Heart of Castleford

Overview

The Council has secured £23.9m of funding from the UK Government’s Towns Fund for Castleford.

This external grant funding will be used to deliver a series of projects (Castleford Riverside, Castleford Boho (Sagar Street), Heart of Castleford and Castleford Connections which will create a distinctive riverside market town.

The completed projects will bring more businesses, visitors, and opportunities into our town centre, creating attractive new areas for everyone to enjoy.

We’ve carried out extensive public consultation on the design of the Town Deal projects, which have received endorsement from the Castleford Together Town Deal Board which is supporting the Council to drive this work forward.

At the time of approval of the external grant funding, the projects were very much at concept design stage with estimated costings, since this time further detailed design and consultation with the Castleford Together Town Deal Board has been required to reflect the on the ground position with the projects.

Heart of Castleford

The Heart of Castleford project aims to create inviting spaces for people to meet, visit and shop in Castleford town centre.

Impact

The project is all about improving the town centre environment to create vibrant and inviting public spaces that have a positive impact for everyone who visits our town.

By attracting more people into the town centre we’ll support local businesses and help the long-term success of Castleford's economy.

Progress Update

We’ve already started to work with local businesses to improve the look of the town centre. Across the Town Centre 19 independent businesses have already received grants from our Shop Front Improvement Scheme. This is a key part of helping to improve the shopping experience for everyone who visits the town centre.

We’re now looking to retain the building in Henry Moore Square to maintain retail space and generate more footfall in the town centre, rather than demolishing buildings in Henry Moore Square. While this would have created a bigger square, it would also have reduced the amount of usable space for retailers.

Alongside upgrades to the front of the retained property, we’re also considering other options like bringing the Old Market Hall back into use. That could be used for pop-up events and generate further footfall in the town centre.

In addition, improvements to the public realm, lighting and signage throughout the town centre are currently being developed.

Castleford Futures

Also included in this project is the ambition to introduce a new skills offer for local people in the town centre. Our Skills Hub Taskforce has been looking at the location, viability, and demand for a new hub and reviewing the delivery options.

Progress Update

We haven’t been able to reach agreement with the owner of the empty Poundstretcher building. They are demanding a figure significantly higher than the building’s market value, which unfortunately doesn’t provide value for money – and it’s public money so that’s very important to us.

We know the empty Poundstretcher store continues to be a barrier to regeneration in the town centre, so we’ll continue to explore all the available options to address the issue.

Whilst we remain in negotiation regarding the acquisition of the Poundstretcher building we are still committed to delivering the Skills Hub. And after looking at various options available for alternative sites, subject to initial feasibility design work concluding, the preferred site to deliver the Skills Hub is the Five Towns Centre on Welbeck Street.

The budget for this is still available and the current deadline to spend the funding is end March 2027.

Timeline

• Summer 2025: Skills Hub initial feasibility design 
• Summer 2025: Phase 1 public realm lighting/ signage designs 
• Late Autumn 2025: Phase 1 public realm lighting / signage works 
• 2026: Commence works to deliver new Skills Hub
• Spring 2027: Completion and occupation of new Skills Hub