Dewsbury Blueprint: Upcoming projects planned as part of Kirklees Council’s major improvements to town centre

The Blueprint lays out a 10-year plan for improvements to the town centre, and is made up of various projects which aim to improve accessibility and activity.

One such project – Business Town – aims to increase footfall and support local businesses by relocating 750 Kirklees Council employees to the town centre over five years. The Blueprint states this may involve a new office development at the current Cliffe Street car park.

Shopper’s Town – another project – includes the reopening of Dewsbury Arcade. The building has been vacant since 2016, and was purchased by the council in 2020. Plans include reopening the building between Market Place and Corporation Street, aiming to “attract and retain an eclectic mix of retail, leisure and community facilities.” The council announced in December that, as part of the building’s refurbishment, the same Dewsbury-based firm which installed the original glass roof in 1899 – Standard Patent Glazing – will be responsible for its replacement.

A new bus station formed part of the Connected Town project. This plan aimed to offer state-of-the-art facilities to bus passengers. Feedback on the initial proposals for the bus station was requested from the public in 2021, with plans at the detailed design stage including: new safety and security features, including additional CCTV cameras in an improved layout and help points; a new customer service desk on the concourse; improved seating and waiting facilities; additional accessibility improvements, including a new wayfinding line to assist people with visual impairments, new smart timetable information at each bus stand – with braille and audio information – bus and rail real time information, and a new quiet room; increased levels of natural lighting from the new windows and new part-glazed atrium roof; and a ‘living-roof’ with bee-friendly plants.

Construction was set to begin in Summer 2024 and is predicted to take around 16 months to complete.

Other schemes included in the Connected Town project include the major revamp of Dewsbury Train Station, the Dewsbury walking and cycling scheme, the Dewsbury-Batley-Chidswell travel corridor, and the A638 Dewsbury-Cleckheaton sustainable travel corridor. The schemes all aim to increase footfall by ensuring that Dewsbury’s transport links are fit for purpose.

The Blueprint’s Creative Town project aims to encourage creativity to thrive in the town. Part of this project included Saba Rifat’s Tessella artwork which was installed in the Dewsbury underpass in October 2022. It also includes the Vacant Unit Project, which is a scheme that allows the use of vacant buildings or spaces for creative or cultural activities, groups and events.

Other projects which make up the Blueprint include the Greener Town, Heritage Town, Living Town, Leisure Town, and Learning Town. Major investments, including into the Pioneer Higher Skills Centre – which opened in November 2021 – and the Springfield Sixth Form Centre – which opened in September 2018 – are some examples of the developments which evolved out of these projects.

More information about the various other projects planned for the town centre can be found on the Kirklees Council website.