An extra 1400 homes will be built in Penistone between now and 2033 if draft plans are approved by Barnsley Council and the government.

But there will be no large-scale development in the next 20 years in villages such as Cawthorne, Thurlstone and Millhouse Green, under a Local Plan document due to be opened for public comment in November.

Major projects proposed include 516 homes on land south of Halifax Road, Penistone, 318 north and east of Joan Royd Lane, Cubley and 141 south of Wellhouse Road.

A quarter of the new homes in the town and 15pc or more elsewhere will be expected to be affordable unless it can be demonstrated that it would render the scheme unviable. And planning consent will be subject to a deal that ensures that low-cost housing remains affordable when it is resold.

Where the need for affordable housing is proven in villages, which cannot be met on infill sites or in nearby larger settlements, small scale rural development will be supported within the village.

The plan focuses development in Barnsley and the six principal towns, including Penistone. “These should be the main local focus for housing, employment, shopping, leisure, education, health and cultural activities and facilities, and their roles as accessible and vibrant places to live should be enhanced”, it says.

Across Barnsley, the plan aims to provide at least 20,330 homes, including affordable housing, and space for 33,000 jobs. Only one Penistone site is identified for employment – 8 acres on a site north of Sheffield Road.

Some 1400 acres of Green Belt land would be lost across the borough. “Our housing and employment needs and aspirations cannot be accommodated without the need to release land from the Green Belt,” it says. Only 170ha of brownfield land is earmarked for housing and 47ha for employment. “There is not a large amount of previously developed land in the borough that is considered suitable for allocation,” the document says.

Before permission is granted for housing development, the report says there must be good access to a range of shops and services, including primary schools, doctors, convenience stores and open spaces.

It adds: “It is important to ensure that development is adequately supported by appropriate infrastructure, whether existing or new.” It identifies schools, community facilities, roads, transport, utilities and open spaces, and says that where development creates a need for new or improved infrastructure, developers will be asked to pay towards the cost.

Permission for changing the use of shops, post offices, petrol stations or pubs to new uses in villages will only be allowed if it can be shown that:

  • the business or facility cannot be economically successful
  • the change of use would not have a significant effect on the ability of local people to access local services.

The plan will be open for public comment for six weeks from November. A final version will then be developed with further consultation next summer before it is sent for a public examination and Government approval next autumn.

In addition to housing and employment plans, the document covers shops, transport, waste, recycling and pollution, protecting the natural and historic environment, respecting the cultural identity and local character of Barnsley.

Once adopted by the government, the plan will become the statutory development document for Barnsley. It establishes policies and proposals for the development and use of land up to the year 2033. It will be used when considering planning applications and to coordinate investment decisions that affect the towns, villages and countryside of Barnsley.

Penistone housing sites identified are:

Talbot Road                         67 houses

West of Talbot Road          59

Saunderson Avenue           29

Schole Hill Lane                 157 (already approved)

Sheffield Road                    33 (already approved)

Joan Royd Lane                   318

Well House Lane                 141

South of Halifax Road         516

Click here for plan on Barnsley Council website

Click here for maps on Barnsley Council website