£10.2m has been awarded to Barnsley following a successful bid to the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
The Barnsley Futures bid has been awarded £10.2m to help transform young people’s cultural and well-being facilities in the newly redeveloped town centre.
The investment will include the creation of an activity park next to the town centre’s forthcoming Youth Zone, including a skate park, bike track, new active routes and play spaces. This project will be co-designed and delivered with young people.
Working with key partners YMCA Barnsley and ChilyPep, the council will also redevelop the complementary Young People’s Wellbeing Hub ‘H.O.M.E.’ based at YMCA to provide fit-for-purpose places for services focused on emotional well-being and resilience including a broad range of mental health and well-being activity.
The bid also includes the creation of a new Northern Academy for Vocal Excellence (NAVE) to deliver outstanding singing tuition to young people. This will also serve as a permanent home to the world-renowned Barnsley Youth Choir. The choir is ranked 5th in the Interkultur World Rankings (the highest ranked choir from Great Britain) and has won eight first prizes in some of the most important international competitions in the world.
The NAVE will bring back into use a prominent building, the council’s former Computer Centre building on the corner of St Mary’s Place and Westgate behind the Town Hall. Built in 1879, it was previously the courthouse for the town until the new court was built in 1970.
There will also be a contribution to the major project to refurbish The Civic cultural centre to secure its future and extend its reach. This will bring into use parts of the building not used for many years so it can work with and attract new audiences, particularly young people under 30, and develop their skills and talents.
Leader of Barnsley Council, Cllr Sir Steve Houghton CBE, said: “We truly believe it’s time to believe in the possibilities of Barnsley, to look to the future with excitement and optimism, so we’re very pleased that the government has listened to our call for Levelling Up investment in Barnsley.
“We’re already incredibly proud of our fantastic town centre, and this investment gives us a brilliant opportunity to offer even more opportunities and reasons to visit, particularly for our young people.
“We’re using this funding to improve the educational, well-being and health outcomes of Barnsley’s young people, and to improve cultural engagement for everyone through making further improvements to The Civic. That’s because Barnsley’s a place that fosters and grows ambition, enabling everyone to be the best they can be.
“We’re of course disappointed that our £16m bid to further develop Elsecar Heritage Centre into a national tourist destination was unsuccessful on this occasion. However, we remain committed to our vision for Elsecar, and we look forward to working with government and other agencies on how we can secure funding to make it a reality. We will be inviting the Secretary of State Michael Gove to meet with ourselves and South Yorkshire Mayor at Elsecar.”
