcam footage following a fatal collision yesterday.Officers were called to the A616 near Langsett Reservoir at 10.26am where it was reported a HGV had been in collision with a cyclist. Emergency services attended but, despite their best efforts, the cyclist, a 58-year-old man, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His family has been informed and is being supported by officers. The driver of...

A BUSINESS which has successfully relocated to Barnsley from East Yorkshire received a visit from the Mayor yesterday.Councillor John Clarke J visited Anderson Power Generation to learn more about how the business operates following their successful relocation to the borough and the completion of Business Productivity and Low Carbon grants.The business purchased a unit at the Goldthorpe Industrial Estate, which represents a 70 per cent increase in floorspace from their previous...

A NEW addition to a local fire station is aiming to raise funds for the service’s charity.Penistone Fire Station has installed a clothing bin which is positioned outside the station near the Springvale council depot and is encouraging people to 'bag it and bank it' by recycling their unwanted items.A fire service spokesperson said: “The Fire Fighters Charity has run a successful clothes recycling scheme since 2009 and in the last...

A LOCAL artist and former student at Barnsley College is creating a stunning new mural celebrating the spirit of the college.The cafe area of The Open Kitchen restaurant at the college is undergoing an exciting transformation as Adam Briscoe creates a mural recognising the vibrant community within the restaurant.The project, which is part of The Open Kitchen’s recent revamp, was arranged through Kerry Bowden, a team member at the restaurant and...

A PACKAGE of measures to help struggling businesses in Barnsley has been agreed in a bid to boost the borough’s high streets.Barnsley Council will provide £3.5m in rate relief for eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.This relief will help around 630 local businesses, while national chains will be excluded from the scheme.Rent reductions of 25 per cent will be offered to tenants of the Glass Works...

MORE people in Barnsley entered insolvency last year, new figures show.Figures from the Insolvency Service show 699 people in Barnsley entered insolvency in 2024, up from 596 the year before.A person becomes insolvent when they are unable to pay their debts and are left with a choice of declaring bankruptcy or taking on other measures to pay them back.The insolvencies last year in Barnsley were made up of 28...

PLANS to build 12 new properties in Bolton-upon-Dearne have been approved by the council. An application for work to start off Church Street was originally submitted to the council in April 2022. These plans were given the green light by Barnsley Council’s planning board last week.PLANNING permission is being sought to erect ten new houses in Brierley. If approved, a bungalow, farmhouse and outbuildings at Pear Tree Farm, on Church Street, will...

A BARNSLEY resident has been prosecuted for selling illegal tobacco products in a town centre pub.Kevin Denton Fisher, 67, of Day Street, Barnsley, was found to be selling illegal tobacco products from Chennells public house in May last year.His activities initially came to the attention of South Yorkshire Police, who seized the illegal goods and passed them onto our Trading Standards team.In February, Mr Fisher pleaded guilty in Barnsley...

A CHARITY is launching a new online platform to equip local professionals with the knowledge to better support women facing domestic abuse.Resolute Women’s Support Service, founded by domestic abuse survivor Deborah Jones, from Cudworth, has developed the initiative with funding from the Brelms Trust.The programme offers 25 fully-funded places for local practitioners, giving them access to vital training and resources to help signpost women at risk to specialist support services....