Well known for its once-buoyant coal-mining industry, Barnsley may not be the first place that enters your head when you think of luxury flats or modern office space.
However, with more than £400m being injected into the South Yorkshire town, it is starting to dust off some of its cobwebs.
Remaking Barnsley, a joint venture between Barnsley council and Barnsley Development Agency, plans several projects over the next five years.
The £70m Gateway Plaza on Sackville Street, designed by Sheffield-based architect Axis, is one of the developments intended to transform Barnsley’s dated image.
It is being developed by Brook Group’s Quest Property and Landmark Developments, and has secured £5.2m of Objective One funding.
Upon its completion in spring 2008, it will include 90,000 sq ft of open-plan office space, 288 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, and 21,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, along with a four-star hotel.
A project such as this in Barnsley would not have been feasible 20 years ago but, with neighbouring Leeds and Sheffield having established themselves as modern cities, Barnsley is dipping its toe into the water and is hoping to do the same.
But while aspirations are all well and good, can the town successfully shrug off its 1960s image and succeed in attracting international occupiers, business travellers and tourists to support the wave of cosmopolitan hotels, cafés and retail?
The original masterplan for the town was put forward by controversial architect Will Alsop, who wanted to turn the town into a Tuscan village. Those proposals were not so much thrown out as laughed out.
Author Joanne Harris was once famously quoted as saying Barnsley was the “least cosmopolitan place there is”. However, it is difficult to move through the town without coming across a development in progress or a small city-style coffee shop opening.
It seems the residents of Barnsley are calling out for more modern accommodation in the town. Phase one of the marketing of the flats at Gateway Plaza saw locals queuing around the block, with 80 properties being signed up. The second phase, which was launched in April, also received positive feedback.
“Prices for the apartments start at around £95,000 for one bedroom, and £134,000 for two bedroom. If you went to somewhere such as Leeds, the price would be at least 40% higher,” says Guy Ankernley, residential partner at King Sturge, which is agent on the scheme.
The average price of a one-bedroom flat in Leeds is around £150,000, and £130,000 in Sheffield. Such a property in Barnsley would cost £123,000.
Rents on the retail and leisure units at Gateway Plaza – which are expected to come onto the market later this year – have yet to be decided. The scheme will feature only a small amount of retail – around 20,000 sq ft aimed at convenience stores and coffee shops.
Yet the main challenge will be filling the office space at the scheme. Office rents in the town are around £14.75 per sq ft. On the surface, these appear to be highly competitive for grade A floorspace, especially when compared with those in Leeds at around £25 per sq ft and Sheffield at around £20 per sq ft.
Chris Rowlands, a local chartered surveyor and property consultant in Barnsley, believes it could be a challenge to fill the space in time for the scheme’s completion in 2008.
“There’s no actual demand in Barnsley for that amount of office space,” he says. “The scheme is relying on someone new and significant coming into the area.”
Chris Gilman, director at Landmark Developments, says the company plans to get a public sector body, such as the National Grid, interested in taking a large chunk of the space. He seems confident that this can be achieved, although he does acknowledge that it could be a gradual process.
“It is the satellite effect,” says Gilman. “What has happened in Leeds and Sheffield is starting to happen in Barnsley. Gateway Plaza will provide the first modern offices in the town centre.”
He believes that the scheme will draw other developers to the area, and is optimistic about the hotel planned for the site, although it is unclear where the business will come from to fill the rooms.
Barnsley does not appear to have a buoyant tourist trade, and nor does it seem to have any local businesses that could warrant any overnight stays from business people.
“The hotel market is very competitive, and an additional phase of residential accommodation would have proved more profitable. However, the hotel will enable us to provide people with a fully functioning mixed-use scheme,” says Matthew Stephens, development manager for Quest.
There is no denying that the changes to update Barnsley will not take place overnight. The developers are taking a risk when it comes to the Plaza but, if it pays off, Barnsley may just prove its critics wrong.
The makings of a modern market town
As part of its plan to transform Barnsley into a modern market town, the Remaking Barnsley regeneration programme is investing more than £400m.
Alongside Gateway Plaza, developments going ahead include the £170m Barnsley Markets Project, being developed by the 1249 Regeneration Partnership and Ashcroft Estates, due to be completed in 2011. It will include 1m sq ft of restaurants, a cinema, several levels of shops and a 94,000 sq ft Debenhams.
ISG’s £11m Civic & Mandela Gardens project involves the refurbishment of the town’s civic centre. It will include shops, an exhibition area and an events centre.
The £9.7m Digital Media Centre, being developed by Bovis Lend Lease, is also due to be completed this summer. While the £24m Barnsley Transport Interchange programme, being developed by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Interchange Executive, will combine the bus, rail, coach and taxi services in Barnsley.
