Barnsley Council developed a cultural events programme to draw shoppers to its new town centre retail and leisure development, repurposing empty retail units, including to set up a pop-up extension of Barnsley Museums as part of its ambitious programme of retail and town centre recovery.
The challenge
The twin challenges of Covid and the downturn in traditional high street shopping has been felt across the UK but in Barnsley, the challenge was accentuated by additional factors. Six years ago, Barnsley Council embarked on the regeneration of Barnsley town centre. Covid struck in the middle of construction and the £220 million retail and leisure development, The Glass Works, with its new public square, was built and opened by the time all Covid restrictions were lifted in February 2022.
Barnsley Council needed an alternative way to drive footfall especially as the new development opens in phases and retail and leisure occupants, such as Cine World opening as part of Phase two of the development later this year. With several empty units, it was critical that the scheme didn’t seem to be faltering. With a new town centre retail and leisure development on the cusp of opening, it was essential we bounced back from Covid and built momentum. We needed to persuade people to come back to Barnsley, see the changes and make it their destination of choice.
In a town where average household income is 12 per cent below the Yorkshire average and the higher end profiles were more likely to travel elsewhere, resulting in a £59 million trading gap between potential resident spend and actual spend within Barnsley, it was vital we took quick and decisive action.
The solution
We were imaginative and resourceful, and we found the answer to our challenge in culture. From the minute The Glass Works opened, we implemented a jam-packed, inclusive events programme which utilised the open spaces we’d carefully planned into our new, family-friendly town centre.
Central to our cultural offer, we repurposed three empty retails units and set up a pop-up extension of Barnsley Museums. All three units are located within the striking glass-covered shopping boulevard of The Glass Works. The units are thought to be some of the first free-to-the-public museum spaces to open in a purpose-built shopping and leisure development and they mark a significant shift in how town centres like Barnsley’s continue to evolve and adapt to modern-day market conditions.
The largest of the three spaces, 'Barnsley Museums @ The Glass Works', provides a dedicated museum that celebrates the borough’s past, present and future – combining everything from its industrial heritage and countryside to its art and sport.
Opposite is a pop-up space providing state-of-the-art digital experiences through cutting-edge technology that includes 360 film, virtual reality headsets, 3D printers and more.
Around the corner is a multifunctional and flexible space that showcases new exhibitions and features art exhibits, sculptures and Lego displays.
We knew we had to innovate to help our town centre businesses survive. In launching these accessible pop-up spaces, we wanted to do more than just recover, we wanted to innovate and address new challenges through rapid learning, testing of new ideas, developing local capacity and partnership working.
A rolling programme of immersive free events embracing arts, crafts, sport, food and music is now underway. This well-attended events programme, which is being widely covered by regional media, is showcasing Barnsley as a reinvigorated town with culture and people at its heart.
The impact
Town centre footfall this year has topped six million, an increase of two million from last year and far in excess of the council’s target.
We’re confident in our ambition is to attract more than seven million people in 2022/23. Barnsley’s economic recovery from the pandemic is ahead of almost every town and city centre in the UK, according to new data from Centre for Cities.
Data published in February 2022 revealed how Barnsley was second in the UK for footfall and in seventh place for spending, based on previous levels of activity. Footfall exceeded pre-pandemic levels in Barnsley on multiple days. May’s figures show Barnsley remains in the Top 10 for footfall and spend.
The Glass Works has helped to create jobs, growth and ambition. Our flagship Bright Nights event in autumn featured three nights of illuminating events, art installations and activities at 12 key town centre venues linking popular and less visited areas of the town centre creating a number of key walking routes to experience the event.
The Glass Works, and the Cultural Units it houses, have further strengthened local pride in Barnsley, by celebrating the Borough’s heritage yet also demonstrating that it is willing to invest in its town centre.
These walking routes promoted public health messages and active travel and we saw 22,000 people visit the 12 venues across the Bright Night weekend. The town’s Victorian Arcade (home to independent businesses) welcomed a 107 per cent increase in footfall during the event and our independent food court, Market Kitchen, saw a 130 per cent increase in sales and 30 per cent increase in footfall.
Again, the event was covered by wide range of local and regional media including television – raising the profile of Barnsley and improving perceptions.
How is the new approach being sustained?
It is more important than ever that our town centre, and high streets up and down the country provide an enriching and varied offer to the public.
Creating the right balance between our shops, restaurants, entertainment venues like Superbowl UK, the Markets and our cultural pop-up hubs creates a diverse and exciting destination that appeals to a wider audience. Ultimately, we are keeping our town centre active throughout the day and into the evening, stimulating spending and driving economic recovery and growth.
We continue to explore partnership working across the council with partners including Arts Council England, Historic England and the High Street Heritage Action Zone, Barnsley Civic Theatre, local arts groups, and other town-centre based businesses and organisations.
By connecting the different initiatives and working in partnership with stakeholders within and external to the council, we are empowering businesses and residents to make Barnsley and the wider borough fit for the future.
Lessons learned
We have learned that embedding culture, arts, and events into our placemaking helps to stimulate investment and growth. We are discovering that it has a deep and lasting impact, promotes wellbeing and inclusion, drives footfall, and creates civic pride.
This year is a benchmark; with the opening of The Glass Works, the launch of the new town centre events programme and the new museums offer. Going forward, we will be monitoring and tracking its success and continuously evaluating our activity and progress.
We are working with the Audience Agency to evaluate our key events, to make sure we have the data, knowledge, and insight to help us shape our event planning in the future, to ensure we are delivering events that appeal to our target audiences and support our objectives. We understand the needs of town centres and high streets are changing which is why our vision for the town centre is dynamic, adaptive, and flexible and considers the repurposing of retail space, growing our cultural offer and and the growth of our independent businesses.
We are looking at the bigger picture – making sure we are working towards the right infrastructure, good transport links, strong digital connectivity abilities and an attractive offer, so that we have a thriving and sustainable town centre.
Contact
Jon Finch, Head of Culture & Visitor Economy, Barnsley Council. Email: [email protected]