Kirklees Together

Today, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet have approved work on another prominent building in Daisy Hill, in Dewsbury.

Why Daisy Hill?

Daisy Hill is one of the key areas we’re developing as part of our ambitious Dewsbury Blueprint.  We’re creating a new neighbourhood in this area. Made up of homes which are both excellent quality and affordable to rent or buy.  Once the new neighbourhood is finished, it’ll feature both brand new buildings and beautiful, older structures which we’ve converted – like this one.

What’s this project?

Today Cabinet have approved work on the building at 6-10 Westgate.  It’s four storeys tall, and is made up of two commercial units on the ground floor with lots of space to create new homes above.

Above the commercial spaces, we’ll be creating three new one-bed homes and one two-bed.  We’ll also be installing two new traditional shopfronts, and bringing some of the building’s original stone features back to life.

How does this fit into Dewsbury’s future?

This work would contribute to several of our overarching goals for the Dewsbury Blueprint.  We’ll be providing more quality homes and encouraging more businesses into the town centre. We’ll also be future-proofing more of Dewsbury’s beautiful historic architecture.

Our wider aim in creating this new neighbourhood in Daisy Hill is to create a type of residential development which doesn’t currently exist in Dewsbury. Setting a new benchmark for the standard of this type of development in the town.

This project will provide more quality homes for those who work in Dewsbury but currently commute from further afield. As well as attracting more residents with higher disposable incomes, helping us bring more life into the town centre.

This work will follow the development of Fieldhouse. Soon to be Station Apartments, the flagship of the new Daisy Hill neighbourhood.  Plans for Fieldhouse’s development were approved by Cabinet last year, and work is due to start within the next few months.

Who are we working with?

We’ll be working with Saleem Holdings on the development of 6-10 Westgate.  They’ve already been closely involved in putting together the Cabinet proposal, and are contributing £240k funding to the project.

Throughout this process, we’ve encouraged Saleem Holdings to aspire to the standards set out in the Dewsbury Design Guide, which isn’t a planning consideration but is the benchmark we’re aiming for in any new developments in Dewsbury.

How is this work funded?

As well as the investment by our developer, Saleem Holdings, this work is also funded by both £671k from the Dewsbury Revival Grant Scheme – part of the government’s Towns Fund – and a £280k grant from Historic England’s Heritage Action Zones (HAZ).

Daisy Hill was awarded HAZ status in 2017, which means that Historic England considered the area to be ‘at risk’ and in need of urgent action to protect its history.  It’s also part of the Dewsbury Town Centre Conservation Area.

Councillor Eric Firth, Cabinet Member for Transport and Dewsbury Ward Councillor, says:

“This project fits perfectly within our aspirations for the Dewsbury Blueprint.  The Blueprint is about creating a better, more vibrant and varied town centre for both residents and businesses, and breathing new life into areas that have seen better days.

We’re very excited to work with Saleem Holdings on this development, as I know they’re as invested in the project – and in Dewsbury’s future – as we are.

With work on Fieldhouse, the flagship of this new neighbourhood, due to start within months, we’ll be starting to see Daisy Hill in a new light very soon”.