© John Munday 2008

The Regeneration of Castleford

There is a significant amount of Regeneration Activity focussed on Castleford at the present time.

The Castleford Town Centre Strategy was developed by WMDC to provide a co-ordinated framework for action and investment in Castleford Town Centre. Its basic principle is to maximise the potential of the Town Centre by sustaining and enhancing its vitality and viability.
Click here to download the Castleford Town Centre Action Plan 2008.
(You might need to download a powerpoint viewer from here if necessary.)

Major projects taking place within Castleford include:

• The relocation and improvement of the Outdoor Market onto the main streets of the Town Centre.
• A new River Crossing between the Town Centre and the North bank of the River Aire.
• Improvements to the Townscape.
• Improved access to the riverside area.
• Improvements to the main pedestrian entrance to the Town Centre from the South
• The creation of the Castleford Forum - new library and museum facility.
• Relocation of the bus station to create an integrated transport interchange.
• The creation of new development opportunities within the Town Centre.

• The Yorkshire Forward Renaissance Towns Initiative is a 20 -25 year vision and strategy aimed at transforming the area. Its main emphasis is on the improvement of the environment. The need for regeneration and investment within Castleford is identified.
   

• The Castleford Regeneration Project which aims to deliver a number of regeneration schemes from April 2003 to the end of 2007 or even later.
  These include early win projects which will form the first stages of the long term regeneration of the town together with events designed to augment the social, economic and cultural regenerative benefits of the plan

• The Castleford Project’s core group support comes from Channel 4 Television, Wakefield MDC, Yorkshire Forward, English Partnerships, CABE and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. It also works with a number of local partners, such as the Castleford Town Centre Partnership, Groundwork and the Castleford Heritage Group, to progress the schemes identified.

• The regeneration process has being recorded by Talkback UK, who have been commissioned by Channel Four, to film this as a landmark television series with the aim of educating and inspiring the UK public to participate in the process of regeneration. First broadcast 11.08.2008. 
   

• WMDC Five Towns Regeneration Team has been set up to develop a 5 year rolling programme of priority projects for the Five towns Area, of which Castleford is the largest town.
  These projects will bring about sustainable regeneration of the area. It aims to bring investment to the area to contribute to its economic, environmental and social well-being. Partnership working will be key to the success of the approach.