About the Arcade
Dewsbury Arcade
With the help of a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to Kirklees Council of £4.5m, work began on refurbishing Dewsbury Arcade in April ’24 with a view to it re-opening in the autumn of ’25.
The listed Arcade, with its beautiful roof and ironwork is close to many Dewsbury hearts. Built in 1899 by architect Albert Holmes Kirk, it was a popular town centre thoroughfare right through to 2014.
A combination of falling town centre footfall, poor management and lack of investment by absentee owners, saw the Arcade empty out from 2011 and finally close in 2016.
After considering all its options, in May 2020 the Council purchased the Arcade. The Arcade is the first project in the Council’s 10 year, £80m town centre investment plan that includes refurbishment of the Market, creation of green space and improved security. Taken as a whole, the plan is to make the town centre worth visiting again, increase footfall and improve trading conditions for businesses.
The Arcade consists of 16 affordable small shops, bookended by 4 larger units at the Market Place and Corporation Street ends of around 500 sq ft per floor. The shops are around 200 sq ft.
There is a second floor running above the shops that will offer 8 studios that may are suitable for artists. The Arcade also has an Events room and 1500 sq ft of workspace attached to it.
We are looking for independent tenants that are selling goods and services worth making a special trip for. The shops are ideal for people who want to add a physical presence to on-line selling. The Arcade has to be interesting. We don’t want take-aways, vape shops, nail-bars etc.