Plans for £9.2m Barnsley youth club set for final rubber stamp

The youth zone, which is set to cost an estimated £9.2m, will be built on the site of a former electricity depot, between Schwabisch Gmund Way, Harborough Hill Road and Mottram Street.

Barnsley Youth Zone will run as an independent charity, and will open seven days a week, with activities on offer for young people aged eight to 19.

Barnsley Council will contribute £4.5 million towards construction costs, with ASOS contributing £1.2m to the project.

Youth charity OnSide, which will run the project, say the scheme will create up to 70 jobs.

If approved, the two-storey building will also have a sports pitch on its roof, enclosed by mesh.

Access would be taken from Schwäbisch Gmünd Way, occupying part of the existing Network Rail car park.

A report by BMBC’s planning officers states that the site currently has a “negative impact on the visual amenity of this part of the town centre being such a large derelict area of land, especially for visitors arriving by train.”

Nearby residents have raised concerns about noise and disturbance, however, officers add that the impact from associated activities is ‘low’, and that the council’s regulatory services have raised ‘no concerns’.

‘With regards to the concerns from residents about the lighting, especially serving the rooftop football pitch, a lighting report has been submitted which demonstrates the light spill and concludes that there will be zero to negligible impact to surrounding residential areas in terms of obtrusive/nuisance lighting,” adds the report.

The plans are recommended for approval.