Milestone in historic arcade regeneration

INTERNAL WORK STARTS ON FIRST SAMPLE SHOP IN £11.75M PROJECT

- By ABIGAIL MARLOW

THE regeneration of Dewsbury Arcade has reached a key milestone, despite “unforeseen issues”.

The Grade II listed arcade had stood empty since 2016, when it was purchased by Kirklees Council, and is one of the flagship projects in the Dewsbury Blueprint.

The building is now undergoing extensive restoration works through a project in collaboration with the Dewsbury Neighbourhood Board and the Arcade Group.

Once refurbished, the arcade will be the UK's first community-run shopping centre, leased and managed by the Arcade Group. But it hasn't been plain sailing, as problems with rot and decay were found to be “far more significant” than first anticipated. The issues pushed the opening date back several months from this August to next spring, and saw an additional £1.3m allocated to the scheme.