Yorkshire Forward has launched the first phase of its £2.8m Renaissance Market Towns (RMT) scheme, enlisting a team of experts to draw up a ‘vision’ for the regeneration of the Upper Calder Valley.
Strategic planning expert John Thompson & Partners has been charged with identifying niche markets for the valley and then forming an action plan.
The Upper Calder Valley is the first recipient of the RMT scheme, which will support up to 40 sustainable small towns across Yorkshire and Humberside
The valley, encompassing the historic Pennine canalside and mill towns of Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, has lost 1,000s of jobs over the past 50 years with 33 mills closing in Hebden Bridge in the last decade.
Andy Tordoff, Yorkshire Forwards head of rural renaissance and tourism, said the RMT aimed to reverse the valleys long-term decline.
“This is the most ambitious intervention planned so far in the Upper Calder Valley and demonstrates a real commitment to regeneration in rural areas from a long-term perspective rather than the short-term initiatives of the past,” he said.
EGi News 13/01/03
