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The traditional image of Barnsley as an old-fashioned Yorkshire mining town with its head buried firmly in the past is rapidly vanishing. The days of Arthur Scargill, cloth caps and whippets are gone.
Architect Will Alsop's bold vision of Barnsley as a Tuscan hill town attracted much ill-informed ridicule when it was first revealed a few years ago, but this vision had much to recommend it.
Barnsley was a key manufacturing centre in the industrial revolution of the 19th century and there is no reason why it cannot flourish again. A willing and committed workforce, excellent communications in the heart of Yorkshire and pioneering development partnerships between the private and public sector are all combining to make the town great again.
One such partnership is already bearing fruit. The pioneering £60 million business park in Barnsley by leading Yorkshire property developers Sterling Capitol is now delivering jobs and investment.
The 36-acre business park, which is situated by Junction 37 of the M1, will ultimately create over 600 new jobs. It is a classic mixed-use scheme, featuring 450,000 sq ft of quality office and industrial space, plus a new hotel and ancillary facilities, and provision for a 250-space park-and-ride facility.
Capitol Park Barnsley, which is being built in conjunction with the now completed by-pass for the village of Dodworth, is transforming the area north west of Junction 37 of the M1.
A new by-pass and the park's infrastructure have been built, while construction of a speculative first phase of seven high quality hybrid units, ranging from 2,000 sq ft to 8,000 sq ft, is now complete. These units, for sale or rent, are already proving extremely popular.
Pit Stop Productions, one of Yorkshire's leading animation companies whose clients include Pop Idol, are moving into a 3,000 sq ft unit - merging three office/studios in Leeds, Sheffield and Wakefield. Deals have been completed on six of the other seven units.
Robert Bowles of Ardane Properties, who bought a 5,000 sq ft unit, commented: "These are quality units in a quality location. I regard this as an excellent investment."
Meanwhile the Christy Group, the Yorkshire company that made hats for Winston Churchill and now has a £40-million turnover producing children's party costumes, has taken 11,000 sq ft of brand-new office space at Capitol Park and has moved in.
Ian Williams, finance manager, commented: "We have located our 60-strong from our old-fashioned premises in Wood Street, Barnsley, which we have sold. This is an important move for us and we were attracted to Capitol Park because of its superb location and its car-parking provision"
At the same time hotel group Ramada Encore has signed a deal to build a 120-bed hotel at the front of the site and with Toby Inns for an adjacent pub and restaurant, which is expected to create 60 new local jobs. Toby Inns is now open..
Tony Palmer, a spokesman for leading pub and restaurant Mitchell and Butler, who own Toby Inns, commented: "We are delighted to be moving on to Capitol Park, Barnsley. This is a landmark development in a superb location and we are proud to be part of it.
He added: "This is part of our joint development project with Ramada and we have every confidence that it will be a tremendous success"
Meanwhile Priority Sites, who have built Grade A office accommodation in units ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 sq ft, at Capitol Park, believe these are ideally located to serve local and regional markets. One Capitol Park is a joint venture between Priority Sites and Sterling Capitol. Offices range from 5,000sq.ft. to 30,000sq.ft and Business Link Yorkshire now has its HQ there.
The development has been supported by a £2.65m public sector grant from Objective One and has been carefully planned and brought forward working closely with Renaissance South Yorkshire, Yorkshire Forward and Barnsley Development Agency.
Martin Croxen, the chief executive of Sterling Capitol, commented: "One Capitol Court is an integral part of Capital Park Barnsley. We are delighted to be involved in a development which will assist in the regeneration of one of South Yorkshire's most important towns".
"As developers Sterling Capitol have a proven track record in delivering highly successful business parks in prime motorway locations in Yorkshire. Capitol Park Thorne and Capitol Park Leeds have revitalised their communities and created more than 2,500 jobs between them. I am delighted that Capitol Park Barnsley is proving equally successful," said Mr Croxen.
The agents for the development are the Leeds and Sheffield offices of Knight Frank and Chris Rowlands & Co of Barnsley.
Guy Cooke, a partner at Knight Frank's Leeds office, commented: "Sterling Capitol have established an enviable reputation as developers who deliver. Their development is excellent news for Barnsley and excellent news for South Yorkshire, because it is providing jobs and business opportunities across all sectors".
"There are imaginative plans to transform Barnsley into a market town for the 21st century and Capitol Park Barnsley will be the perfect complement to this. This superb business park offers Leeds offices at Barnsley prices", he added.
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