Blueprint engagement shop open
The three-month period for people to have their say on the £250million Huddersfield Blueprint, beginning on Monday 8 July has started.
How can I see the plans?
Residents can view the ambitious plans to create a thriving modern-day town centre at the Huddersfield Blueprint shop at Unit 32, the Piazza Centre, Huddersfield. The shop will be open Monday-Friday between 9am and 5pm.
An online consultation survey is available for residents to take part in at
Taking centre stage within the Huddersfield Blueprint, launched on 26 June at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield, is a new “Cultural Heart.”
Why is this important?
Built around the Queensgate Market and library buildings, our vison for a new Cultural Heart includes a library, art gallery, museum and live music venue in the Piazza and Queensgate area.
This would encourage more visitors and will be supported by restaurants, bars, cafes and the Lawrence Batley Theatre.
When is it planned to be completed?
The Queensgate Market building is being considered for the proposed new 700-1,000-capacity live music venue and is planned to be completed by 2023.
As part of the new Cultural Heart, the plans also propose to remove some of the Piazza buildings to create a large, family-friendly open space for people to gather. Kirklees Council has recently acquired the Piazza Shopping Centre.
The Huddersfield Blueprint focuses on regenerating six focus areas in the town centre: Station Gateway, St Peter’s, Kingsgate and King Street, New Street, the Civic Quarter and the new Cultural Heart.
It looks at delivering five key objectives for Huddersfield Town Centre: a vibrant culture, art, leisure and nightlife offer, thriving businesses, a great place to live, improved access and enhanced public spaces.
A number of plans for each area have been drawn up, with a focus on bringing some of Huddersfield’s historic buildings back into use and redesigning streets and footpaths. New and existing businesses will be supported with the introduction of more homes to the town centre.
Cllr Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council, said:
“We’re excited about these plans to transform Huddersfield town centre. We want to make it a thriving family-friendly place with something for everyone.
We launched the Blueprint on 26 June and the response we’ve received from residents, local businesses and potential investors has been very positive. We’re serious about regenerating all of our town centres in Kirklees, including Dewsbury and Batley. It’s vital that these plans work for the people that live and work there, that’s why it’s important that people let us know what they need.”
Plans are subject to a three-month engagement period which will begin on Monday 8 July.
For more information, to view the plans in full and to watch a fly-through video visit the Blueprint website – where you’ll also be able to share your thoughts on the plans from Monday 8 July.
Hi Chris. Apart from Lawrence Batley and Library there is nothing cultural in Huddersfield at all. When I say bring people in to live in the town, they will bring in what is needed to revive it. Look how Leeds is now that the waterfront has been renovated, with other parts of Leeds, take a leaf out of their book. There is no excuse with all the brown field sites around the town centre, plus the empty flats above the shops in New Street. While it is a good thing the old Co-op Building is having a face lift, for students, they are a transient population, what is needed is people who live and work in the town area, plus there are buses and trains to use instead of cars. Low emissions, especially now the villages surrounding Huddersfield have new housing coming out of their ears, causing more emissions as every house will have TWO or MORE cars to get about. I could go on and on. One thing, Kirklees is a very weak council, until new members get out the weak Councillors nothing will change in Huddersfield. By the way, I have lived here for 33 years and watched Huddersfield go down the pan. A shame, it was a lovely town when I arrived here many years ago.
I don’t think this looks great. Compare it to shopping and entertainment areas that people enjoy, such as York. There is too much open space and not enough to excite the imagination. In addition, I think the vast amount of open space looks like a muggers’ paradise. Think again and try to give people something that they will be proud of.
I fully support your plans but have to say they will not save further shops from closing. On Saturday my wife tried to buy some new Pyjamas without success. Many shops said glibly to go on line. Nobody wants to treck around town to be told this-we could shop on line entirely or visit Halifax. And once that becomes a habit it is to the detriment of Huddersfield.
Shops need to make an effort as well as you
Hi Maggie! Although I agree with you I just think what a further waste of our council tax money wasted !just like in the 60/70 ‘s 👎👎
The ill advised Bus gates the cycle lane which hand on heart I have yet to see any cyclist use.Since these have been implemented it’s been proven by the council itself that shoppers are going elsewhere.The council then seem to think if we can’t lease out the empty shops then knock them down.Unbelievable.
Why is the engagement shop only open during the week and minimum office hours? Surely that excludes the majority of the working population of Kirklees.
250 million on Huddersfield alone?? 👀😮
Residents of Kirklees Council would like to see their Council tax going towards improving the towns and neighbourhoods we all live in, work in and visit, not towards an only Huddersfield biased project.
If you wish to bring people into the town for recreation and shopping, get rid of those stupid bus gates and let the traffic flow the way it did. That is why the town is dying.
Hi Maggie, this plan is designed to make Huddersfield a much more attractive place for people to visit. We want to bring people into the town by recognising that the traditional town centre model needs more cultural offerings to make it a place people want to go.
Is this closing the door after the horse has bolted. Huddersfield Town Centre is on it knees, is doing all this work going to make it any better? Will it want to make residents/visitors want to visit/revisit, doubt it? Until you start bringing people into the town to live nothing will improve. As for the comment about Batley, are you not having money spent on your town along with the renovation going on in Dewsbury, or have I misunderstood when reading the posting from Kirklees!
The plan looks good, well done on the vision. Now, a clear timetable for implementation is needed, showing specific milestones.
Some things to consider: how to encourage digital start ups into the town centre, perhaps through shared workspaces? How to better link public transport hubs (bus and rail); how to provide an attractive gateway to the town centre from the proposed HD1 development
Your plans look great, but what about the rest of Huddersfield, i.e Kirkgate which is a major route people walk up from Sainsburys, the pavements are in a state of disrepair, they need cleaning, the shops look scruffy and there is a lot of litter especially outside the Pub. The street furniture need replacing desperately and the pavements need cleaning. The bus stops needs replacing as well. The areas involved seem to be around the new cultural area and Kingsgate, great for all those businesses, but what incentive have people to visit other parts of Huddersfield town centre. What about the other retailers in Huddersfield, when are they going to benefit ? . How many years before work is done in the other areas of the town centre?
Im disgusted that you are spending in one kirkless town while towns like mine batley get nothing your happy to put council taxs up tho