A new look for Sheepridge

Demolishing the old 'Catholic shops' has removed an eyesore

Sheepridge village is on the main road from Huddersfield into the DBI area. For years it was blighted by derelict shops and a burnt-out Co-op building and residents felt it was a major contributor to the area’s negative image.

Sheepridge resident Helen Chatterton says: ‘You drove through and you just assumed the whole area was the same. It was a real mess.’

This year DBI has arranged a £500,000 revamp of the eyesore with the aim of creating a place where businesses can thrive and residents feel proud. The Co-op and a former betting shop have been demolished and a shoppers’ car park constructed in their place.

Shops have been given new doors, windows and matching signs, and stone houses and walls have been renovated and cleaned. A derelict shopping parade behind Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church was also demolished and the church received a fresh coat of paint.

DBI has also bought the old Gaukrodgers bakery and reopened it as a sandwich shop, providing jobs for local people.

It is hoped that local residents will now feel more inclined to use the village shops, rather than travel to Asda or the centre of Huddersfield.

Mrs Chatterton says the change has been dramatic. ‘I live opposite where the little lane is that goes down, and it didn’t matter what time of day or night I went to my window, there was always somebody down there drug dealing. It’s very rare now that I ever see anybody.’

A second phase of works is planned to improve the other side of the village centre, from the working men’s club to the turning onto Brackenhall Road. This will again include improvements to buildings, and there are also plans to renovate a neglected area of land in the middle and turn it into a communal area for public use.