Brighouse parklets need new homes - Community groups invited to express interest in the temporary pedestrian areas

The Brighouse Town Deal Board and Calderdale Council are inviting community groups, charities and organisations to express an interest in giving two of the town centre’s temporary parklets a new home when they are removed as part of the £19.1m Town Deal investment work.

Four pedestrian areas with benches, plants and trees, two on Commercial Street and two in Bethel Street car park, were installed in 2021 as part of accelerator funding to bring benefits to Brighouse ahead of the full UK Government-funded Town Deal projects being delivered.

Now, as the proposals for the market building get closer to becoming reality, the two parklets by the canalside in Bethel Street car park need to find new homes elsewhere in the community.

The seating areas divided opinion back in 2021 when they were introduced, with some residents thinking they brightened up the town centre and others saying that they weren’t sure what they were for.

The Town Deal Board hopes that the parklets can bring continued benefits to residents and visitors to this part of Calderdale with applications open to community groups and charities based in the Brighouse, Rastrick or Hipperholme and Lightcliffe wards – including towns and villages like Clifton, Bailiff Bridge, Brookfoot and Hove Edge.

More details about the parklets, what is required, and who is eligible to express an interest is available at www.brighousedeal.co.uk/parklets.

The closing date for expressions is Friday, February 9.

Applications will be assessed by the Town Deal Board and Calderdale Council to ensure the publicly-funded parklets, powered by Levelling Up, continue to be available to the community into the future.

Coun Howard Blagbrough, Chair of the Brighouse Town Deal Board, said: “Brighouse’s parklets have played an important role in the past few years as a space for people to sit, meet and enjoy in the heart of our town centre.

“Now, as we develop and put in place the Town Deal plans which will bring even more of those opportunities to residents, shoppers and visitors, we want to ensure the parklets have a new home with community groups, organisations or charities around our area.

“We look forward to assessing the expressions of interest to ensure the two Bethel Street car park parklets continue to bring benefits to where we live into the future.”

Coun Sarah Courtney, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Towns, Tourism and Voluntary Sector, said: “Local people are at the centre of the Brighouse transformation, so it’s great that they’ve benefited from the parklets and that these benefits will live on in the community.

“We encourage community organisations in the area to come forward if they can use these welcoming spaces to give people a better experience of our vibrant places, which means they want to spend longer there and keep coming back.

“It’s exciting to see the Town Deal progressing as it builds a thriving future for Brighouse.”

It is hoped that the remaining two parklets in Commercial Street will be made available to community groups and charities in the near future, in advance of the work starting within the town centre.