Council defends move to bulldoze 30 terraced homes and build just nine in their place

Thirty houses across Co-Operative Street and Victoria Street in Goldthorpe will be demolished and nine two and three-bedroom council houses will be built in their place.

Approval was given earlier this week by Barnsley Council’s cabinet to use their compulsory purchasing order powers to buy 16 homes, in which the owners have not been identified, in order for the much-needed project to go ahead.

However, questions were raised about the decision to spend almost £3m buying and demolish 30 homes – to replace them with just nine.

Matt O’Neill, executive director for growth and sustainability at Barnsley Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that by building new homes instead of renovating existing ones, the authority will ‘diversify the types of properties’ available to residents.

Mr O’Neill said: “Our vision with the Goldthorpe Housing Project is to provide quality, affordable, environmentally friendly housing options for the local community, supporting our Barnsley 2030 ambitions.

“These high-quality new builds will offer a range of benefits for residents and the community alike, and we continue to support residents affected by these plans in relocating. For us, this project represents a fantastic opportunity to improve housing and infrastructure in the area as part of our continued investment in our Principal Towns programme.

“By developing these new builds rather than simply renovating the existing properties, we’re able to diversify the types of properties available to our residents and better align our housing stock to the needs of the local area.”