Have your say on masterplan for the future of Wakefield city centre

The consultation is part of the Wakefield City Centre Masterplan project, which aims to create a vibrant and attractive city centre for the future that makes the most of Wakefield's rich mix of community, creative, cultural and business strengths.

Announcing the Wakefield City Centre Masterplan public consultation Wakefield Council Leader Denise Jeffery said: “The consultation is a real opportunity for everyone in Wakefield to get involved and to have their say on the future of our city centre, as we look forward to the next stage of creating a vibrant future for Wakefield.

"The new masterplan will play a very important role in creating and bringing the vision to life, by guiding developments and supporting our ambitious regeneration plans.”

The project is being led by Farrells (www.farrells.com) and supported by a multi-disciplinary consultancy team, who were appointed by Wakefield Council in March to prepare a masterplan for the city centre, which, with the right ingredients will set the blueprint for its future success.

Farrells project lead, Katerina Karaga, said: “The Wakefield City Centre Masterplan is an excellent opportunity to revitalise the heart of Wakefield and the retail core of the city.

"Essential to this is creating a dynamic and flexible masterplan able to stand the test of time and adapt to market needs, developed working closely with the local community, relevant stakeholders, Wakefield Council and the wider project team.

"Our experience in town centre regeneration and understanding of cultural heritage allows us to embrace this challenge”.

Members of the public can provide feedback to the project team by visiting www.wakefieldmasterplan.com and filling out the online survey.

People can also write to the project team at FREEPOST UK NETWORKS or telephone 07809140016.

There are two stages of the public consultation. The current stage is just the first part of the consultation and will capture feedback to help inform the initial thinking of the design team.

This stage will be open from today until the end of August 2020 with feedback reviewed by the design team during the Autumn before consulting again on the first draft of the Masterplan, early next year.

The project is supported by a number of key organisations including The Hepworth, Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP), The Ridings Centre, Trinity Walk Shopping Centre and Wakefield District Housing.

Simon Wallis, Director at The Hepworth, said: “This consultation is a vital opportunity for those of us that live, work and study in Wakefield to build on its unique identity, creative strengths, and enable positive change for our physical environment.

"It’s a moment to embrace the ambitious new ways we work and socialise together in our city to ensure a sustainable and inspiring future. We need to work together on making this initiative a reality so it’s important that all our voices are heard in helping create a masterplan we can use to guide our collective efforts."