Work Begins on Project to Create the UK’s First Community-Run Shopping Centre

Following years of project planning and fundraising, capital work to refurbish Dewsbury Arcade has officially started.  

Built in 1899, the Grade II-listed Arcade, with its attractive shopfronts and beautiful decorative ironwork, is close to the hearts of many people in Dewsbury. Over the years, it has been home to a wide variety of tenants, from coffee houses and florists to tobacconists and record shops. It was a popular town centre thoroughfare right through to 2014. However, following the combination of a decrease in town centre footfall, the steady departure of tenants, and the deterioration of the site, the Arcade closed in 2016 and has been lying empty ever since.

In May 2020, Kirklees Council purchased the Arcade as one of the lead projects in its ‘Dewsbury Blueprint’, a 10-year plan that seeks to honour the heritage of the town and build on recent investments. The Arcade – Dewsbury steering group was established later that same year, with the aim of taking on a long lease from the Council and managing the Arcade.

The vision is to transform the site into the UK’s first community-run shopping centre. It will become a vibrant space for local and young entrepreneurs, offering arcade units to a range of tenants to create an interesting mix of retail, restaurants, and community space. There is also a second floor running above the shops that will offer 8 studios. The building’s historic architecture will be restored and maintained, preserving a piece of Dewsbury’s history for future generations, whilst also bringing the much-loved shopping centre back into use to support the longer-term aim of reviving Dewsbury town centre.

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is pleased to have supported this project from an early stage, awarding an initial Project Viability Grant in 2020, which, along with support from Co-operatives UK and Kirklees Council, enabled The Arcade – Dewsbury to achieve preferred bidder status for the lease of the building. Following this, the group went on to register as a Community Benefit Society and to issue a community share offer, from which it gained 200 shareholder members and raised £125,000. A further AHF grant, awarded in 2024, helped The Arcade - Dewsbury to complete development work for the project.

With work now on site, thanks to a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to Kirklees Council of £4.5m, it is hoped that the revitalised Arcade will be ready to open its doors to the community once again in summer 2025, offering a mix of retail, activity and culture for everyone to enjoy.