Traders: Authority ignores us over town revamp
“WE WANT to help. We are not the enemy.”
That’s the message to Kirklees Council from Huddersfield’s independent traders as the authority gets set to reveal its masterplan to revitalise the town centre.
Now senior councillors have been challenged to meet business people face-to-face to tap into “a pool of acumen” that can help drag the town out of the doldrums.
The council aims to unveil its masterplan in mid-March.
But the Independent Town Traders group claim they have been frozen out of consultation on the document.
Now they have called on the authority to fully engage with them after what they feel is years of neglect.
More than 40 traders who met in January are expected to reconvene next month to meet the leaders of the council’s Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green groups.
Group spokesman Paul Wood, joint owner of The Keys Kitchen and Coffee House on Byram Street, says senior Labour figures will not be present despite being invited.
But whilst he is sharply critical of what many feel is the Labour-led council’s “high-handed and rude” manner, he has offered an olive branch to council leader Shabir Pandor and senior Cabinet member Peter McBride to get involved.
“We want to help. We are not the enemy,” said Mr Wood, who warned that traders were angry and frustrated at what they feel is a lack of clarity, direction and vision from the council.
“The council has ignored the pool of acumen that could help them. We have a lot invested in the town both emotionally and financially,” he said.
“But without the council trying something it’s not going to change. Huddersfield is the world centre for kidding itself on. It’s no good.
“The council needs to acknowledge that there is a problem. There has been zero consultation with us. That’s ludicrous.”
Among the suggestions to breathe new life into the town are packing the calendar with outdoor events “both big and small” that “leak out” into the rest of the town.
And in using Stockton-on-Tees as an example – which increased its events from just two a year to more than 70 – Mr Wood said the re-branding of Huddersfield required the support and cooperation of independent traders.
He added: “There could be smallscale events throughout the year with a lot more local businesses involved, and which are a lot more accessible with cheap stall prices. The council says it has no money, but they’ve got money when it suits them.”
He remains scathing of the council’s “horrific” bus gates scheme, which he describes as a method of upsetting 50,000 people.
“The bus gates put people off coming to Huddersfield. You don’t hear from them because having been given a ticket they don’t come back.
“The falling footfall is palpable. People are not coming in any numbers.
“It’s not good PR for us to be drawing attention to problems like this but we’re all finding it very difficult to keep momentum going. There’s a lot of apathy from people. But it can be fixed. It requires constant, gentle pressure.”
Conservative Leader Clr David Hall, Lib Dem Leader Clr John Lawson, and Green Leader Clr Andrew Cooper have all agreed to attend the next meeting.
A senior executive with Kirklees Council confirmed it will be “officer only attendance” and that no members of the Labour group will be present.