Dewsbury Arcade renovation begins ahead of summer 2025 reopening

It is hoped the refurbished arcade, pictured in an artist's impression, will open to shoppers by summer 2025

Work has begun to transform a Victorian arcade in West Yorkshire into an independent shopping centre.

The Grade II listed Dewsbury Arcade has been a feature of the town for 125 years, but closed in 2016.

Kirklees Council bought the building in 2020 and hoped to reopen it by summer 2025 as a community-run facility.

The arcade would feature 16 small shops, four larger retail spaces and six upstairs studios suitable for artists, office spaces or events.

Kirklees Council's strategic director for growth and regeneration, David Shepherd, said the project was "bringing a piece of Dewsbury's history back to life".

Together with the revamp of the Dewsbury Market, Mr Shepherd said he hoped it would spark "a big boost in town centre footfall".

The renovation has been funded by £4.5m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as money from the government, the council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

A spokesperson for Kirklees Council said the total cost of the project would be £10.3m.

'Tough journey'

Once reopened, the shopping centre will be managed by the Arcade Group - a community business formed specifically for this purpose - without further financial input from the council, which had to make cuts of £47m to avoid bankruptcy.

A council spokesperson said its aim was to populate the arcade with "a range of independent local traders, along with a new, high-quality food and drink offering".

Co-founder of the Arcade Group Chris Hill added: "Raising the money to deal with the arcade's structural decline has been a tough journey, but our community business can now move on to the next stage - finding the tenants people want to see in the arcade and working to pull businesses and shoppers back to the town centre."