Think Tank Calls for Sense Checks on £16m Open Market Redevelopment

Posted By: Christopher Morganon: August 14, 2024In: Current Affairs, News, Regional News

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By Joshua Robinson –

West Yorkshire think tank, Same Skies, has called on Kirklees Council to publish the results of a series of sense-checks that should have been undertaken before drawing up their plans for the open market.

Same Skies supports investment in the open market and surrounding area, but the Same Skies tests are designed to ensure that the council’s plans are the option most likely to benefit the town.

Andrew Wilson, Co-Director of Same Skies and a Huddersfield resident said: “These are set of common sense questions that anyone who knows the town centre well would ask before changing the open market. The answers should already be in a folder on somebody’s desktop in the Civic Centre and available at five minute’s notice.”

The Same Skies Tests:

* Footfall – regarding footfall per square metre the Saturday second-hand market is probably the busiest place in Huddersfield town centre, and the open market is well-used on other days.

What evidence did the council find to demonstrate that their plans will not lead to a loss of footfall?

* Diversity – the open market is the best showcase, being well-used throughout the week by stallholders and shoppers from all of Huddersfield’s different communities

Can the council show how they recognised this as a strength of the current open market and show how they took account of preserving this existing diversity in drawing up their plans?

* Net job creation and job losses – the council has changed its plans from a food hall (which would compete with the food hall currently being built in the old Queensgate market) to an emphasis on business incubation.

Each stall in the current open market is a business, supporting full or part-time jobs. What evidence has the council found to show that its plans will lead to more jobs than are currently supported?

* Demand for business incubator spaces and unfair competition – Huddersfield already has spaces suitable for new businesses, including The Media Centre on the opposite side of the road to the market, and Bates Mill within a ten-minute walk (and already home to one successful food and drink business).

What evidence did the council find of demand for the business incubator spaces and support that it is proposing and how will it guard against unfair use of public funds to undercut existing providers?

* Programming for event spaces – Huddersfield currently has three new event spaces in development: outside the old Queensgate market, outside the Parish Church, and now at the open market.

In order not to have the town centre full of empty event spaces, what are the credible and costed five and ten-year projections drawn up by the council for how those spaces will be filled with activities?

* Cost of living crisis – the second-hand tools, homeware and clothing sold at the market benefit people on low incomes.

How did the council take account of the benefits of the second-hand market for Huddersfield people struggling with the cost of living crisis?

* Climate emergency – second-hand goods sold at the market have a far lower carbon footprint than buying new items often manufactured and shipped from abroad.

The council declared a climate emergency in 2019. How did it take account of the climate benefits of the current second-hand market in its redevelopment plans?

Commenting on the rationale behind the tests, Andrew Wilson said: “The open market definitely needs some TLC. But it is the most successful part of the town centre at the moment. The place is rammed on a Saturday afternoon and it has some of the best street food in West Yorkshire. Any improvements should build on what is already there, and tread very carefully so as not to do more harm than good for the town.”

Same Skies:

Founded in 2015, Same Skies is the regional democracy network and think tank for West Yorkshire.

In 2021, more than 350 people took part in Same Skies’ alternative manifesto process, contributing over 800 hours to come up with new ideas and existing good ideas for the first Mayor of West Yorkshire.