Work to create new pedestrian areas with benches, plants and trees around Brighouse town centre is now complete and local people are invited to share their feedback.
New decking and seating areas are now in place on Commercial Street and by the canal side near Brighouse market. These new ‘parklet’ areas have transformed parts of Brighouse into community spaces for people to stop, rest and enjoy whilst shopping.
Work is now finished and Calderdale Council is inviting people to share their thoughts about the spaces to inform any further changes or improvements that could be made to the new benches and plants.
The parklet areas have been created using accelerated funding provision from the Government’s Towns Deals Fund. In addition, Brighouse is set to receive for up to £19.1 million of investment to fund further improvements in the town. The bid for funding was agreed and submitted by the Brighouse Town Deal Board, made up of representatives from the public, private and community sectors.
The parklets have been designed to be adaptable, so feedback will be used to ensure the areas are fit for purpose and inform if any changes could be made. To have your say, email proposedtro@calderdale.gov.uk, with the subject ‘Brighouse Accelerator Scheme feedback’. The closing date for feedback is Saturday 25 September 2021.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Strategy, Cllr Jane Scullion, said:
“The new parklets are a great addition to Brighouse town centre and I’ve seen them being well used by people having a spot of lunch or enjoying the recent fine weather.
“There was previously a limited amount of seating in the town centre, so the new benches should encourage more people towards the town’s unique retail offer.”
Co-Chair of Brighouse Town Deal Board, Cllr Sophie Whittaker, said:
“The accelerator funding has been used to create these parklet areas providing quality community spaces and allowing people to enjoy more time within the town centre.
“The decking areas have been created using accelerator funding in response to local requests for more seating in the town centre. Now the benches are in place we want to hear from local people to see if any further improvements could be made.”
Co-Chair of Brighouse Town Board, local business owner, David Whitehead, said:
“We are delighted with the appearance of the parklets and pleased that they are helping to enhance the shoppers’ experience.”