Around 2,200 jobs could created if plans approved for Castleford Tigers stadium redevelopment and employment space

Castleford Tigers and Highgrove Group have submitted planning applications to Wakefield Council for improvements to the Wheldon Road stadium and a significant new employment development on the Axiom site, at Junction 32 on the M62.

If planning is approved, the developers believe the £200m Axiom Yorkshire proposals will provide £12.2m of funding towards major upgrades at Wheldon Road and £15m of highways improvements to the Junction 32 roundabout, and new employment, logistics and manufacturing floorspace, creating jobs for local people.

Once fully developed, the Axiom site will deliver around 1,830 permanent full-time jobs in Castleford, with a further 365 jobs created around Wakefield.

Around 1,500 construction jobs will be created per year during the works at both Wheldon Road and the Axiom employment site. It is anticipated that the Axiom proposals will generate around £142m

of local economic activity, once fully operational.

Funds raised by the proposed new Axiom employment development would supplement Wakefield Council’s £2m grant to Castleford Tigers through its Rugby League Resilience Fund.

In a statement, the developers said: “This mirrors the mechanism of the recent planning approval at Newmarket Lane which is providing funds to redevelop Wakefield Trinity’s Belle Vue ground.

“Proposed improvements to the Wheldon Road stadium will mean that the club can meet Super League standards. A new all-seater main stand will be constructed, providing modern sporting facilities for players and officials, along with a banqueting suite and corporate hospitality function rooms. Refurbishment of Wheldon Road, Princess Street and Railway End stands are also proposed, along with the provision of a new floodlit 4G training pitch.”

The separate planning application for the Axiom site at Junction 32 proposes development of up to 141,085 sq. m of employment floorspace, across around 13 units of varying sizes.

In total 22 acres of open space and landscaping will be created, which will see 40,000 new trees planted. The site will benefit from around three miles of new public paths and cycle routes, opening the site up for community use and linking residential areas to the east of the site with Xscape, Junction 32 Outlet Centre and Glasshoughton railway station.

Mark Grattan, Castleford Tigers RLFC Managing Director said:

“We are delighted that the planning applications for both Axiom and the Wheldon Road improvements have now been submitted. This is a really important moment for the club and the town more widely. If both planning applications are approved, the money raised will secure the

future of Castleford Tigers at Wheldon Road for a generation.”

A spokesperson for Axiom Yorkshire, owners of the Junction 32 site said: “Following five months of community consultation, we have now submitted both planning applications to Wakefield Council. The response from the community has been very supportive, we believe because people recognise the huge potential benefits of these two important regeneration proposals for the area.

"On top of the much-needed improvements for the Castleford Tigers stadium, if approved, the Axiom proposals will deliver around 2,200 jobs, generating wide-ranging socio- economic benefits for the local area.”