MORE than nine million visits were made to Barnsley town centre over a 12-month period, new figures have revealed.
Footfall in 2024/25 show a continued, year-on-year hike, with its 9.18 million visits surpassing the 2023/24 figure by more than 2.5 million.
According to the council, the catalyst for the rocketing numbers has been the Glass Works - the £220m regeneration scheme which transformed the town centre and brought in big-name businesses such as The Botanist, Cineworld, Nando’s and TK Maxx among others.
However, town hall bosses also say Barnsley’s famous market has attracted out-of-town visits, with coach trips to the town up 90 per cent in 2024/25.
Members of the Barnsley Town Board met at DMC 01, on County Way, yesterday to discuss the findings.
A report said: “The total number of visits to the town centre in quarter four of 2024/25 was 1,937,948.
“This is a drop of nearly 500,000 on the quarter prior but considering this period saw several storms, heavy snow and ice that cancelled markets and caused many to work from home, less Oakwell home matches than the previous year and the movement of Easter from
March into April, these figures are still high.
“The total number of annual visitors for 2024/25 was 9,180,502.
“This is higher figure than was reported the previous year, but
we must note a change in how we monitor footfall - from a static counter in one spot to actual devices within a bounded area.
“Car parking levels at the Glass Works and footfall in the interchange showed seasonal variations exacerbated by the reasons above.
“We saw 25 coach trips, which is a 90 per cent increase on the previous year.
“Most come for the market, demonstrating what pulling power it has.”
Council leader Sir Steve Houghton told the Chronicle that it was positive to see the town centre performing so well.
He said forthcoming schemes such as the Alhambra’s Health on the High Street project, Barnsley Youth Choir’s NAVE venue, the ‘Base 71’ youth zone, the South Yorkshire Institute of Technology (SYIoT) and work on The Seam, on County Way - which includes an urban park and a 140-room hotel - will also help future-proof the area’s success.
“The whole point of investing in the town centre in the first place was to make Barnsley a place where people want to come and it’s already gaining a reputation from not only local shoppers but from other towns and cities, too,” he added.
“We are proud that our vibrant town centre continues to see increasing footfall year-on-year, drawing visitors from across the region and beyond.
“A key part of that is down to the Glass Works and the associated work we’re doing surrounding the overall scheme, which spans right from the Civic to the bridge.
“Footfall is high and it’s high for a reason: the centre is brimming with businesses of all kinds and there’s much on offer to entice visitors both from across Barnsley and beyond, which we’ve seen by the increased coach trips.
“We have ambitious plans for the future and we’ll continue investing in making Barnsley an even better destination, and spreading the word about how it’s a great place to work, shop and visit.”
Coun Robin Franklin, cabinet spokesperson for regeneration and culture, said the was ‘staggering’.
“We changed to a new system of tracking footfall last year which we believe is more accurate, and I’m delighted to see visitors in the last three months are up on the already high figures we saw this time last year.
“Looking back three years, our overall footfall in the town centre is up by 18 per cent to a staggering 9.1 million visits.
“From the feedback we receive, we know this growth is down to the stunning transformation of our town centre and the wide range of varied businesses, food, drink and leisure activities, as well as the amazing array of events we’ve brought to the town centre.”
