Modern upgrades planned at historic Listed gardens

Barnsley Council will be asked for planning permission to instigate a series of changes at the Stainborough site ahead of the next chapter in the gardens’ history, with the National Trust now seeking permission to dig the trenches needed to install fibre optic broadband.

As well as serving their offices on the site, which is being leased from Barnsley Council, the new IT infrastructure is expected to serve “key visitor touchpoints”, in the car park, where a new visitor centre is planned, as well as the Long Barn building which is also to be used for visitors.

The project, if approved, would involve around 450 metres of trenching, with some of the cabling running in existing culverting.

The trenches needed should be no deeper than 600mm and the application states there will be no visual impact on the gardens, the only ones to have Grade I Listed status in South Yorkshire, with more than two dozen individually Listed buildings and structures in the grounds and surrounding parklands.

Responsibility for the gardens reverted to Barnsley Council during 2017, when the Wentworth Castle and Stainborough Park Heritage Trust which had been operating the site was unable to make the enterprise financially viable, with the site then closed to the public.

It had been opened to visitors after its Victorian conservatory featured in the BBC Restoration programme years earlier, sparking fresh interest in the site.

A report submitted with the application states: “There will be little to no impact on the visual setting of the property within its Registered Park and Garden. The works are all below ground with only the manhole covers visible.

“Manhole covers set within grassed areas will be grassed over. Manhole covers within the roadways will be visible but will have little impact on the setting.

“There are three trees that will need to be felled in order to facilitate these works. One large sycamore tree adjacent to the bin store of the Long Barn has been very badly damaged by a recent fire, so it’s life expectance has been severely affected and will need to be felled.

“Two younger trees growing from under the garden wall running along Shed Lane will also need to be felled to facilitate the trenching works. These are self-seeding trees and have no historic value. Their loss is not considered to have a negative impact on the setting.

“The proposed works will help the National Trust to open Wentworth Castle Gardens to visitors and allow it to run as a successful venture. This will in turn allow the Trust to invest in the repair and maintenance of all the various listed and historic building, structures, monuments and gardens of the site.

“Opening up Wentworth Castle Gardens including the wider estate will ensure it is preserved and enjoyed by future generations,” states the report.

A decision will be made later on whether to allow the changes.