A senior councillor in Huddersfield has maintained his stance on the town centre’s recent high street decline, rejecting criticism over his remarks that described the changes as “natural churn”.
Earlier this year, Huddersfield’s town centre experienced numerous shop closures, including well-known names such as Beaverbrooks, Footasylum, The Slug and Lettuce, KFC, and BrewDog. The scale of these departures led the Leader of the Green Group, Councillor Andrew Cooper, to label the situation a “crisis” and to question the council’s strategy for tackling the problem during a Cabinet meeting in February.
At that meeting, Councillor Graham Turner, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, attributed some of the closures to “natural churn” — a phrase that prompted surprise and criticism from Councillor Cooper and others. The issue was revisited at a Full Council meeting, where Almondbury ward Councillor David Longstaff, representing the Liberal Democrats, relayed public discontent he had received regarding Councillor Turner’s comments.
In a formal question posed to Councillor Turner, Councillor Longstaff inquired if he regretted the “natural churn” characterisation. Councillor Turner responded succinctly, quoting the French phrase “Je ne regrette rien” (‘I regret nothing’). He went on to contextualise the challenges facing Huddersfield’s high street as reflective of a nationwide trend affecting town centres throughout the country.
Councillor Turner also highlighted several positive developments occurring in Huddersfield, such as the ongoing ‘Our Cultural Heart’ initiative, the transformation of the historic George Hotel into a Radisson RED hotel, and the recent opening of The Light entertainment complex in the building formerly occupied by House of Fraser.
Addressing the council, Councillor Longstaff said: “I’m born and bred in Huddersfield, I’m proud to say I come from Huddersfield, so I’m not knocking our town. But I have to point out the feedback I get from other people – that’s my role as a councillor. And yes, if I had a preference I’d prefer Laser Quest over shopping. However, I’ve done my homework – we’re the largest town in England. Everyone quotes Halifax, Wakefield and even Bury to me. We’re far bigger than all those three. Those three towns still have a shopping offering.”
He added: “I just want us to not surrender on this and to try and get a shopping offer as well as all the good things we are doing as well with the culture and heritage.”
In response, Councillor Turner encouraged a more optimistic outlook. He said: “I hope you’re right. Let’s not be negative, we need to stop having a glass half empty when it comes to that – not only in Huddersfield, all our town and village centres, all of them – we need to be positive. And we know times are tough for shop owners for a variety of reasons, some of which we can control but the majority of which are beyond our control, but constantly talking them down really does not help.”
Councillor Turner detailed his recent observations from a walk around Huddersfield, noting the arrival of several new shops including three on Albion Street, one on High Street, and three on King Street, as well as units preparing to welcome new businesses. He also mentioned that The Slug and Lettuce was set to reopen, highlighted the addition of a new supermarket on Trinity Street, and pointed out that The Light was busy, even during a midweek afternoon.
He concluded: “The streets were very busy despite it being a midweek afternoon. It’s always been the case that some shops will close for a variety of reasons, some outside our control. There is clearly an appetite for others to move into these units, so let’s all support all our towns and village centres and stop being negative.”
Source: Noah Wire Services