Upgrade for land council didn't realise it owned

Almost £11,000 is to be spent improving drainage and surfacing on a piece of land which Barnsley Council only recently realised was in its ownership.
Improvement plan: Council to spend 11,000 improving a site off Sheffield Road in Birdwell, Barnsley.Improvement plan: Council to spend 11,000 improving a site off Sheffield Road in Birdwell, Barnsley.
Improvement plan: Council to spend 11,000 improving a site off Sheffield Road in Birdwell, Barnsley.

Almost £11,000 is to be spent improving drainage and surfacing on a piece of land which Barnsley Council only recently realised was in its ownership.

The unsurfaced plot, alongside Sheffield Road in Birdwell, is subject to flooding because it has an uneven surface which traps water in large pools following rain and residents have complained as a result.

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But Barnsley Council had believed historically the site was in private ownership, until recent research revealed it is in fact owned by the council, falling under the parks and leisure department.

Now councillors who make up the South Area Council, a localised body with a budget to improve the area, have agreed to spend £10,980 on the site, which will involve installing gulleys as well as excavating the site and laying a hard surface.

An alternative would have cost around £1,400 but would have only solved the problem for a year, they were told.