Byram Arcade: Inside the Huddersfield arcade that’s “thriving” amid big name town centre closures

Recent weeks and months have delivered a huge blow to the town’s retail and hospitality offering, with names like BrewDog, the Slug and Lettuce, KFC, and Footasylum already departing and Next and Beaverbrooks to follow later in the year.

Though these stores may be closing, independent businesses are going strong in Huddersfield. We paid a visit to the historic Byram Arcade to speak to shop owners about what’s on offer and discuss the state of the wider town centre.

The businesses housed in the arcade offer something unique, including crafts shops, arts stores, bespoke jewellery an independent coffee shop and much more. Events are held in the arcade too from evening supper clubs at Arcade Coffee & Food to art classes by Calder Graphics and knit and natter at Crafty Praxis.

Matt from the Porter Hill Tea Company has been at the arcade for around two years, expanding the business and moving into a downstairs unit back in July. He says the arcade is “thriving”, with the number of businesses upstairs having doubled in the past couple of years.

He added: “The best thing about Byram is that it is a real creative hub. It is such a welcoming little community.”

With Huddersfield undergoing a transformation, namely through the investment into the town’s Blueprint project and Cultural Heart, Matt remains optimistic for the town’s future. He said: “When the money is spent it will be worth it but it’s not going to be easy. It is going to be a transition.”

Speaking of the town’s wider offering of small businesses located in places like the Imperial Arcade, Market Avenue Arcade, as well as Byram, he added: “There are pockets of awesome independent businesses that are starting to become the fabric of Huddersfield. They have to offer something different to the internet.”

Katie from Crafty Praxis, a store primarily selling yarn, plus handcrafted gifts and cards and artwork, located on the ground floor, said: “I think a lot of people who like arts and crafts gravitate towards Bryam Arcade. It’s a bit of a hub for that with specialist shops.”

As for whether the arcade has been impacted by wider town centre closures, she said: “Not as far as I can tell. We’ve been carrying on as usual. I don’t think it’s had a detrimental effect.”

Emiel from The Object Edit – which sells a selection of vintage and mid-century furniture and objects and also uses the arcade unit as a work space – had a slightly different view. He felt the state of the town centre would “indirectly” impact trade.

He said: “People say there is nothing in town and there’s no parking so why bother? If they do come in they say they have got to go and move their car…

“It is just that kind of incentive – there’s not enough incentive for people to spend time in town and there are too many disincentives.

Emiel said he wanted word to get out so people know they can put on events like gigs, shows and exhibitions. He said: “It doesn’t take much to let people know that they would be welcome to have events in town.”

He added: “There is a little bit more that needs to be done. There is quite a bit of anti-social behaviour going on and if there is more incentive for people to come into town regularly, then more of that anti-social stuff will disappear.”

Paul from speciality independent comic store, Ka-Pow Comics said of trade: “It is as good as I expect it to be with the cost of living crisis and people struggling to pay bills. We have good days and bad days.”

He added: “The council is doing everything they can. People aren’t spending as much time in town centres because everyone is struggling.”

Elizabeth from Busy as a Bee – a sewing business doing alterations and selling handmade bags located on the second floor – said: “I have only been here since the end of February last year so I’m still finding my feet but people come in and look at what I’m making and they bring alterations.”

Elizabeth has worked in textiles since the age of 15 and later taught herself to make bags which she sells in her shop, with no two the same. She spoke of customers returning to her shop to buy bags at Christmas which they’d browsed previously.

When asked whether she felt recent town centre closures had had any impact, she said: “Not as far as I’m concerned. I think what I sell, nobody else sells anyway, it’s all different.”