Area profile profile

Area Profile for
Goldthorpe,
Bolton-upon-Dearne and
Highgate (GBH)
Big Local Area
Contents Page
What is Big Local? ................................................................................................................ 3
The Area Map ....................................................................................................................... 4
The history of the area .......................................................................................................... 5
Residents would like to see: .................................................................................................. 6
What is good about the area? ............................................................................................ 6
What is lacking in the area? What are the issues? ............................................................ 7
Area research ....................................................................................................................... 8
Debt and benefit problems................................................................................................. 8
Unemployment and training ............................................................................................... 8
Young people .................................................................................................................... 8
Drug dealing and usage .................................................................................................... 8
Building the community ......................................................................................................... 9
Going forward ..................................................................................................................... 10
Our Vision ........................................................................................................................... 10
Contact Us – To Find Out More and Get Involved ............................................................... 10
Appendix 1 Photo references .............................................................................................. 11
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What is Big Local?
Big Local is an exciting opportunity for residents in 150 areas around England to use
at least £1m to make a massive and lasting positive difference to their communities.
It’s about bringing together all the local talent, ambitions, skills and energy from
individuals, groups and organisations who want to make their area an even better
place to live.
The Big Local Trust has set up a ‘Pathway’ in order for Big Local Steering Groups to
navigate their way to access the Million Pounds. They want to see that the
community has been involved in the plans to invest the money in their community in
a cohesive and positive way.
In order to do this the group have being organising events, and joining in other
Community Events to find out exactly what people are saying about their area and
what they would like to see and be involved in to make this happen.
The Pathway: this is made up of seven steps the group have to work through
in order to access the funds, and these are the steps below:
We are currently working on steps two, three and four:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Getting people involved
Exploring your Big Local vision and area profile
Forming your Big Local partnership
Creating a Big Local plan
Delivering your Big Local plan
Collecting the evidence
Reviewing your Big Local plan and partnership
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The Area Map
Goldthorpe, Highgate and Bolton-upon-Dearne (GHB) Big Local Area
Above is a map of the GBH Big Local Area. The GHB Big Local area sits within two area
wards, Dearne North and Dearne South. There are six councillors in this area, three
councillors for Dearne North and three councillors for Dearne South.
Bolton-upon Dearne lies in the Dearne South ward and Highgate lies within the Dearne
North ward. Goldthorpe is situated in both wards due to the ward boundaries of the Barnsley
borough.
The area is also surrounded by countryside
and green spaces including the RSPB
Centre at Old Moor, the Adwick Washlands
and the Trans Pennine Trail all within
commuting and walking distance from the
area.
Arial Photograph of GBH Big Local (photo ref no 001)
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The history of the area
Goldthorpe and Bolton-upon-Dearne were part of the Hickleton Estates. Bolton-upon-Dearne
was the biggest hamlet, and a school was built there in the middle of the 19th century, to
which the children from Goldthorpe attended. With the sinking of Hickleton Main Colliery in
1892, the number of families coming into the area dramatically increased. The schools at
Bolton-upon-Dearne could no longer accommodate all the pupils, so land was purchased at
Goldthorpe, and a school was built there for the local children.
The influx of people coming to work in the mines created the need for more private and
municipal housing to be built within the area and along with housing St John and St Mary
Magdalene Church was built in 1916 in Goldthorpe. The church played an important part
within the community during this time, and many activities took place there.
St John and St Mary Magdalene Church
(photo ref 002)
Working Men's Clubs were built, and leisure activities including fishing, football, flower and
vegetable shows were undertaken by the men. Benefit concerts were put on regularly, for
men who had been involved in accidents, or widows and orphans. Community spirit was
strong in the area and families and friends supported each other through times of crisis.
There were two brickworks in the area, and recently a Nature Improvement Ranger
discovered a couple of Red-Eyed Damselflies up at the Brickyard Ponds which are incredibly
rare in this part of the world and they are only just colonising South Yorkshire. The ranger
also spotted a water vole, a rare thing to actually see in it’s own right, this is the first record
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has for this area.
We are not sure when the brick works closed, but it goes to show the quality of environment
that has been created by a couple of fishing ponds. The fishermen have seen Kingfishers
which they say have been nesting at the ‘brickyard ponds’ for the last couple of years.
In 1903 a Free Library was built for the urban district of Bolton-upon-Dearne and Goldthorpe,
as a result of a donation given by Andrew Carnegie, and this was very well used. The
building was also used as council offices after the library was closed around 2001. In 1997 a
lease for part of the building was granted for use as a Boxing Club. This club has now been
refurbished due to the hard work and generosity of local people giving their time and skills to
refurbish the building, and bring a Boxing Club back to the area for the young people.
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Residents would like to see:
What is good about the area?
GBH has a very vibrant shopping centre which is in the centre of Goldthorpe village. It has
two decent sized supermarkets, butchers, bakers, hairdressers, at least two cafes as well as
two working men’s clubs and two miners’ welfare clubs. There are two chip shops and a
variety of smaller shops catering for all needs. The railway station serves both Sheffield and
Leeds city centres, and a decent bus service provides public transport to both Doncaster and
Barnsley.
Goldthorpe Primary School (photo ref 003)
The local library has meeting rooms, as does the Dearne Enterprise Centre catering for
small groups. The library has Housing Officers there and the local elected Councillors hold
their surgeries in the building. On the border between Goldthorpe and Bolton-upon-Dearne
there is a new NHS GP Collaborative with five doctor’s surgeries within it and a local
chemist. The area also has a new publically funded initiative (PFI) school catering for 11-16
year olds and a Further Education College just outside the area.
There are four primary schools in the whole area of GBH. At least one of the schools is a
new building and Goldthorpe Primary, probably the oldest in the area, is due to be
demolished and a new one built within the next year. As well as the primary schools there
are two childrens centres; one in Goldthorpe and one in Bolton-upon-Dearne.
Within Bolton-upon-Dearne there is a small shopping centre, St Andrews Square. The
square has a Coop Supermarket which is due for refurbishement. Once the refurbishment
has been completed there will be a community board and space for people to advertise local
events, and the supermarket will have a dedicated community worker. Bolton-upon-Dearne
also has a railway station that goes to both Sheffield and Leeds and good public transport
links on the local buses.
St Andrews Square shopping Centre (photo ref 004)
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There are sports facilities and a gym in the Dearne Advanced Learning Centre (ALC) which
is the school situated on the border between Goldthorpe and Bolton-upon-Dearne. Besides
that there are football clubs, cricket clubs and a rugby club to name but a few!
Within the area there is a local arts venue, The Dearne Playhouse, providing much
appreciated live concerts pantomimes and children’s dance schools. The Playhouse has
been around for many years and is supported by volunteers of all ages and abilities.
There are some really nice local green spaces in the area. Phoenix Park is situated between
Goldthorpe, Highgate and Thurnscoe and is accessible by an underpass. The park is not so
accessible to the people of Bolton-upon-Dearne. The Trans Pennine Trail is on the edge of
the area and is accessible for walkers and bikers. There are other pockets of smaller green
spaces but little in the way of parks with swings and play equipment for children.
What is lacking in the area? What are the issues?
Although residents had a lot of positives to say about the area they also had concerns about
the lack of facilities, places and play equipment for children of all ages. This lack of youth
provision has often caused issues around antisocial behaviour on the streets which is an
issue. Residents wanted the streets to be cleaner and tidier and they wanted the police to be
on top of issues around drug taking and growing and the low level crime in the area.
Job prospects in the area are poor and people commented that they wanted easy access to
training to develop skills for work. Local residents asked for bus services to serve the
surrounding area at a time to suit shift work, as although there is some access to work the
public transport in the area does not support this.
Residents want the facilities to promote what is happening within the area and to have better
communication between residents, businesses and organisations.
One of the biggest issues in the area is around ‘Absent Landlords’. This has caused an
enormous amount of frustration in the area as landlords have bought houses cheaply in the
area, rented them out but haven’t looked after the property and their tenants. This has led to
some parts of the area becoming run down, which again, has led to antisocial behaviour on
the streets.
There is an old pithead railway line running right through the centre of Goldthorpe which has
been left derelict for a number of years. It is owned by Network Rail, who have made some
effort at times to tidy up, but it is so deep and long that it has now just become a dumping
ground for anyone who wants to get rid of their old furniture and rubbish.
The railway line running through
Goldthorpe Village (photo ref 005)
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Area research
To add to the above information there was recent research done by Turning Point, an
external organisation.
Turning Point is an organisation supporting communities to change the way they live. They
were commissioned by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council to look at the Dearne Valley
with a vision and plan to collate information from the public to help shape the future of the
area. This information forms part of their report.
Twenty-two local people living in the Dearne were recruited and trained as Community
Researchers by Turning Point. They used a variety of methods to engage and collect the
opinions of adults and young people. The interviews took place between January and April
2013. In addition, interviews were conducted between November 2013 and February 2014.
The information below highlights the key issues raised by the community in the Dearne and
by those working in the Dearne.
There are a lot of issues in the Dearne relating to low levels of mental health. Low selfesteem and depression in families are all known inhibiting factors around children’s’
development.
Housing and Neighbourhood Management related issues again were high.
Debt and benefit problems
Debt and benefit related problems identified by the community research are highest in
Goldthorpe, then in Bolton-upon-Dearne and Highgate. These issues cover a wide spectrum
of financial issues, in particular the needs of working families that are struggling financially
on a day to day basis.
Unemployment and training
The lack of employment and training opportunities were viewed as an issue across the
Dearne as a whole. Thurnscoe had the highest unemployment compared with Goldthorpe,
Bolton-upon-Dearne and Highgate. Just under a quarter of people who completed the survey
have accessed local training courses.
Young people
Anti-social behaviour and groups of young people hanging around the streets is an issue in
Goldthorpe, Bolton-upon-Dearne and Highgate.
Drug dealing and usage
Drug dealing and usage was ranked as a priority issue overall for people living in the
Dearne.
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Building the community
There are some really good opportunities to work with the community. We have sports
groups already working with children and young people. We have four churches in the area
all with particular strengths, for example, running a food bank, hosting parent and toddler
groups, lunch clubs for the elderly.
We have a new Scout and Guide organisation in Goldthorpe. There is a vibrant youth club in
the area, and the Dearne Playhouse which has events planned throughout the year.
Goldthorpe Development Group are an community organisation and they organise events for
all ages, work on environmental issues around litter and want to make the community a
better place to live whilst building community cohesion.
We are forging excellent links with the comprehensive school, and have links with the
primary schools through the group and Goldthorpe Development Group.
A new project has just getting started which has secured an allotment and is working on
getting disabled access to the site including building a pathway and raised beds so people
with access needs can work on the allotment in the future. Funding for this project was
sought through the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and is being supported by them at
various stages in the development of the project.
There is a fantastic opportunity on the horizon to work with Aldi who are building a Regional
Distribution warehouse and a supermarket just on the edge of Highgate. Jobs will be
available to the community which will be within walking distance for most residents. Aldi
have a corporate interest in supporting charitable work in the area they come in to, and will
have corporate volunteers who might like to get involved in GBH Big Local.
These are just some of the things we can support and get involved in.
Carnegie Building in Bolton-upon Dearne (photo ref 006)
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Going forward
Our Short term plans include a Community Cinema. We are
working in partnership with Big Local Thurnscoe to pilot this. The
Dearne ALC Comprehensive School has offered to host this and
will be able to provide not only the venue but will also cater for the
event. The Dearne Playhouse is also interested in working with the
group to look at the possibility of hosting the cinema too. The group
are thinking that they might be able to use both venues to deliver a
film mid-week and a matinee at the weekend.
Another plan is to work with the Carnegie Boxing and Sports Club to have a café in the
centre. The plan is to brand the café as a ‘Big Local’ community café with information about
the group and how to get involved etc. The café will be for the young people and their
families attending the club and for the general public living and working in the area.
We would like both these opportunities to be run as social enterprises, which in turn will
bring self-employment skills and jobs to the area.
Longer term plans at this stage are to look at a housing project which will include purchasing
one or two houses to renovate, skilling apprentices in joinery plastering electrical work etc.
The plan is then to either rent or sell the house/s to fund the next phase and build up a
portfolio of housing stock.
Our Vision
Goldthorpe, Bolton-upon-Dearne and Highgate’s (GBH) vision for
the future is one where good education and training prospects
coupled with quality and affordable homes to live in, improved local
facilities and supportive communities will promote active
involvement in making our area a great place to live and work.
Contact Us – To Find Out More and Get Involved
If you would like to know more about Big Local and how you can get involved
Phone or Text
07879 739043
Email
Goldthorpe.Bolton@CPRuk.net
Goldthorpe Bolton
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Appendix 1 Photo references
Photograph references
Photo ref 001 Photograph taken from http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/
Photo ref 002 Photograph taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldthorpe
Photo ref 003 Photograph taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldthorpe
Photo ref 004 Photograph taken from http://www.192.com/
Photo ref 005 Photograph from https://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/11529784035/
Photo ref 006 Photograph taken from http://bodycarnegie.co.uk/images/layout-page-building.jpg
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