Teenage girls report safety fears at interchange

Almost half of girls aged 14 to 15 say they feel unsafe using Barnsley Interchange, according to a council-led survey.

The Let's Hear Your Voice questionnaire gathered anonymous responses from 1,691 pupils across 44 schools.

The survey also raised concerns around mental health, school experiences and preparation for the future.

A South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) spokesperson said: "We recognise that there are issues with anti-social behaviour and we've been working hard to address these because we won't be happy unless everyone feels safe when using our interchanges to access public transport."

According to the survey, 46.8% of girls in Year 10 who responded to the survey said they felt unsafe at the town's interchange, while 41.1% said they felt unsafe in the town centre.

Among younger respondents from Year 6 and Year 8 the numbers who said the felt unsafe in the interchange dropped to 25.6% and 21% in the town centre.

The survey suggested that safety was less of a concern for girls over the age of 16, with 15.4% indicating they did not feel safe at the interchange and 7.7% in town.

The biennial survey is carried out by Public Health in Barnsley and tracks pupils from Year 4 to Year 10 and post-16.

It also found that 30% of pupils often worry, with a further 54% saying they sometimes do. Many cited schoolwork, exams and fears of being disliked as common sources of anxiety.

Bullying was also a concern, with 13% of pupils saying they were bullied often, and more than a third experiencing it occasionally, most commonly in person at school.

Despite growing awareness of active travel, most pupils still travel to school by car, with walking rates among younger pupils showing a slight decline since 2022.

And while participation in sports and cultural activities remains strong, many pupils said they preferred other hobbies to physical activity.

The SYMCA spokesperson added: "Over recent years at Barnsley Interchange we have seen an overall reduction in incidents of anti-social behaviour.

"We have installed new CCTV cameras and upgraded the Public Address system; worked with the police to increase patrols on site, particularly in the Winter months; and we now have new staff whose role is to respond to anti-social behaviour, working across our interchanges but who are based at Barnsley Interchange."

Barnsley's Health and Wellbeing Board is to consider the findings of the survey on Thursday.

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