Cost of living crisis: Calls for warm banks to be introduced in Barnsley for those who can’t afford to heat their homes this winter

If accepted by the council, Barnsley will be one of several authorities looking to open warm banks this winter, including Sheffield, Birmingham and Southend, in the face of soaring energy bills.

Lib Dem Councillor Dickie Denton will call on the council’s administration to open sites during the next full council meeting on September 29.

His motion will ask BMBC to come up with a list of suitable places where people can stay warm this winter, and suggests using existing public and appropriate private buildings.

Coun Denton’s proposed scheme will be funded via existing budgets and reserves.

“Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has a duty and responsibility to continue to do all within its means to reduce the financial burden on its residents, as well as to protect their health and wellbeing,” Coun Denton states in the motion.

A spokesperson for the Barnsley Liberal Democrat group said; “Community warm spaces provide not only physical relief from the challenges of the cold but mental relief from the anxiety of cost.

“Worry that every extra hour of heating, every extra degree on the temperature gauge, every hot meal, comes at a price that many simply cannot afford.

“We have fixed assets across our borough that may have been designed for other purposes but there is no reason why they cannot be adapted to serve the current need, to work more efficiently for the greater good.”

Support is available from Barnsley Council’s website for anyone struggling with the cost of living crisis