'Derelict and dilapidated' pub to be demolished as part of £23m project in Dearne Valley

Barnsley Council purchased the Horse and Groom on Barnsley Road earlier this year, as part of a £23.1 million project to improve the Dearne Valley.

As part of the plans, funded by a grant from the Towns Fund, the council will demolish the “derelict and dilapidated” former pub, to make way for a potential new town square, with works starting on Monday, October 18.

Mature trees on the site will be retained, and the site will be turned into a hard standing area until further plans come forward.

Planning officer Matthew Smith told a meeting of Barnsley Council’s planning board on September 14 that the pub had been on the market for 18 months, but there was a lack of interest.

An application to turn the building into 11 apartments was refused last year, on the grounds that the apartments would not meet minimum size standards, and did not provide a “broad mix of residential types”.

The pub’s sign and original stone that made up part of the walls will be salvaged, as a nod to the pub’s history.

Planning papers state that the demolition is justified on “safety and visual amenity grounds,” and that no objections have been received.

Derek Bramham, chairman of the Goldthorpe Town Deal Board, said: “The building in a poor state of repair and has become an eyesore. It would not have been viable for the building to be re-opened.

“This important site at the heart of Goldthorpe will have a much more positive future as a public square, and we look forward to more details about this exciting development in the coming months.”