BHS and Rutland Mills boost as £20m worth of 'Levelling Up' funding handed to Wakefield

Rutland Mills is being transformed into an arts facility.

Wakefield's bid for £20m worth of 'Levelling Up' funding from the government has been approved.

It means two flagship redevelopments in the city, which were reliant on the cash coming through, can continue.

A total of £12m will be spent on the renovation of the old BHS building in the city centre, where the council hopes to install a museum, gallery and cafe.

The remainder will be spent on the final stages of development at Rutland Mills, where historic industrial buildings are being converted into a state-of-the-art creative facility.

Pictures of how the transformed BHS building may appear were released by the council earlier this month.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, council leader Denise Jeffery said the announcement was "really great news".

"It means our plans for BHS and Rutland Mills can go ahead.

"This bid was put forward by the controlling Labour group, but it's very much had cross-party support."

"I'm sure we're all absolutely delighted with it."

Coun Jeffery also thanked the deputy leader of the opposition Conservative group, Tony Homewood, who she said had "stepped in at the last minute" to help the council submit the bid, as it "had been in jeopardy".

Local Democracy Reporting Service