Dewsbury Blueprint: Temporary stalls coming to Dewsbury town centre while improvements are made to historic market

The revamping of Dewsbury Market - to commence in Spring 2026 - and creation of a brand new town park are two key parts of the Dewsbury Blueprint – the council’s major plans for investment in the town centre, which aims to create more reasons for people to visit Dewsbury.

Planning permission has already been granted for significant improvements to the existing Dewsbury Market site, on Cloth Hall Street, which will see the revamped market and new town park sit side by side, whilst still retaining the historic market’s much-loved structure and character.

In order to complete the significant construction work required as quickly and efficiently as possible, without any gap in trading for the council’s existing stall-holders, a temporary market will be erected in the town centre for the duration of the works.

This temporary market will be located across Market Place, Longcauseway and Foundry Street and its layout is designed to capitalise on and help drive more footfall to the Dewsbury Arcade.

The temporary market will be made up of 28 colourful containers located permanently in the town centre, alongside more demountable stalls which can be taken up and down as required.

The majority of these containers have been allocated to existing traders at Dewsbury Market, and the remaining being used for refrigerated storage and an information hub where traders and visitors to the market can find out more about plans for the market, town park and wider town centre.

Coun Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, said:

“Market days are always some of our busiest days in Dewsbury town centre. Our aim is that we don’t miss a single day of market trading despite the move.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into making sure the decant process can be seamless, and that it will work well for our traders. We’ve also designed the temporary market to bring huge benefit to the rest of the town centre and vice versa – which is exactly how we look at all our blueprint projects as a whole.

“It’s going to be a brilliantly vibrant and colourful space, right on the doorstep of the arcade and town hall, and I’ll be visiting as soon as it’s opened.

“The plans for the historic market’s revamp, and linking this beautiful building to the brand new town park, are crucial in our wider blueprint for the town centre.

“It’s all about giving people more reasons to visit and more to explore once they’re here – and we’re threading this throughout the whole process, not just that ambitious end vision.”

The council has taken the decision to decant the market in Spring 2026, with construction work on the main market site expected to take around 18 to 24 months. The temporary market will remain in the town centre throughout.

During this time, the temporary market will trade at full capacity three days a week – but the council hopes to have some form of presence at the market up to five days every week, including a secondhand market every Friday.

Keith Ramsay, Chair of the Dewsbury Neighbourhood Board, added:

“It’s fantastic to be able to share this positive news before my tenure chairing the Dewsbury Neighbourhood Board comes to an end.

“This temporary market will be a crucial part of delivering some of our most ambitious projects for Dewsbury, without missing a beat in terms of keeping our town centre alive and ticking.

“In itself it’s an exciting addition to the town centre – I can’t wait to see how the market, the arcade and the fantastic new space currently being created outside our beloved town hall can come together to breathe new life into Dewsbury.”