Talks over reopening of historic garden site
NEGOTIATIONS ARE progressing which could see the Grade Ilisted Wentworth Castle Gardens in Barnsley reopened under a new lease agreement, but details remain secret.
The gardens and Stainborough Park closed last spring because the trust running the historic visitor attraction ran out of funds.
Since then Barnsley Council, the Wentworth Castle Garden Trust and Northern College, which is based at the stately home within the gardens, have been working to find a new solution to getting the gardens and parkland up and running again.
Details of the current situation are scant, but Barnsley Council has now confirmed it is pursuing the “preferred option” for the site, indicating there has been more than one potential solution available. That will involve drawing up new leases and partnership arrangements, but no details have been released at this stage of which body may lease the site or become involved in a partnership.
Responsibility for agreeing those terms has been delegated to two of the council’s executive directors and Coun Roy Miller, the cabinet spokesman for place. They must work to a stipulation that the agreements they reach must fall within the financial criteria set out in a report now agreed by the council’s ruling cabinet.
That was discussed in private, meaning the report and any discussion about it are not available to the public.
Officially, the council’s response is to confirm: “Since the closure of Wentworth Castle Gardens last year, we’ve been meeting with various partners to secure its future. Wentworth Castle Gardens Trust, Barnsley Council and Northern College have all be working hard to find a way to reopen the site. We are still working together to achieve this, and hope that visitors and the local community alike can enjoy the gardens once again.”