£2.3m bid submitted for repair and refurbishment of historic arcade
Kirklees Council has has submitted a £2.3m bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to aid the repair and refurbishment of the Arcade in Dewsbury.
This stage one application replaces an earlier one submitted in November 2021 and includes a request for an enhanced level of funding.
The Grade II Listed Arcade was built in 1899 and was a popular town centre thoroughfare through to 2016. The building’s condition has been deteriorating over the last ten years. Most of it became vacant and the thoroughfare closed to the public, five years ago.
It was purchased by the council in May 2020.
In addition to the £2.3m HLF bid, the council has applied to Government to approve £1.3m worth of funding from the Town Deal Investment Plan. A decision is expected on the Town Deal funding this month.
The £2.3m bid is in its first stages, as part of the overall £6.7m scheme. A decision on the stage one application is expected by the end of June.
The council says it has already agreed – subject to a number of preconditions – that the Arcade will be operated by the Arcade Group, a new community-based company.
Secretary for the Arcade Group, Chris Hill, said: “The memories and histories of the arcade are what bring people together. It reminds Dewsbury community of who they are, the values they share, and the future they could build.
“If successful, the Heritage bid will give us a chance to create a permanent collection of images, video, and oral histories of the Arcade that can be displayed when it opens.
“We will work with Dewsbury History and Photographic Societies as well as students at Kirklees College and local residents, not only to learn about the past but to understand what people want in the Arcade of the future.”
Councillor Eric Firth, cabinet member for town centres, added: “Community-led regeneration is at the heart of the arcade.
“I have been struck by how often, in my conversations, people have talked about the power of heritage bringing generations together, and bridging the generational divide is arguably needed now more than ever.”
If the stage one HLF bid is approved in June, the council will be asked to submit a more detailed stage two application.
