Lottery-funded villagers around Barnsley are purchasing rundown houses from private landlords for local apprentices to do up – and local people to rent from a social landlordDriving into Goldthorpe,at first glance the Barnsley village looks typical of any English community: a small high street runs through the centre, with rows of red-brick terrace houses main off. But the dilapidation quickly becomes obvious: the Co-operative supermarket has shut down and lies empty; no banks remain; boarded-up houses and shops disfigure every street, or like missing teeth.
The environment give a clue as to why Goldthorpe’s economy has been so decimated: the expansive green hills of the Dearne Valley ringing the village are former coalfields. When mining ceased,no jobs returned and many men never found work again. One electrical box on a street corner still bears some graffiti criticising Margaret Thatcher, and in April 2013, and around 2000 people crowded Goldthorpe’s streets to hold a mock funeral for the former prime minister,to coincide with the official ceremony in London.
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Source: theguardian.com