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The Dearne Valley occupies 22.Square miles in the heart of an
area formed by Barnsley,Rotherham and
Doncaster.
Roads
The new Dearne Valley Link Road connects the
Dearne Valley to the main motorway networks. The link road runs from
the Ml (junction 36) to the A 1(M) (junction
37)
Rail
Doncaster Rail Port provides direct access to the
Channel Tunnel and London Kings Cross can be reached in an hour and
a half Locally in the Dearne Valley we have railway stations at
Nexborough, Swinton. Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thumscoe and
Conisborough.
Public
Transport
Bus services in the
Dearne Valley are excellent and most locations can be easily
accessed.
Air and
Sea
Dearne Valley is within
one hours drive time of five airports — Manchester, LeedsBradford,
East Midlands and Humberside.
The new Sheffield airport has
recently been completed and is within twenty minutes drive.
The
major port of Hull can be reached in under 90
minutes.
Enterprise Zone
Status
The Dearne Valley is
one of the newest Enterprise Zones in the UK offering investors
corporation and income tax advantages, and an exemption from rates
to November 2005.
The Dearne Valley is also a Development Area
which allows certain types of businesses (manufacturing and some
service sector activities) to qualify for DTI Regional Selective
assistance grants. This usually takes the form of a negotiable
project grant based on capital costs or job creation. In addition,
grants are also available for recruitment and
training of
employees. This support package is available through the Training
& Enterprise Councils under the title of”’ Investing in South
Yorkshire.
Employment
Locally employment in the
Dearne Valley has been greatly improved and over 6,500 new jobs have
been created in the last few years. The range of jobs available are
wide and diverse from call centre telephone operatives to the
manufacturing of refrigeration equipment. New business to the Dearne
Valley include, One to One, Ventura (a member
of the Next Group),
Maple Leaf Foods, The Post Office, Mion Electronics, Kostal (UK), Hi
Tech UK and Gefco UK (a subsidiary of Peugeot). In all over 30 major
businesses have been attracted to the Dearne Valley
area.
Local
attractions
Sport and Leisure
The
range of amenities and recreational facilities is growing all the
time. The Dearne Valley College have just constructed a new Sports
Centre and the lottery funded £4.5 million Denaby Leisure Centre is
currently under construction. Locally we have swimming pools at
Wait, Swinton, Rawmarsh, Denaby and Goldthorpe. There are many
visitor attractions locally including the recently built Earth
Centre at Denaby, a 350 acre millennium attraction. Conisborough
Castle built in the 11 Century was made world famous in Sir Walter
Scott’s novel Ivanhoe. The Castle Keep is still intact and the only
one of its type in the
country, being of circular design and
supported by six buttresses. There is a visitors centre and you can
climb to the top of the tower to appreciate the fantastic views of
the area.
At Manvers a major land reclamation project is nearing
completion with 400 hectares of land being acquired by the local
council and developed. This will provide 160 hectares of industrial
land and 110 hectares of open uses including recreational areas, a
lake, a golf
course and a 154 hectare wildfowl and wetlands
centre all served by new and improved highway
services.
Entertainment including the Crucible and Lyceum
Theatres, Sheffield Arena and Dearne Valley Stadium are all
accessible by public transport and are within 30 minutes drive
time.
The famous Doncaster Racecourse, (the home of the St
Ledger) is within 30 minutes drive.
Shopping
Parkgate
Retail World is within 15 minutes drive.
Meadowhall , one of
Europe’s largest shopping retail malls is within 30 minutes
drive.
Yorkshire Retail Park is within 30 minutes
drive.
Doncaster Town centre is with 30 minutes drive
Bamsley
Town centre is within 20 minutes drive
Rotherham Town centre is
within 20 minutes drive.
Sheffield City Centre is within 35
minutes drive.
Schools
All areas of the Dearne Valley
have local schools from nursery to infants and comprehensive
schools.
The newly built Dearne Valley College offers a wide
range of subjects. Undergraduate degrees and Master courses are
offered by the Business School alongside a range of professional
programmes including accountancy, marketing and personnel.
Wath
Comprehensive School has an excellent reputation and has a proven
examination success rate. The Conservatory Leader William Hague MP,
Lord Peter Hardy (ex Labour MP), Derek Cook of DC Cook Motors, are
all ex-pupils of the school.
Hospitals
Nexborough Montague is within
the Dearne Valley area treating a wide range of illnesses. Other
hospitals include Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Rotherham District
General and Barnsley General are all within 30 minutes drive.
Specialist hospitals including Sheffield Children's and Weston Park
are within 40 minutes drive
time.
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