An ambitious plan to create more than 5,000 new jobs and invest almost £350m in Barnsley's economy has been announced by the council.
The five-year economic investment plan will see the council invest about £26m in schemes to grow the economy, and encourage the private sector to invest much more than that.
It includes the creation of three, as yet unidentified, new business parks, work placement schemes, training and support for the unemployed to help them back to work, and a 'masterplan' to regenerate the Goldthorpe area.
Some of the work may involve freeing up land in the green belt. "We don't have that £26m to put in at the moment," said Coun Steve Houghton, leader of the council.
In an interview for this week's Town edition he said: "What we can do, hopefully, is fund the first two years of this five year plan, (£14.5m), through capital receipts (sale of council assets) and some use of the council's reserves, hopefully some grant funding if we can secure that.
"The idea is once we fund the first two years, it will generate income which we can feed back in to fund years three, four and five.
"It's an ambitious plan, we are excited about it."
• More details on the front page of today's Town edition.
