By Leah Conway
How would you want £25 million to be spent on improving Dewsbury Town? Dewsbury is eligible for up to £25m funding from the Government’s Towns Fund. It would help to deliver economic, cultural and social benefits to the town.
Dewsbury Town Board wants to hear the feedback from everyone on how the fund should be spent; residents, businesses, community and faith groups, on
The Town Board is made up of representatives from the local community and businesses. It is also facilitated by Kirklees Council. Their aim is to deliver beneficial projects through the Government’s Town Board on behalf of the local people and communities.
The Towns Fund will be the latest project to contribute towards a broader goal of economic development and regeneration of the town. It follows on from the 2018 Strategic Development Framework and the Dewsbury Blueprint.
Should the town receive the funding, suggested projects to benefit from this fund include: Revitalising Dewsbury Market, re-opening the arcade, and delivering a new central park.
Cllr Peter McBride, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Dewsbury, and we want this investment to be used to benefit the whole community.
“We encourage residents to join the conversation and help shape the future of the town by setting out where they would like to see this money prioritised.
“We want communities to feel heard and invested in where this money goes to ensure it has the biggest impact. Despite the economic challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a major opportunity to achieve £25m of investment and create a vision to drive economic growth and regeneration.”
Residents have up to the 30 November 2020 to complete an online survey. They can contribute their thoughts on what can and should be done to improve Dewsbury. The survey, along with more information about the Towns Fund, can be found at www.ourtowndewsbury.co.uk.
After the deadline, the Dewsbury Town Board will use the feedback to draft an investment plan for the town, which will layout the selected project which would benefit from the fund. Once the plan is complete, it will be submitted in early 2021.