Large food store could move into Barnsley’s Alhambra as council looks to relax restrictions
A rule dating back to 1988 currently prevents a large food shop moving into the Alhambra
Last updated 13th Nov 2025
A long-standing planning restriction that prevents a large food store opening in Barnsley’s Alhambra Centre could be scrapped under new proposals from the council.
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has applied to remove a condition dating back to 1988 which currently stops any single food retailer in the Alhambra from trading from a unit larger than 10,000 sq ft.
The condition was attached to the original planning permission for the shopping centre and states: “Within the development, no single large scale food retailing in excess of 10,000 sq ft gross leasable retail area will be permitted.” Although the original reasoning is not on file, the council believes it was introduced to protect existing town centre food retailers at the time.
Since taking ownership of the Alhambra in summer 2024, the council has begun a major refurbishment, including plans to remodel the first floor as phase two of its “Health on the High Street” project, bringing more health and wellbeing services into the town centre and relieving pressure on hospital services.
As part of that work, the council commissioned commercial agents to draw up a new retail strategy for the centre, looking at unit sizes, the mix of shops and the overall visitor experience. The review concluded that the Alhambra needs a new ground-floor “flagship” unit, and identified units eight and nine as the preferred option.
Those two units were once a single larger store but have been subdivided over time. A separate planning application has been submitted to physically merge them back into one. However, combining the units would create a space larger than 10,000 sq ft, meaning the 1988 condition would block any major food retailer from taking it.
The new application therefore asks for the condition to be removed so that a large food retailer can be considered for the enlarged unit when it is marketed. The council says it has looked at the potential impact on the wider town centre and believes there is now a gap in the market following the closure of the Marks & Spencer food hall.
Planning officers will assess the request to lift the restriction alongside the Alhambra’s wider redevelopment plans before making a recommendation to councillors.