‘Over the moon’: Batley successful in £12 million Levelling Up bid to improve town centre

The plans include pedestrianisation of Commercial Street, improvements to Market Place and restoring the JBM Building for public use.

The Batley Blueprint will be largely funded by the LUF, with an extra £3 million funding from the council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s ‘Streets for People initiative’, totalling approximately £15 million for the project.

Leader of Kirklees Council, Coun Shabir Pandor, said: “This is great news for Batley. The successful bid will kick start our plans to transform the town centre and bring opportunities for the whole community.

“The bidding process has shown the very best of Batley. Our bid has been a true team effort between the council, our MP Kim Leadbeater, Batley councillors, the Fire Service and Police alongside local residents and businesses.

“Their hard work has paid off and I can’t wait to start delivering the project.

“We’ll continue to work with local businesses and residents as we deliver these major improvements.”

The council hopes that the transformation could stimulate up to £60 million of economic investment into Batley over the next few years.

MP for Batley and Spen, Kim Leadbeater, said:

“I am over the moon to hear that the bid I supported for investment in the regeneration of Batley town centre has been successful. It has been a lot of hard work, but when I was elected I promised to fight for funding for our local area and that is what I have done.

“I brought the Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, to Batley before Christmas and I’m delighted he was won over by the plans he saw.

“This project, involving a major redesign and part-pedestrianisation of Commercial Street and the area around Market Place, will bring real benefits to local businesses, shoppers and residents.

“Batley, like other towns and villages across the constituency, has been starved of investment for many years so I’m delighted that the case we made has been accepted.

“I’ve never been happy that we had to compete against other areas of genuine need to secure so-called levelling-up funding, and I’m bitterly disappointed that colleagues who worked equally hard for their areas have not been successful.

“But this is very good news for Batley and I‘d like to thank everybody who has done so much hard work in designing the bid and all those who contributed their thoughts during the consultation process.

“Combined with funds already committed by Kirklees Council, this will mean the town centre will be more attractive and welcoming, as well as safer for everybody who comes into the town.

“Local organisations will have a better location for community events, and I hope shoppers will be encouraged to stay longer, visit a wider range of shops and businesses, and enjoy something to eat or drink.

“I took the opportunity of the Secretary of State’s visit to make the case for other towns and villages including Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton and Birstall and I will continue to press for the funds we need to breathe new life into all our high streets, town centres and villages across Batley and Spen.”

The significant changes to Commercial Street, one of the main routes through the town centre, would see the route move away from being a thoroughfare dominated by car traffic, with improvements to public space, as well as sustainable transport routes.

Coun Pandor added: “We submitted four Kirklees bids during this round of bids for Levelling Up funds. I want to thank all the MPs, businesses and local people who supported us to put some brilliant plans together.

“We will keep working to bring investment to all parts of Kirklees and we have a great selection of ambitious plans that will help us deliver the economic growth we all need.”