Town Centre Development
One of the things we have been very much involved in the constituency has been really trying to evaluate the needs of Huddersfield town centre and the future of retailing. My interest in this goes back a long way. Back in 2000 we developed a plan were we found, along with consultants and many other people, that what Huddersfield must be about is quality. What I have always believed is that we don’t want to be competing with the average and the ordinary. We have to make Huddersfield first class, absolutely extraordinary – to have the wow factor. I believe that when we opened the new centre, the Kings Gate centre, I believe that was a break through in terms of quality. I still think of all the schemes now planned for Huddersfield that the emphasis must be on sheer quality and I would like to see a whole range of high quality people and services. Waitrose possibly coming to Huddersfield, Betty’s Tea Rooms opening an outlet; going for something that makes Huddersfield different. I have always wanted Marks and Spencer’s to punch above their weight with a decent more modern shop than the one we have at the moment. So I have been keeping my eye on that, discussing it with the local authority and with the people involved in a number of bids to develop Huddersfield. This is part of my job, putting them on the spot – trying to make sure they are properly accountable. I am following a new development on the other side of the ring road by Tesco and the expansion of town centre retailing. Whether it is Queensgate on Kingsgate they must be based on proper thought and consultation. And again the quality watch word.
