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are you having a laugh? why would anyone in their right mind want to live on Wellington Street or Market Hill where Dunnes is?

the auction of the Arcade of 26 shops for £1.5million days before this town centre housing was announced...no wonder the bargain buyer is being kept secret,..... especially if he is part of the council with an inside knowledge of the relaxing of housing development rules for that very area

Yet again another mad money wasting scheme. What possible reason can there be to spend over £1 million reducing the amount of car parking available in the town centre by making more gardens around the town hall. It's time our MPs stood up and told the fools at the council to get real and stop throwing our money away.

Just what we need less shops and more houses ancd gardens yea right the council and the mps need to get a grip what barnsley needs is to attract more buisnesses to the town centre we are slowly losing the towns identity plus it6 will create more jobs and boost the barnsley economy as well how can we be a town if there is no town centre

seriously theres not that amount of room even if it is only an artist impression

Why do the council keep wanting to spend money on mad schemes. I recently went to Foresby market and they have spent lots of money revamping and making a "better experience", It was previously among the best markets in the country, but now it is a waste of a journey and petrol I will not be visiting again. Knock down the the Metropolitan centre make a big open market with a huge glass oval roof and allow people to walk around a route that they have to visit every stall. If it is such a big deal for a marquee signing then Debenhams can take a section of the Alhambra centre to fulfil their ambitions. "Make Barnsley the market capital of the UK and watch the tourists flock in"

Spend the huge savings on the local parks and facility's.

What a total and utter waste of money FFS use it where it is needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why don't I go into town any more to shop ? I can't park whereas about 10 miles south I can get free parking.

Who do they think is gonna walk up Market hill to sit in these gardens FFS! They destroyed the Civic theastre with their "one stop shop " nonsense and now they destroy the first car park that visitors to the town encounter . This has got nothing to do with the Councillors moving their free parking to Gateway Plaza I'm sure and saving Martin Brooks company from financial disaster by buying his speculative office development whilst he loaned senior Councillors and directors his boat in Antibes !.

You voted for them. You've got to live woth their decisions. Unfortunately if they put a donkey up for election in a red shirt the masses would vote for it. That's what's happened and this is the consequence. Answer. Stop voting for idiots!

tbh, the more regeneration in the town centre the better. No, we will never be a 24/7 town, our geographical location says so....and to be frank, we're in the North! However, town centre residents has/will, and hopefully will continue..small steps forward. Get away from your blinkers and start to believe that 'OUR TOWN' can grow and prosper :D

Really? You actually think that the Town Hall Car Park is that important?! there's plenty of car parks around town. to be honest, I didn't think anyone would be so bothered about losing a P&D car park. We do need more houses and the more that are in the Town Centre, the better - some people don't want to live in the sticks and have an hours commute to work! Loads of people go on about how rubbish the town looks, the Councillors are working with this and trying to make being in the Town Centre better for people. I'm glad it's getting this rehaul! If you want to live somewhere that's all buildings and car parks move to a busy city! In my opinion I'd like to have somewhere where there is something nice to look at and I'd rather it be nature than a huge glass building!

Work has already begun - the carpark has already gone and there is a very large barrier all around the area of work..

So much for the "Residents will be able to have their say on the Town Centre Action Plan until September, when the consultation ends. "

@wab Nicky, where can we view these plans please?

It was always a travesty having this side of the town hall ruined by that grotty little car park. Thank goodness it is being replaced by this lovely public space which will dramatically improve the look of this part of the town centre.

I can't understand the anger about the loss of the parking spaces, there are nearly 2500 spaces provided in the centre. The complaints about it being a waste of money reminds me of the moaning I often heard about the new bus station, with some people wondering what was wrong with the old one. If everyone thought like these people then the town really would be doomed.

I don't get what all the fuss is about losing a dozen 1 hour parking spaces. There's plenty other perfectly fine surface parking spaces and on street parking available. It's about time some money was spent making Barnsley more attractive then maybe the drunks or druggies won't be the only ones using these areas like they were before.

It's so the councillors in summer can sit outside and look over the money they have wasted, and the town going downhill...

Town is dull. ive spoken with my mates about this for ages, no where nice to go and sit, eat lunch and just enjoy town. This is needed, Barnsley needs a make over, and at least the council realise this. Town is depressing with a whole row of shops empty. lets not stay in the dark ages eh? Maybe this will make people in barnsley smile a bit as all i ever see is dull faces!

I think it's a good idea. At least those who get married in the town hall will have somewhere pretty get some pictures taken. I can't see why anyone would object to getting rid of that crappy excuse for a car park and making the town hall look a whole lot better!

* somewhere pretty TO get some pictures taken :/

Well at least it will give the tramps, drunks and druggies somewhere to sit when they get bored of the plinth in Peel Square.

Just what I was thinking Simon, they could also be on the wedding photos, why are the shops left empty? Maybe because their rates are so high to pay for the council lavish lifestyle. I am sorry but I will not start going to town just to sit and listen to foul language and watch jobless yobs smoke weed. All this when they have no money left to build a safe footpath for our kids to get to New school in Wombwell/Darfield.

The only overhaul we need is of the council, out with the wasters and in with people's representatives. Get the shops occupied this brings in income, then get shoppers in to the town, THEN indulge your selves, and you can then sit and look at your success rather than your failure.

what a total disgrace that yet again our money is going into a pointless excercise with no prospect of any financial return. it's not enough to make something look pretty there has to be a point to it! I have a new coffee shop on Doncaster Road, rates are very high, I pay £167 per square metre! what do i get for that? not even a bin! Suggestions for this money could have included, more business rate relief, better signage in town, more bins, more people to empty the bins! town centre ambassdors (just like sheffield) who can kick out the drunks and druggies, sort the paths out! could go on for ages. Where do you think our three main town centre councillors are in all of this, funnily enough all three have been in Iceland (not the shop)! they are good at spending our money!

To be honest I'm more concerned about Darfields Makeover - 200+ houses where there once were playing fields for schoolchildren and others , Travellers Site on the very edge of Darfield - where I thought we had Green Belt Land - there again who cares about the Green Belt anymore

It's a good idea there are way too many narrow minded people commenting on this. How can making our town more attractive and dragging it out of the dark ages be a bad thing ? Because we lost 12 car park spaces.. Really? The town centre is dark miserable, old fashioned and needs modernising and making into something the people who live here can be proud of.

at first i thought it was bad getting rid of the car park even though i dont drive but i didnt know we were getting fountains,it will be very nice,even bradford has fountains.will be nice to see the town looking nice

they should stop putting up the MPs wages up and stop all this wasting money on silly things like this and fetch more jobs to the town center come on you silly councillors get real make the town better not looking like we are abroad and have the money and making people redundant.

i hope the new water fountains burst and flood the town hall with all our so called councillors in it.

They would rather spend money on crap stuff than help to sort crossings out for Joseph Locke school, Shawlands and holy rood, racecommon road needs a crossing sooner rather than later, they just waste money, revamp barnsley how longs it going to take

Complete waste of money!!! why does Barnsley council continue to spend money on stupid unessentials, and waste it on overpriced items and unnecessary things, while laying people off, and cutting back on services that affect hundreds? who is going to get anything from this except the overcharging contractors???

You do know the country's going Bankrupt don't you ??????

Town hall may look good. But the town center looks like a dump shops closing down. Barnsley town center is stuck in the 60,s its dirty all the time council should spend more time in getting barnsley back on its feet.

The sad thing about most councils is they are run by people with very little or no Business accumen so money is squandered, i know people who work for the council who are totally demoralised and care not one jot for their work (one said to me when i get to work if my in box has more than 50 e-mails from the general public i delete them, if its important theyll re email), and dare i say shennaigans can arise,
Barnsley town centre is a mish mash of peoples pea brained ideas over the decades, and the historical feel to the town is none existant with most buildings looking shocking, i came to barnsley from the north east 30 years ago and ive heard it all from the floating halo to the tuscan village get real give us a normal town that the people of barnsley can be proud of stop trying to fill it with crap housing schemes like the gateway plaza, how the hell did that get passed eyesore