Shops, offices and restaurant approved for Penistone’s historic Coal Drops site
A major project will see the Grade-II listed Coal Drops brought back into use
Shops, offices and a restaurant have been approved as part of a major redevelopment of Penistone’s historic Coal Drops site.
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has granted listed building consent for the regeneration project, which will see the Grade II-listed Coal Drops, the former Signal House and Regency House on St Mary’s Street brought back into use.
The plans, submitted by Fairbank Investments Ltd and designed by Axis Architecture + Design Management Ltd, will see the Coal Drops transformed into retail units, adding a new restaurant extension, transforming Regency House into an AirBnB property and constructing new office and light industrial buildings.
The development aims to preserve the site’s industrial heritage while creating a mixed-use destination offering space for businesses, leisure and tourism.
The decision includes strict conditions to ensure the historic character of the buildings is maintained. The new restaurant pavilion on top of the Coal Drops will be contemporary in style, flat-roofed and horizontally emphasised, but planners said it reflects the form and scale of the arches.
A similar concept for a restaurant and business use at the site was approved as far back as 2013, so this approval revives an earlier, long-standing regeneration vision that had stalled.
The approval also incorporates biodiversity requirements under the Environment Act 2021, meaning a biodiversity gain plan must be agreed before construction can begin.
Antony Green, managing director of Fairbank Investments, said the project ‘marked a turning point’ for one of Penistone’s most distinctive landmarks. He said the development would combine sensitive restoration with modern design to create jobs and support local enterprise.
Full details of the application can be viewed on Barnsley Council’s planning portal under reference 2025/0244.