Agenda item

To receive updates on the following projects:

· Sustainable Transport Modes

· Arcade

· Market

· Daisy Hill

· Town Park – Public Realm

· Building Grant Revival Scheme

· Kirklees Build

Contact: Michelle Illingworth, Project Officer, Town Investment Plan.

              Andy Raleigh, Economic Resilience Manager.

              Thomas Fish, Acting Head of Housing Growth.

RESOLVED –

That the Project Update be noted.

Thomas Fish, Acting Head of Housing Growth at Kirklees Council, provided the Board with a presentation on the Dewsbury Living Town (Daisy Hill development). This included a retrospective look at the project, and the future of housing in and around Dewsbury Town Centre.

The presentation covered the following key points:

·       The Dewsbury Blueprint outlined the ambition for greater numbers of people living in Dewsbury Town Centre to promote an associated increase in footfall and investment.

·       The Daisy Hill Neighbourhood Project was one of nine projects funded by the Dewsbury Town Investment plan, to provide first steps towards creating 200 quality homes, attracting occupiers with disposable incomes to help support the town centre economy.

·       A map of the Daisy Hill Neighbourhood showed the buildings owned and in the process of being acquired by Kirklees Council. It was a long-term strategy due to the process of acquiring a critical mass of properties.

·       Fieldhouse Station apartments, opposite the Station, had now been redeveloped and was a catalyst project, setting a precedent in terms of high-quality apartments.

·       Neil Jordan House was the next building to be sold as a residential development.

·       Developers had indicated that Daisy Hill Neighbourhood was not a big enough site for investment.

·       The Local Plan update provided further opportunities for wider town centre living opportunities.

·       Riverside Strategic Housing Site was a larger scale investment opportunity, already in the Local Plan as a new community of 4,000 homes. south of Thornhill Lees / Ravensthorpe.

·       A new Ravensthorpe train station was being built on the site as part of Trans-Pennine Route upgrade.

·       A funding bid of £53 million to Homes England Brownfield Infrastructure Land Fund had been submitted, for the Riverside site, to fill the funding gap and create the infrastructure to open up the site.

·        It was hoped that the site would go to market to secure a master developer, and an update on this to be brought to the Board in July.

Timescales for next steps were outlined:

During discussion the Board noted that the Council was looking for land for industrial or housing development to include in the Local Plan.

The Board raised the issue of communication about the long-term plans with owners of properties in the town centre so that they were fully informed. The Board was advised that this would part of the overall communications by Dewsbury Town Board as outlined in the Communications Update.

The Board questioned the amount of social and affordable housing that would be made available in the new developments and were advised that the baseline would be to meet the Local Plan targets for at least 20% affordable housing, and the planning process would support this.

In response to a question about the potential strain on infrastructure caused by extra homes, especially traffic on Huddersfield Road, the Board were advised that when the site was allocated for housing in 2019, evidence that had informed the Local Plan was used to assess the traffic impact across the whole district. West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and Homes England funding had since been used to update that evidence. A requirement for significant investment in transport was expected, and this was being considered during conversations with WYCA about future strategic transport investment.

The Board discussed concerns over the Daisy Hill Neighbourhood whilst the process of building acquisition took place in terms of public health and safety. It was agreed that this would be a topic for discussion at the Strategy Day in March.

RESOLVED –

That the Project Update be noted.