The Market, Back Lane and Tesco

The Market and Back Lane
In the old days, animals were bought and sold in the street outside the Spread Eagle or by the church but later a proper livestock market was built in the market area. It had proper stalls for the larger animals and a fur and feather auction in a large shed. There was also a slaughterhouse nearby. In its long time as the main market for miles around, Penistone's livestock market was a thriving place. It brought in all kinds of people from rosy-cheeked farmers to a variety of foreign people in strange clothes who would furtively explore the High Street - but never stray too far.

In recent times, some serious set-backs to hit the market. It suffered badly from the effects of a national BSE epidemic and later the Foot & Mouth Disease epidemic in cattle. After a long struggle, the market began to bounce back but it was a struggle. Barnsley council had other ideas and entered into private negotiations with developers to bulldoze the lot and start again. See the Market History page for more detail.

The local farmers' sacrifice was to become our town's gain, in another way. All of those secret BMBC meetings and done-deals yielded results. The whole market and fire station area was reduced to mud and re-shaped. The 'fur & feather' and livestock market also disappeared in spite of being very busy. The retail market had to make do with makeshift stalls and orange boxes but it continued very well as a vast new structure started to take shape in Penistone. This was the new Market Barn. It started to function fully as a market place in February 2011, albeit without proper stalls. Just trestle tables and boxes with grumbles about poor lighting and high winds.

The new retail market is more or less in the same place as the old one but now resides within an oaken barn. A hardware trader said before the build, that he would only have two plots instead of three and that his business wouldn't be sustainable. In fact the stall areas are not defined so it is probably easy to stake a claim on space.

The old market ginnel was closed during construction and this caused a lot of protest when its re-opening was delayed after the new structure came into use. It had been a favourite short-cut for decades and was much missed by local people until it re-opened in February 2011. It is still a favourite short-cut although it is always one-at-a-time.

A strong breeze usually sweeps through the Barn from across the supermarket car park. Plans originally showed hedges and trees to block the wind but these were probably as illusory as the hanging baskets and saplings that adorn every architect's dream pictures. Now the market traders have to resort to parking large vans and putting up big sheets up at that side. It wasn't a big problem when the fur-and-feather auction house was still standing as that blocked most of the breeze. Consultants were recommended by the makers of the barn before the build and that might have picked up on such snags, but these were rejected. Plans are now afoot to install shutters and to improve lighting.

At an early meeting, the carpenters emphasised the importance of illuminating the frames with strong lights from the purlins. Someone else knew better. It is quite an amazing structure and it has rightly won a national prize. The building is licenced for public performances and alcohol and it is likely that live bands will play there from time to time. In June 2011, Penistone Folk Festival kicked off for the very first time and proved to be a great success. It also had a bar and a barbeque. The official opening came along, apparently without any publicity, on a market day, Thursday 21st July and you can see pictures of the event on a news page specially created for just that.

The original town centre re-development plans included a small 'Fur and feather building' directly behind Light & Dark photographers and The Loft etc. but the amended plans dumped that idea and turned it into car parking. (See the revised parking plan in the Amended Planning Documents). Four hundred years of local history were discarded by the stroke of an unrepresentative BMBC quill. Even now in 2011, visitors continue to ask the market traders when the Fur & Feather market will return but it won't do now. Since its closure, a Fur & Feather market has become established in Holmfirth and that won't go away.

The new development is helping businesses on Back Lane. Now there is a ladies' hairdressers, various beauty treatments, 'The Loft' coffee bar and 'Light & Dark' photographers. Since 2009, Ivy Cottage opposite has been the location of Auckland's opticians. The centre panoramic shot is of Back Lane in late August 2010. That's about four pictures 'stitched' together.

Carpenter Oak
This Devon company has shown great expertise in the construction of the new Market Barn and it is an amazing structure. As the name implies, the whole thing has been constructed using oak beams and close inspection shows wooden pegs used in the joints. Just like the old sailing ships. The large picture above was from the first day that the new market place was used by traders, Thursday 23rd December 2010. Part of the area was incomplete and screened off at the time but it was still very busy. My thanks go to Carpenter Oak of Devon for allowing me to use the tall pictures at each side of the large one above and these pictures below. Thanks also to Sam Voaden, a photographer for Carpenter Oak.

No. 6110, Tescopoly Drive, Penistone
The main road access is from the new roundabout on St Mary's St and this is very easy to navigate. There is easy access on foot from the market and town centre and there is an entrance and a wheelchair/baby buggy ramp at the top of the car park which connects with the Bowling Club on Back Lane, which joins Schole Avenue. The car park is spacious with plenty of bays, including disabled, family and motorbike areas. Even so, it fills up very easily. Normal car spacing is narrow, as remarked by a couple of drivers that I spoke to. A couple more inches would have made parking a bit easier. On the other hand there is plenty of room in the family and disabled bays.

The road sign directs drivers into what it calls the 'Town Centre' car park. It now is time-limited to two hours and that must put a squeeze on what the visitors can see and do in Penistone. One of the local shopkeepers says that he is annoyed that there isn't a prominent sign pointing the way from the store's car park into Penistone centre. There is also a small parking area for the Showground behind the Tesco and another small car park of ten spaces for the Trans-Pennine Trail by Fearn's Buildings.

There is some confusion about the address. Tesco isn't strictly on Schole Avenue. In fact, the Bowling Club's address is given as 'Back Lane, Schole Avenue, Penistone' but there is another Back Lane nearby (with a street sign) by the market place. Dransfield's neat CGI video names it 'Schole Lane' and that would be a good choice of name for the lane, but for two details: there is no such lane and Tesco wouldn't really be on it anyway. The end of 'Back Lane' is blocked by a wall built across it, just before Tesco's car park.

The accurate but insensitive address could be: 'Tesco Food Store, Showground, Penistone' but perhaps a better solution might be to properly name the road from the new roundabout and make that the store's address. At least Tesco would actually be on it. Let's mischievously call it 'Tescopoly Drive' for now.

The Grand Opening
The new Tesco food supermarket was officially opened at 10am, Bank Holiday Monday, 30th August 2010. It was a very busy first day and local people were spending discount vouchers which had been distributed to some (but not all) local homes. Officiating was Penistone's fine mayor Cllr Carol Bradbury and deputy leader of Barnsley Council, Cllr John Parkinson, with the Store Manager Mick Somerset. The main part was a small ceremony of tape-cutting as the Barnsley Chronicle photographer directed events and jumped around in the shot for everyone else who was interested. The videographer from Dransfield's had as much trouble as I had in getting a clear view. Just like a wedding.

The tape was symbolically cut by both Carol (snazzy red outfit in the picture) and Cllr Parkinson (green striped tie), with the support of Carol's husband Chris (grey tie) and Mrs Parkinson (blue lanyard). Members of Penistone Town Council had the supporting role of smiling and applauding at the right moments. Store manager Mick Somerset (purple tie) then handed over £1,000 cheques to Carol for her Penistone charities and Cllr Parkinson for his Barnsley charities. The Dransfield website has a reasonable video clip of the occasion. Our mayor's £1,000 was divided between scout and guide groups to celebrate a centenary of scouting.

Penistone Fm's man Jimbo interviewed Cllr Parkinson and later our Mayor Carol, who is also a PFm presenter. I made a video recording of Carol's interview and Jimbo sent me the sound track. I sent it in for Youtube but they didn't use it. Just inside the store, dignitaries and the public were treated to glasses of champers, pop and good quality plonk as the specially-made cake was cut in the manner of a wedding, into a thousand pieces. All went smoothly and the plonk was stronger than I expected.

First Impressions
I found it to be a bit too much to take in on one visit. We were handed maps on the way in and we needed them. The store has a wide variety of every product and a few electricals at the far corner. A Morrisons employee says that Tesco prices are roughly the same or slightly dearer than theirs. I would say that the household goods are about the same as Wilkinson's, with less choice in the household department. Well it is supposed to be a 'food store'. The fruit & vegetable section is a big selling point and the first thing to encounter.

There are so many different kinds of milk on the shelves - all from similar docile cows chewing their cuds. Amazing. Plenty of cheeses too. There's a big and impressive meat & fish counter which will surely clobber the local butchers. Tesco has an amazing wine section that goes on for miles, although the Co-op wines look to be averagely cheaper. The pictures below were all taken with the kind permission of a Tesco official, on the big opening day.

Prices looked about the same as the Co-op but Barnsley people say that the Stairfoot Tesco is generally cheaper. Apparently Penistone is in a 'middle-class pricing' zone. They do sell some cheap own-brand labels though for skinflints like me. Another plus is Longley Farm products (which the Co-op have removed, to their eternal shame). It is good to see local products.

For Penistone people there should be more to it than a big store with a lot of goods. It is a bit formal and efficient but it lacks the personal touch. Of course there are staff there for enquiries and they will (mostly) be pleasant enough but you can't really stop and have a natter as you would in Penistone. Where's their version of Sheila O in the Co-op? It didn't feel quite natural for Penistone and it's a bit overwhelming for a country lad. After a while it was getting too much for my senses and I went. Or should I say that I 'tried to went' ....

The First to Do It
Yes, I was most likely the first. No, not the first customer, that was two hours earlier. No, I set off the alarm while purchasing a James Bond DVD. The pleasant check-out girl had left the plastic doo-dah in the box and it triggered the loud alarm. The security chap courteously and professionally directed me to a side counter where he inspected the receipt and the contents of my bag to work out what had happened. It wasn't helped by the DVD clocking up as £5 on the receipt but with a £6 sticker on the box. So at least I'd won a pound.

Anyway, the device was neutered and the staff deduced that I wasn't from Kendray, so I was allowed to leave. A passing friend said "Don't trust that bugger!". That's Penistone for you.

Residents' Surcharge
There is a dispute about residents' car parking. Unauthorised yellow lines were put down on the old road to Garside Buildings and now residents are being asked to pay a parking surcharge to park outside their homes as a result of the development. Residents claim that it was not mentioned when the developers, who were keen to get them on-side at the time, came around to see them. They didn't want any objections from residents when they were in the early stages but, lo and behold, they simply forgot to tell the residents what was going to happen afterwards.

Now they have been stuffed (to put it mildly). Before the development, the road was maintained by public funds. Now the residents are landed with huge bills for reasons beyond their control, while they are still expected to pay their taxes to maintain other roads. It has been suggested that a hidden reason might be that the developers would love to drive out the residents, demolish their properties and develop the area further.