Bids to £4.8bn fund seek ‘transformative’ changes to district’s economy

Kirklees Council has submitted four bids to the Government’s £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, each of which is aimed at improving different areas within the district.

The bids focus on enhancements to Batley, Marsden, Northumberland Street in Huddersfield, and the Penistone railway line.

The council’s £12m bid for Batley features improvements to the town centre, creating a more modern destination.

Plans include making significant changes to Commercial Street, one of the main routes through the town centre. The route would move away from being a thoroughfare dominated by cars, with improvements to the public realm as well sustainable transport routes.

A new events space would be created in front of the town hall, allowing Batley to host market days as well as a wide range of other events.

Also, a disused building on Commercial Street – once home to JBM Bargains – would be regenerated and brought back into regular use.

The council’s bid for Marsden is aimed at bringing Marsden Mills, a long-vacant mill complex in the town centre, back to life.

While the property’s façade would be retained, the remainder of the building would be partially demolished to create new premises.

The redeveloped structure would include commercial units and office space, with a potential for residential units on the top floors.

This bid will be for £5.6m, with a further £11.7m to be contributed by private sector partners.

Kirklees Council’s bid for Northumberland Street would create a better market on the site of the existing Open Market, seeking to regenerate Huddersfield’s historic identity as a market town.

The project would restore the Grade II* listed building, create a new open market structure, and make improvements to the surrounding public realm.

The new market would drive footfall to other town centre businesses and help strengthen Huddersfield’s evening economy.

As part of the project, there would be food and drink outlets, stalls for fresh food and dry goods, and a large shared seating area for more than 300 people.

An outdoor structure would be created between the listed building and the Tesco car park, which would provide more than 60 market stalls under a new open market structure.

The project is expected to cost around £18m and if the bid is successful the council would look to complete the work in 2025.

Finally, the council is bidding for nearly £48m to improve the Penistone railway line. It wants significant improvements to its infrastructure, enabling trains to run more frequently.

The funding would allow for an extra rail line to be added to sections of track between Huddersfield and Barnsley, which would address issues with capacity as currently only one train can run on the route at once.

If this bid is approved, the council would work with Northern Trains and Network Rail to make improvements to stations and waiting facilities and explore ways the speed limit could be increased on the route.

Councillor Shabir Pandor, leader of Kirklees Council, said: “These bids show the scale of our ambitions across Kirklees.

“Each of them is transformative for our economy and they can provide jobs and opportunities for decades to come. It’s investment like this that offer the best protection against future cost of living crises.

“Our proposals for Batley, Marsden and Northumberland Street in Huddersfield would breathe new life into some of Kirklees’ beautiful historic buildings, while creating exciting new developments to boost our local economy and bring communities together.

“Meanwhile, our bid for the Penistone railway line would further strengthen our connections with the north and beyond.”