Why we can’t forget our existing towns like Dewsbury as engines for economic growth - Jayne Dowle

Much as new homes are needed – a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spokesperson speaks of “the largest housebuilding programme since the Second World War” - and impressive as these ambitious plans are, our political leaders should not get so carried away with the new that they forget about the old, as a worrying report on the state of our towns warns.

We are blessed with countless wonderful towns in Yorkshire. Yet some thrive whilst others stagger. I was recently in Hebden Bridge, for instance; it was buzzing, with the Sunday food market in full swing, late winter sunshine highlighting all the regenerated historic buildings, lots of people shopping, chatting, walking dogs, actually looking happy to be there.

And sadly, we also have some towns where you really would fear to tread. I won’t name them, but I’m thinking of the places where almost everyone looks downtrodden, scurrying past shuttered shops, where drugs are being dealt openly on street corners and drunks stagger from bench to bench.

I’m not easily scared, but almost exactly a year ago, I found myself with an hour to spare in one South Yorkshire town, also on a Sunday afternoon. It was so empty, I could hear my footsteps echoing around the shopping precinct. I felt so intimidated by the gangs of hooded youths roaming around, I discreetly removed any visible jewellery and shoved my phone into the bottom of my bag.

I understand that Hebden Bridge has indeed had its problems in the past, but it’s turned itself around, through a combination of community spirit, independent businesses and entrepreneurs and a belief that if everyone pulls together it will be a better place to live.

It’s proof of hope, and hope is much needed, according to ‘Love Thy Neighbour’, a new report from think tank Onward, which is urging the government not to forget about our existing towns as engines for economic growth.

In our region, the report singles out Dewsbury and Wakefield in particular as towns where local people feel left behind and worried about the future. In Dewsbury, for example, 73 per cent of residents think their area is doing poorly, according to polling from Focaldata for Onward, while in Wakefield that disgruntled figure sits at 60 per cent.

This contrasts sharply with Harrogate, well-known as one of the most affluent towns in Yorkshire; here only 11 per cent of residents feel the town is doing badly.

All three of these towns sit within the orbit of Leeds, yet feel the beneficial rays emanating from Yorkshire’s largest and most prosperous city to varying degrees. Onward found that whilst townsfolk are not especially resentful of the success of cities, they wanted to feel that their own concerns were not being overlooked.

Sir Simon Clarke, director of Onward, and formerly Levelling Up secretary during Liz Truss’s short-lived government, says: “We all want to feel pride in the place that we live, but Onward’s latest research finds too many people in our towns don’t feel optimistic about the future.

“Town residents have two clear asks of government – a stronger approach to tackling crime and a better regeneration offer for their high streets and town centres.”

We’ve heard this all before, of course. Taskforce after taskforce, including the redoubtable Mary ‘Queen of Shops’ Portas, have marched through our Yorkshire towns attempting, with varying degrees of success, to encourage regeneration, reduce anti-social behaviour and help these places bloom again.

Onward’s own recommendations include a fresh focus on setting up and holding regular town markets, to create community gathering places and encourage local entrepreneurs.

It’s also suggesting local leaders introduce programmes to divert young people away from anti-social behaviour – good luck with that under current council funding cuts – and improved public transport links between towns and nearby cities.

Residents of towns said they have poor access to public transport. While nearly 60 per cent of city residents felt they had good public transport, less than half (45 per cent) of town dwellers felt the same.

Here in Yorkshire, we could have told them about rubbish buses and unreliable and ill-connected trains without the bother of doing any market research at all.