Store go-ahead at old school site

Barnsley Council approved the plans submitted by the supermarket and property company Litton Properties on Tuesday, bringing to an end a series of community wrangles.

People who live in Hoyland, where the store will be located on the site of the town’s former Market Street junior and infant schools, were split over the application.

Businesses said the out-of-town branch of Tesco would take away their trade and have an impact on Hoyland’s market, and the Co-operative Group, which also runs a store in the town centre, objected.

But other residents said they would welcome a larger supermarket in the town because the range and prices offered by existing businesses were up to modern standards.

Members of Barnsley Council’s planning and regulatory board examined all the arguments before agreeing with officers that the scheme should be allowed to go ahead, with the condition that traffic lights be provided at the access junction.