In preparation for improvements around Dewsbury Town Hall

We have started preparations to improve the area around Dewsbury Town Hall, which will mean a thoroughfare into the town center and a nicer new public space for those who live and work in Dewsbury.

This part of Dewsbury is a key route between the bus station and the market. It also links to our civic buildings, such as the town hall and the Walsh Building, and town center businesses, including Dewsbury Arcade, which is due to reopen next year.

What are the plans?

We will make the area around the town hall much more attractive and create a safer and more welcoming route for people throughout the day. This will involve changes to parking and pedestrianisation, with one of our aims being to introduce more accessible parking closer to our civic buildings and town center shops.

After these initial improvements, we will install more greenery and seating, encouraging more passers-by to stop, socialize and enjoy the space. As with many of our developments in Dewsbury – and across Kirklees – we want to create flexible spaces that will not only make this area more attractive, but could also be used in many different ways – from socializing general to fabulous outdoors. evenimente.

We will then create a unique new amphitheatre, which will be a fabulous focal point for the space – and will also provide fewer opportunities for anti-social behavior than the bandstand that previously stood next to the town hall. Suggested designs for the amphitheater include some artistic use of disused railways – inspired by the fact that this site was once the site of Dewsbury’s original railway station and how important connectivity is to the town’s past and future!

Next, we have further development planned for Market Place – which links Longcauseway to Northgate, the main traffic route through Dewsbury town centre. These improvements will take place after the decanting of Dewsbury Market (which will involve a temporary market on the Market Place for the duration of the building works) and should greatly benefit the newly reopened market and arcade along with other town center businesses.

What happens now?

We are preparing to start the first stage of the works on August 5th. This stage of the work is expected to take around 20 weeks to complete, finishing before Christmas this year. During this time, Longcauseway, Wakefield Old Road and Town Hall Way (the roads covered by the improvements) will all be closed – but Wakefield Old Road car park will remain open as usual.

In preparation, you’ll notice that we’ve already removed the bandstand that previously stood near the town hall. Its new home will be just over a mile away in Crow Nest Park, where it can be better used and celebrated in a nicer new setting. Before being installed in the park – which already has a purpose-built platform for the kiosk, the original having been dismantled in the 60s – the structure will undergo some careful TLC to restore it to its former glory.

Councilor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, says:

“These improvements are all about connectivity. We want to connect downtown businesses, old and new, and help the rejuvenated market and arcade thrive once completed. We want to make our civic buildings more welcoming and beautiful places to be – not just for the vital services they provide to the community, but also for the fantastic public events they host. This first round of works will make Dewsbury safer and more enjoyable for people walking and will create more accessible parking close to all these buildings and businesses, making the town center work better for everyone.

“I am also delighted with how these plans honor Dewsbury’s heritage by moving our beautiful bandstand to a place where it can be better enjoyed, then creating a new amphitheater which pays tribute to the site’s roots as the original railway station of Dewsbury.

“This is a great example of how our project approach means looking at Dewsbury as a whole, not just piece by piece or project by project. Dewsbury is a beautiful town with lots of moving parts and we need all these different elements to connect and help each other succeed.”

Keith Ramsay, chairman of Dewsbury Town Council, says:

“Dewsbury Town Hall has been the home of the town council since its inception and we know its place in the heart of Dewsbury. This is an opportunity for us to tie together lots of different regeneration plans in Dewsbury town centre, continue to tackle crime and anti-social behavior and create beautiful places where people can really enjoy spending time.

“This holistic approach is essential to ensure that all the model projects succeed and that – especially as we look forward to investment through the Government’s Long Term Plan in ‘Our Dewsbury Future’ – this influx of regeneration for our town is just the beginning. .”