When Emily Bamford launched Huddersfield Rising CIC in March 2026, she had a clear ambition, to bring colour, creativity and a sense of pride to Huddersfield’s streets through high-quality public art.
Huddersfield Rising is a volunteer-led public arts project that works with residents, young people and community groups to create large-scale street murals. The long-term ambition is to create a 10-mural art trail across Huddersfield, celebrating the people and communities who make the area unique while encouraging visitors to explore the town.
The challenge
Turning an ambitious creative vision into reality came with its own challenges. As a new community interest company operating within the third sector, the organisation needed to navigate planning requirements, regulatory considerations and the practicalities involved in delivering large-scale murals.
As a new organisation, the business also wanted to develop a clear plan for the project and understand the different requirements involved in getting established and delivering its first mural.
How Business Kirklees helped
Business Kirklees provided support to help the business develop its plans and navigate some of the practical and regulatory challenges involved in getting the project off the ground.
Huddersfield Rising worked with a range of contacts within Kirklees, including the planning team, to help address planning and regulatory queries. The business was also connected with specialist third-sector support through Kirklees TSL, helping it access guidance relevant to establishing and developing the organisation.
Alongside this, Business Kirklees provided ongoing support through the Business Start Up Manager programme, helping strengthen the organisation’s plans and build a solid foundation for the project.
From an idea to a first mural
With support to develop the project and navigate some of the practical challenges involved, Huddersfield Rising was able to move forward with its first pilot mural at Spring Grove in Huddersfield.
The mural is intended to be the first step towards building momentum for the wider project, demonstrating what can be achieved and helping to establish Huddersfield Rising’s approach to creating community-focused public art.
The project hopes the first mural will provide the foundation for a much larger programme of public art across Kirklees.
Emily Bamford, Director of Huddersfield Rising CIC, said:
“The support helped turn an ambitious idea into a realistic and deliverable project. It gave me greater clarity and confidence, helped me overcome practical barriers and enabled the project to keep moving forward when it could easily have stalled.”
“Roopa’s support has been invaluable. She helped me think creatively, strengthen my plans and find practical ways through some of the bureaucratic challenges we were facing.”
What’s next?
With the first mural now developed, Huddersfield Rising is looking ahead to its next stage of development. The focus is on building new partnerships and continuing to develop opportunities to bring more high-quality public art to communities across Kirklees.
The ultimate ambition is to create a 10-mural art trail celebrating local people, places and stories — helping to bring colour and creativity to the borough while encouraging pride, wellbeing and greater engagement with the places people call home.