Doncaster
Doncaster is a large settlement town and borough in South Yorkshire and sits around 20 miles from Sheffield.
The borough expanded dramatically in population with the development of coal mining in the 19th century. The town now forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, which had a population of 302,400 at the 2011 census. The town itself has a population of 127,851.
Today, the town is most well known for its historical points of interest such as the market and attractions like Conisbrough Castle, Brodsworth House and Cusworth House. Doncaster’s racecourse is well known for having the oldest flat race and also hosts the prestigious St Leger race each year in September.
Doncaster is hitting headlines for the right reasons lately with extensive regeneration on the cards throughout the town.
It developed around the coal industry and has more recently seen job creation in a range of industrial specialisms such as logistics, manufacturing, engineering and construction.
Like many Northern areas, underneath Doncaster lies a huge natural resource by way of deep seam coal. This helped the town to emerge as an industrial centre in the late 18th century to 20th century. Its communication links, particularly its waterways, meant that Doncaster became extremely busy and experienced vast migration to its centre.
Closure of the town’s coal mines in the 1970s and the early 1980s caused some economic difficulties. This led to the development of its service industry; the already good communication links with the rest of the UK supported this development.
The Doncaster skyline is dominated by the minster in the middle of the town. The Frenchgate Shopping Centre also holds an important position in the skyline, along with the Doncaster College Hub building and Cusworth Hall.
Work has commenced replacing most of the old Doncaster College, the Council House and surrounding buildings with more modern facilities including residential spaces, a new theatre, council house and hotel which together will form the Doncaster Civic and Cultural Quarter. There’s also a wealth of restaurants, bars and galleries meaning that there’s always something to do throughout the year.
Closure of coal mines in the 1970s and the early 1980s caused some economic difficulties; the town then developed its service industry; the already good communication links with the rest of the UK supported this development.
The Doncaster skyline is dominated by the minster in the middle of the town. The Frenchgate Shopping Centre holds an important position in the skyline, along with the Doncaster College Hub building and Cusworth Hall. Most of the old Doncaster College, the Council House and surrounding buildings have been demolished, and work has commenced to replace them with more modern facilities including a new theatre, council house and hotel which together will form the Doncaster Civic and Cultural Quarter. There are also plans for expansion onto land north of the new college (The Hub) if it gains university status.
Doncaster is developing at pace with the expansion in commercial and residential developments. The local authority is also in the process of further growing the service industry. These plans to grow the economy are helped by the areas excellent location and impressive transport links by road, rail and air.
The town is in close proximity to major urban centres and motorway/rail infrastructure, and also has a number of major distribution centres, including the Doncaster International Railport, which dispatches goods to Europe by rail. Large warehousing and logistic capabilities for retailers such as Next, Tesco, Ikea, Amazon and Faberge are also sited there.