Legal snag hits plan for village bistro-bar

AN OLD legal agreement could scupper plans to re-introduce public facilities to a South Yorkshire village that has lost its pub and working men’s club.

Businessman John Thornton wants to create a multi-purpose bistro-bar in Pilley, Barnsley, with room to hold social gatherings, following the closure of other village spaces in recent years.

And while new housing developments are expanding the village’s population, boosting need for community meeting places, Mr Thornton’s plans are in doubt.

He had identified an old village bowling green as a site for the bistro.

Currently in the stewardship of Barnsley Council, the plot was originally gifted to the community in the 1930s by the Wharncliffe Silkstone Miners Welfare Scheme, but it is now in a state of disrepair.

Mr Thornton said he had approached the council about securing a long-term lease for the site, with a plan that would see the business also provide facilities including toilets for those using the nearby Pilley Pocket Park children’s play area.

However, the site’s original legal agreement states that it must be used for public benefit, a criteria which Mr Thornton has been told is not met by his proposals.

Mr Thornton, who has lived in the village for three decades, has now called a meeting to gauge public support for his plans. The meeting will be held at Tankersley Welfare Hall on Monday, January 28, from 7pm.

He hopes that a swell of public support would persuade Barnsley Council to look again at how flexible it can be over the interpretation of the land’s use.