Latest performance report highlights how we’re helping local businesses to grow

Our latest corporate performance report highlights how we’re helping local businesses to grow in Barnsley and attract new investment.

In quarter one (April to June 2022), we supported 58 businesses to expand and 35 new businesses to open, with the latter driven by the success of our Launchpad programme.

These are just some of the fantastic achievements highlighted in our latest performance report, which sets out our progress in making Barnsley the place of possibilities.

These reports are a great way to make sure we’re on track to achieve our ambitions for the borough and identify any areas needing more attention or improvement.

Some of the highlights in our latest report include:

• Footfall in our town centre continued to grow, with over 1.8 million visits made in quarter one alone. We’re proud of our exciting calendar of town centre events and the growth of The Glass Works, which is bringing more people to our town centre.
• Our museums and outdoor sites saw over 461,000 visitors in quarter one, with many great activities taking place at Cannon Hall and Worsbrough Mill.
• Reported cases of flytipping continued to fall, with local interventions like Everybody Think helping to tackle incidents across our borough.
• 216 people accessed reablement support in quarter one, thanks partly to the new ways we’re helping people get the care and support they need in their community.
• Anti-social behaviour incidents have fallen, both across the borough and in the town centre, with operations continuing throughout the summer under Joining Forces.
• Building on the success of our Local Live Offer Week in June, 11% of children are now receiving special educational needs (SEN) support in schools.
• 98% of our early years settings are rated good or outstanding, meaning we are above the national and regional benchmarks.

Our latest performance report also identified areas where more work is needed, including improving life expectancy for local people and increasing household recycling rates. We’re committed to improving in these areas, with a programme of work already underway to help reduce health inequalities in our borough.

Councillor Alan Gardiner, Cabinet Spokesperson for Core Services, said: “In Barnsley, we have bold ambitions for what we want our borough to be. We see it as a place which fosters and grows ambition, where everyone can lead healthy lives, live in quality homes and be the best they can be.

“Our latest performance report highlights the fantastic progress we’re making towards our vision for the borough, which is a testament to the continued hard work of our employees with the support of our partners and you, our communities.”

Our latest performance report was approved at Cabinet earlier today (Wednesday 21 September). You can learn more about the progress we’ve made so far this year on our online dashboard.

Keep an eye on our social media channels for our performance report animations, which will show how we’re making Barnsley the place of possibilities.