Dewsbury Arcade: Community-run Yorkshire shopping arcade to open later than planned due to rot and decay

The historic Grade-II Listed building is undergoing a £10m revamp, in the hopes of returning it to its former glory while helping to regenerate the wider town centre as part of the council’s ‘blueprint vision’.

Once refurbished, the arcade will be a community-run shopping centre, leased and managed by the Arcade Group. Work on the project kicked off in May last year, with plans for an autumn 2025 opening.

However, according to a statement on the Arcade’s website, as spades went in the ground, issues with rot and decay proved far worse than expected in early surveys, pushing the forecasted opening date back to the spring of next year. With problems still being identified, the council says there is a chance that the timeline could change once again.

Specialist timber and damp surveyors have highlighted several interventions required across the entire building, with the need for structural repairs and the replacement of structural beams to the Corporation Street ‘bookend’ roof, timber repairs on all floors of the building and a lack of foundations among the main issues to be addressed.

On top of this, structural assessments and repairs are needed at multiple locations, as is the replacement of the ground floor unit concrete flooring slabs. The discovery of the original lift mechanism has incurred delays for associated archaeological work.

Fortunately, an eight per cent contingency has been built into the project’s £10.3m budget to cover any unexpected circumstances. So far, around £3.5m of the budget has been spent, with this well within the allocated envelope.

In its entirety, the scheme is funded from several pots of cash, with Kirklees Council and the Town Deal Fund (Government Town Fund) each putting £2.57m to the project. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Get Building Fund covers £600k and the National Lottery Heritage fund, £4.55m. Finally, the Arcade Group and volunteers are contributing £34k.

A statement from the Arcade Group explains that construction is expected to conclude in October of this year, but that a spring 2026 opening has been agreed with the council as trying to do so in time for Christmas would not allow enough time for the units to be fitted-out.

It says: “Despite the challenges, enthusiasm for The Arcade remains high. No one is being asked to commit to a lease until later in the year, but The Arcade Group currently have 30 live expressions of interest from prospective tenants, spanning a diverse range of industries, including fashion, accessories, cafés, food, craft, photography, art, jewellery, and wellness.

“The Arcade Board apologise for the lack of news over the last few months. We were looking for certainties around the build programme, which have not been possible. We hope that supporters and potential tenants can now plan around the clear opening time.”