Work to make Dewsbury and Huddersfield town centres safer places to shop, walk and cycle will begin on Sunday.
We’re making changes to the main shopping streets in the town centres to provide extra space for social distancing and to support people to travel safely on foot or by bike.
The changes which draw on funding from the government’s Active Travel Fund have been made quickly, in response to the national guidance that town centre shops can re-open from 15 June. The temporary closures will be regularly reviewed in response to feedback and tweaked as appropriate. Anyone who would like to share their thoughts on the changes can email: business.enquiries@kirklees.gov.uk
The following road changes in Huddersfield will come into force on Monday 15 June:
| Street | Restriction |
| Market Place | closed to all traffic except cycles between 10am and 4pm
(deliveries to be made before 10am and after 4pm) |
| John William Street | no parking (taxis and disabled parking only)
Road narrowed to a single lane |
| Cloth Hall Street
|
no parking (loading and blue badge parking only) |
| Church Street
|
closed to all traffic except cycles between 10am and 4pm (deliveries to be made before 10am and after 4pm) |
| Wood Street
|
closed to all traffic except cycles between 10am and 4pm (deliveries to be made before 10am and after 4pm) |
| Byram Street
|
closed to all traffic except cycles between 10am and 4pm (deliveries to be made before 10am and after 4pm) |
Plans for other streets in Huddersfield and Dewsbury are being worked up and will be announced soon, as part of a range of support measures being planned to help with the recovery.
In addition to the road changes, we’ve also begun marking up areas of the town to help with social distancing. Officers are also working with businesses to make sure they understand the relevant legislation around re-opening. Information on who to contact for advice is available on our website
In another bid to boost the recovery process, we announced earlier this week that parking would be free in all our car parks and spaces. It is hoped that this will attract more people into the town. We also hope to encourage those who may previously have driven in and parked up outside and visited one business, to park a little further away and walk in, maybe stop at some other businesses on the way.
Over the coming weeks we will also be announcing further investment in cultural projects to make our town centres even more exciting places to visit and spend time.
We’re also working up plans to support the other town centres in Kirklees, officers have already been in contact with businesses who have requested advice on how to open safely and would encourage others to get in touch if they have any concerns.
The council will be monitoring the situation as shoppers return to each town centre in order to provide the right level of support to make sure everyone is kept safe.
Cllr Peter McBride, Cabinet Member for Regeneration said:
“The way we shop and socialise has changed in response to the pandemic, but this isn’t a bad thing, it’s an opportunity to try new things and attract different customers. We’ve seen businesses come up with innovative ways to stay open during the lockdown and I am sure we will see more of this as others begin to re-open. This is just the start of the recovery journey we will continue to work with the business community and support the regeneration of the town centres in line with our ambitions as set out in the two blueprints. We are committed to working in a place based way and that is why the approach we are taking may differ across Kirklees, with safety coming first in whatever we do. I would urge businesses that are considering re-opening to check out the latest advice on our website and get in contact if they need any additional support.”
Matthew Chapman Huddersfield BID Manager said:
“We have been in close contact with our town centre businesses throughout the pandemic, and they are all excited to begin trading again over the coming weeks. Alongside the council we have ambitions to bring Huddersfield back to life and by working together I believe we can achieve great things. We will be supporting the council to understand how the changes they are making are working on the ground and will continue to work with them on our plans to make Huddersfield into a vibrant, safe, attractive and accessible destination.”