It is an exciting time for Wakefield as we have been selected as one of the 101 places who can apply to the Towns Fund.
The investment made possible by the Towns Fund, which will see our economy flourish through a focus on regenerating our city centre.
The objective of the Towns Fund is to deliver long term economic and productive growth through:
- Urban regeneration, planning and land use
- Ensuring Wakefield is a thriving place for people to live and work by attracting more people into our City Centre
- Strengthening local businesses and supporting our local heritage and culture
- Identifying areas requiring improvements and considering how we can deliver this through site acquisition, preparation, remediation and regeneration
- Making full use of the planning system to support a positive strategic direction and provide effective changes
Skills and enterprise infrastructure
- Driving private sector investment in Wakefield
- Allowing the space to support people in advancing their skills
- Nurturing local businesses to help them grow and succeed
Connectivity:
- Developing good local transport schemes that complement regional and national networks making it easier, safer and faster to travel in and around Wakefield
- Immersing Wakefield in the new digital world, improving digital and technological capabilities, future proofing our city
The Towns Fund prospectus is available here.
We have created a Wakefield Taskforce which will decide how the vision and strategy is defined. The Taskforce will produce a Town Investment Plan and inform the Town Deal.
Membership
Cormac Hamilton - Chair
Wakefield Trinity Walk – Centre Manager - 2020/21
Cormac is the Centre Manager of Wakefield Trinity Walk Shopping Centre and was voted as chair of the Wakefield High Streets Task Force in September 2020.
Throughout his career Cormac has managed large complex estates and multi-disciplined teams, gaining extensive management and commercial skills focused on property, operations and people.
Cormac feels extremely privileged to be the Chair of “Wakefield High Street Task Force.” Wakefield is a diverse City with a rich, multi layered history and a reputation for innovative repurposing of the High Street and surrounds. It is the historical aspect of the city, it’s buildings, it’s changing use and relevance that he particularly enjoys. In this photograph, Cormac is standing by the “Old Westgate Station Door” steeped in history and behind which lies one of our project areas. The city now faces the challenge of a generation, as a Shopping Centre Manager Cormac is experiencing this first hand. He can also see the opportunities for this cohesive and ambitious Task Force it has fallen on their watch to ensure the City of Wakefield prospers and is relevant to all its communities.
Imran Ahmad Khan MP
MP for Wakefield
Imran Ahmad Khan is the Member of Parliament for Wakefield, who was elected at the 2019 General Election with 21,283 votes.
Imran is a proud Yorkshireman, born here in Wakefield where he attended Silcoates School, before going to university in Russia to study the Russian language, and graduating from King’s College in London with a bachelor’s degree in War Studies.
Imran’s family have a rich history based in Wakefield where his grandmother and both parents cared for many local residents during their successful careers in medicine.
Imran’s life has been dedicated to fighting for democracy which has taken him around the world but he has never forgotten the hard working northern folk of Wakefield where he grew up.
Imran’s focuses on fairness for his fellow Yorkshiremen and women through the Northern Powerhouse, jobs and investment into the Wakefield area. As a member of this Task Force Imran will aim to deliver an ambitious future for the people and businesses of Wakefield.
Councillor Darren Byford
Wakefield Council – Portfolio holder for Economic Growth and Regeneration.
Cllr Darren Byford is Wakefield’s Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Regeneration, representing the Horbury and South Ossett ward. Born in the Wakefield District, he has lived and worked in Wakefield for most of his adult life, experiencing Wakefield community life fist-hand. Cllr Byford brings local insight and enthusiasm to the High Street Task Force, as well as the skills and experience he developed throughout his career as a senior manager at YPO; where he worked closely with public sector partners, finding procurement solutions to meet the needs of customers.
An active and enthusiastic volunteer, Cllr Byford has provided a lifetime of support within his community and can often be found offering a helping hand to a local community organisation, or picking up litter from his local streets over the weekend.
All Members
- Cormac Hamilton – Chair – Wakefield Trinity Walk
- Jonathan Allum – Deputy Chair –Allum’s Butchers
- Imran Ahmad-Khan – MP for Wakefield
- Usman Ali – NOVA
- Stephen Baker – John Baker & Sons Ltd
- Councillor Darren Byford - Wakefield Council
- Rev Simon Cowling – Wakefield Cathedral
- Clare Elliott – Interim member for Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
- Judith Furlonger – West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Martin Hathaway – Chamber of Commerce
- Graham Howarth – Wakefield Business Improvement District
- Richard Low – Orion
- Brandon Titterington - Jordan’s Solicitors
- Kevin Trickett – Wakefield Civic Society
- Tim Welton - Williams & Co
- Simon Wallis – The Hepworth
- Sam Wright – Wakefield College
- Sue Young – Wakefield District Housing
How do I get involved?
We believe it is vital for the people of Wakefield to be part of this process to ensure that we can find out what they love about their place and how they want to see it meet the needs of the present and the future. There will be various public consultations throughout the life of Wakefield’s City Centre Towns Fund projects. Watch this space for news from Task Force meetings and information about future ways to get involved. If you have any comments or questions please use the contact information below.
Taskforce meeting agenda
Taskforce meeting minutes
Governance documents
Active Governance Documents
General documents
4/9/20
3/7/20
21/1/20
16/3/21
29/4/21