Kirklees Together

Cabinet have just approved the next steps for our regeneration plans in Batley and Marsden – both of which have been successful in bids for the government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) this year – along with plans for other Kirklees blueprints.

Levelling Up Fund

The government announced £12million of LUF investment for the Batley Blueprint in January this year, which will hugely support our town-centre-wide programme of improvements around retail, public spaces, accessibility and active travel.

This was followed by the announcement of a further £5.6million for Marsden in March.  This money will see one of its most prominent mill buildings restored, refurbished, and returned to regular use in a way that complements further local investment.

The discussion around Batley and Marsden focused on Cabinet’s formal acceptance of Levelling Up Funding from the government, then focused on how plans for these two programmes of work will move forward.

Both projects were part of the second round of LUF bids.  Combined with the council’s match funding, plus investment from other private sector partners, the total investment across both Batley and Marsden will now total more than £21million.

Blueprints

Cabinet also further endorsed plans for Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Holmfirth, all of which have seen significant public engagement in the last year.  They reviewed the priority projects we’ve identified through this consultation, and approved these projects now being taken forward and developed further.

We’re aiming to see all these blueprints’ masterplans adopted by autumn 2023 – the final town to adopt being Heckmondwike, public consultation for which was completed last week.

These blueprints have an overall funding allocation of £10million through the council’s ‘Local Centres’ investment, aimed at strengthening key towns and villages across Kirklees, which was approved by Cabinet in 2021.

Councillor Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council, said:

“Kirklees Council has worked hard to secure not one but two Levelling Up Fund bids this year, and we’re actually the only area in West Yorkshire to obtain Levelling Up Funding so far in 2023.  Hard work aside, this sends a clear message that the government recognises Kirklees’ potential, and the need for major investment to regenerate and level up our towns and villages.  Our successful bids will go a long way to kickstarting developments which will bring real benefit to our local economy.

“It’s also great to see further progress on more of our town centre blueprints across Kirklees.  A lot of hard work has been done over the last year to engage the public around the future of Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton and Holmfirth, as well as Batley.  I’m glad Cabinet has approved the priority projects put forward for these blueprints, because these priorities have been identified based on feedback from people who actually live in, work in and visit these towns – and therefore have a vested interest in their success.  Cabinet’s approval of these plans today shows that, as always, local people are at the heart of our decisions.”

 

Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said:

“This investment is all about supporting our local towns and villages – not just in major town centres but across the whole of Kirklees.  At this crucial time we want to boost our economy by helping local businesses thrive, and by bringing more visitors to the area.  We also want to create beautiful, vibrant shared spaces which local people can be proud to call home.

“We recognise, as does the government, that Kirklees has tremendous potential for growth and development.  Our Levelling Up Fund success, combined with our ambitious blueprints for towns and villages across Kirklees, will help us realise that potential.”