Batley could receive ‘Temu version’ of redevelopment plan, warns councillor
A local councillor says he does not want to see Batley left with the “Temu version” of its original Blueprint plan following a series of delays.
At Monday’s meeting (Sep 28) of the growth and regeneration scrutiny panel, members heard an update on Kirklees Council’s ‘Blueprint’ projects.
The blueprints set out a plan of investment for a town or village centre. The council has seven of these schemes which cover the areas of Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Batley, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth and Marsden.
Much of the discussion was focused on the Batley Blueprint, which is underpinned by £12m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, plus £800,000 from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s (WYCA) Streets for People programme.
The aim is to create a better-connected, vibrant town centre, and much of the development is focused around Market Place and Commercial Street.
The meeting heard that one aspect of the plan – the commercial link – has been scrapped. This would have seen the creation of a landscaped route from Tesco car park to Commercial Street, featuring ramps, steps, and public art celebrating Batley.
Deadlines have been pushed back, with the development now looking at a completion date of March 2028. Originally, the council was told it had to complete the scheme by 2026 in order to keep the Levelling Up cash but this deadline was revised by government, with the money now needing to be used by 2028.
Councillor Akhtar Kasia voiced the community’s frustration at the lack of “visible change” and delays.
He questioned the impact the delays had on the budget and said that he doesn’t want Batley to receive the “Temu version” of the blueprint that residents were originally promised.
He added: “I support the Batley Blueprint, I want it delivered, but regeneration can’t become a permanent cycle of consultation, consultants, revised designs, missed deadlines and revised completion dates. At some point, regeneration has to become growth and growth has to become visible.”
Service Director for Skills and Regeneration, David Wildman, said: “I do take Coun Kasia’s point – there has been a lot of engagement and consultation on this scheme. We need to deliver now and I think that’s where we are.
"We are wanting to deliver now. The tenders for contractors are out and they’ll be on site early next year…what we’ve told the market is that we expect them to deliver within the funding target by March 2028.
"The target is to see construction on site next year and complete by March 2028.”
Mr Wildman said that “certainty” around timelines will be given when a contractor is appointed. He also told members that surveys have begun on the old Woolworths building on Commercial Street, with construction due to start before Christmas.
Later in the meeting, Councillor Kasia told members that local authority needs to determine a cut off point where a “strategic decision” will be taken and the scheme thrown out altogether. He said that members of the business community want to invest in the town but are holding off, waiting for the scheme to become a reality.
Fellow Batley councillor, Khuram Amjad, said that the lack of progress in Batley was “really, really disappointing”. He said that the council needs to look into “what’s gone wrong” and also highlighted the town’s “massive parking issue”. Batley was said to be the only town in Kirklees without any free council parking. However, the matter was said to be one to consider in the budget.