THE official opening of Hoyland Town Square - following a £400,000 redevelopment - was ‘well worth the wait’ according to the Mayor of Barnsley Mick Stowe.
Its redevelopment saw work undertaken by Barugh Green-based AmcoGiffen - with a contract tendered at £155,000 - over a number of months.
After the work was finished last year, a celebration event was held by Barnsley Council to open the new-look town centre but residents felt there was very little to celebrate.
Following a visit by local councillors, including council leader Sir Steve Houghton, it was confirmed that more work would take place to rectify some issues.
The new works included re-paving, additional eating, removing the astroturf, installing planters, painting street lighting columns black in the vicinity of the town centre and introducing electric power points for market stalls.
Coun Stowe officially opened the square on Tuesday morning.
He told the Chronicle: “It’s been worth the wait.
“The people of Hoyland deserve the best - and what we’ve done is made sure they’ve been involved and kept them updated.
“We’ve got a square now where people will want to come and visit.
“We’ll be looking at getting more market stalls coming in, opportunities for food and entertainment.
“We need to continue to increase the opportunities and footfall for our hard-working local businesses and market traders.
“It’s absolutely fabulous - we’ve listened to what the people wanted.”
