First projects complete from £23m Towns Fund investment

The first wave of projects, as part of £23.1m worth of investment in Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe and Bolton upon Dearne through the Towns Fund, have been completed.

Funding for the Dearne area was approved by the Government in March.

It followed the submission of a Town Investment Plan prepared by the Goldthorpe Town Board to help attract jobs and economic investment to the area, improve the local street scene and attractiveness of the High Street, improve local housing and develop better transport links.

The £23.1m will fund six key projects and detailed business cases for these projects are currently being prepared before the funds can be released from Government.

However, a series of early intervention projects have already been finished thanks to £500,000 of Towns Fund accelerated funding which was released before the full £23.1m grant was approved.

The projects completed with the early intervention cash include:

• Purchase of the former Horse and Groom Pub ready for its demolition and redevelopment of the site as part of the main Towns Fund projects.
• First phase of relocating the market into a more prominent High Street location, again as part of the wider Towns Fund projects.
• Accessible active travel routes through Phoenix Park.
• Further improvements to the Embankment Project green space.
• A new “Tiny Forest” to help mitigate the effects of climate change, support urban wildlife and reconnect people with nature.

The Goldthorpe Town Deal Board is made up of local residents, interests and representatives.

Derek Bramham, chairman of the board, said: “These significant investments which have already been completed are just the beginning of this extremely exciting Towns Fund journey we’re now on.

“When we talk about the huge sums of money and the promise of investment on this scale, it can sometimes feel like something way off in the distance, but it’s already happening, and the projects and benefits are only going to get bigger.

“Investment of this scale requires careful planning with spend targeted on the areas that will deliver the most benefit for the local area.

“We carried out consultation to help shape the plan, and a huge amount of work has been done to pull together proposals which both meet the criteria of the fund, and which help attract jobs and economic investment to the area, improve the local street scene, improve local housing and develop better transport links – the priorities which we identified following consultation with local people.”