THE last year has been an exciting one for the town with a large number of projects coming to fruition - but that doesn’t mean 2026 is going to be a quiet one for Barnsley.
There’s still plenty to look forward to, whether it be the potential of Patrick Kelly becoming Barnsley FC’s first player to feature in a World Cup or the opening of the much-anticipated youth zone in the town centre, there’s a lot for locals to be involved with.
Chief reporter Jack Tolson previews the year ahead...
Youth Zone
OnSide, the charity behind the newly-named Base71 on Schwabisch Gmund Way, will open the venue - which includes a four-court sports hall, a roof-top 3G outdoor kick-pitch, gym, boxing and martial arts room, a recording studio, dance studio, sensory room and mentoring kitchen - on January 17.
It has been part-funded by Barnsley Council, with ASOS contributing £1.2m towards building and running costs.
The council has also gifted £150,000 to cover free membership for the first year for every young person in Barnsley.
Each visit will cost just 50p and there are more than 20 activities on offer for youngsters.
For the past few years, everyone travelling around the train station and even the town centre will have seen the impressive structure going up.
And later this month it’ll finally open its doors to the public.
It’s an exciting addition to the town and one that locals can certainly get excited about.
Health on the High Street
Some hospital services have already transferred over to the Alhambra Centre but 2026 is expected to be the year the project really excels.
The development has been hailed as the UK’s largest relocation of hospital outpatient services outside a clinical setting.
It’s transformed the first floor of the shopping centre into a health and wellbeing hub, starting with Barnsley Hospital’s first outpatient appointments transferring to the new satellite centre in the heart of town.
The first services to transfer to the Alhambra health and wellbeing hub, in the former Wilko store on the upper floor of the centre, are ophthalmology, optometry and retinal screening and this will be followed by rheumatology, dermatology and orthotics.
Other hospital outpatient services are due to move in early 2026 as part of its phased opening overseen by the hospital, council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) which is due to be fully operational in 2028.
The Seam
The Yorkshire Roses are up but there’s still plenty of work going on behind the scenes to transform The Seam.
The council had axed its long-held plans for The Seam, on County Way, which had promised a 386-space multi-storey car park and an energy-efficient housing estate.
But last year year they unveiled plans - which include a 4,700 square metre urban park, comprising three separate natural gardens, while improved parking facilities for the remaining spaces that will serve visitors to the town centre and The Seam’s Digital Campus.
Work is already well underway, with the main attraction of three ‘Yorkshire Rose’ statues towering over the former car park.
The central sculpture stands at 15 metres tall with two smaller 12-metre sculptures also standing high above the regenerated area.
It is phase one of the project, but phase two looks to further develop the Upper Seam car park which includes a third Digital Media Centre, a high-end hotel and a ‘National Centre for Digital Technologies’.
World Cup dreams
Barnsley lad John Stones will be looking to finally bring football home with England when he flies over to the States later this year for the World Cup.
He’s come close twice in the finals of the Euros but will be hoping to go one step further in the World Cup this year.
He’s an incredible ambassador for the town and undoubtedly one of the best players to ever come from Barnsley.
But it’s not just Stones with a Barnsley connection who’ll be hoping to excel at this year’s tournament.
Patrick Kelly and his Northern Ireland teammates will also be hoping to make it.
If he does, he’ll be the first current Barnsley player ever to play in a World Cup finals.
That’ll undoubtedly be a proud moment for him, but it should also be one for fans of the club.
