The £250million Huddersfield Blueprint is set to become an official part of planning policy in Kirklees – after local people helped to shape the plans.
On 25 February 2020 Cabinet approved plans to make the Huddersfield Blueprint a Supplementary Planning Document – which will make it an official guideline for all town centre development.
The reason for this is to support the delivery of the Blueprint and to make sure all future developments in Huddersfield Town Centre fit into the vision. It will also help with future funding bids.
It will factor in comments and suggestions made by the public during the three-month engagement process last year.
Cllr Peter McBride, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “This is a really significant step towards delivering our vision for Huddersfield Town Centre.
“Our Blueprint is a well thought-out plan which is based on years of research and consultation with local people, businesses and organisations and it’s the right way forward for the town.
“We can have visions and ideas but we can’t always influence other developments. By making the Blueprint a Supplementary Planning Document we can use it as an official policy to work with developers and deliver a thriving, modern-day town centre.”
Some of the changes made to the Blueprint following a three-month public engagement include: a new section on national and local context to explain the drivers behind the Blueprint.
There will also be more of a focus on how the council will address getting the basics right, such as parking and cleanliness. It also acknowledges the need for the Blueprint to contribute to Kirklees Council’s commitment to address the Climate Emergency.
The plan also updates projects such as the TransPennine Route railway upgrade, Better Connected Stations and Huddersfield market. It also gives more detail on delivery, based on recent planning permissions, funding and work with partners.
Projects and capacity are also to be updated in light of council’s recent parking study and a funding and delivery programme.
More detail on comments and changes can be found here. The original Blueprint, artist impressions and a fly-through video can be viewed here www.Kirklees.gov.uk/HuddersfieldBlueprint
Cllr McBride said: “We had such a successful engagement, which really shows how passionate local people are about the future of Huddersfield.
“We held a three-month engagement on the plans because the most crucial part of regenerating any area in Kirklees is that it works for the people that live here and that it’s what they want.
“Taking this step forward will give real weight to deliver the plans, a vision that local people have played a huge part in shaping.”
A four-week public consultation on the Huddersfield Blueprint Supplementary Planning Document will now begin on 2 March 2020 – running until 30 March. The comments received will then be analysed and brought back to Cabinet for final approval.
To read the report click here.