Barnsley Council takes levelling up into its own hands with investment plan

Councillor Robert Frost, cabinet support member for regeneration and culture told today’s full council meeting that that the place-based investment plan is a “once in a lifetime opportunity to level up across the borough”.

“I’ve been in the council now 12 years, and all we’ve seen are cuts, so this is really welcome.”

The plan identifies a number of projects for investment from the first five years of the South Yorkshire Renewal Fund.

Projects include improvements to the Trans-Pennine Trail, development of The Seam Digital Campus, and a new Northern Academy of Vocal Excellence which will serve as a home for Barnsley’s Youth Choir.

The borough’s principal towns are also earmarked for funding – including £3m for an enterprise centre in Wombwell.

Councillor James Higginbottom, Labour councillor for Wombwell, said the plan served as Barbsley’s own levelling up scheme.

Barnsley was the only place in South Yorkshire to miss out on October’s round of levelling up funding from the government, despite submitting plans for two schemes.

“We’ve heard a lot in the last three years about the phrase levelling up,” said Coun Higginbottom.

“We got a white paper released yesterday to much fanfare, but without the transformational funding that’s needed.”

Coun Higginbottom added that BMBC “had taken matters into our own hands” through the investment plan.

He added that he plan was “Ensuring that we’ve got the blueprints for a shovel-ready proposal ready to unlock the funding that our communities need. To create good, well-paid jobs, to regenerate our town centre, [and] principal towns.”

Councillor Sir Steve Houghton CBE, leader of the council added: “Everybody’s talking about levelling up, well we’ve been levelling up in Barnsley for 20 years already.

“I spent years, literally, going two steps forward, three steps back. The money was never there, budgets were being cut, it was always bad news.

“We have a financially stable council, we have a big opportunity to invest in the borough and take it forward.”