Reanimating Huddersfield Symposium sparks fresh ideas for urban renewal
The Reanimating Huddersfield symposium, held at The Children’s Art School’s MakerWorld and MakerSkate space in Huddersfield on Friday 25 October, brought together business leaders, council officials and cultural stakeholders to explore innovative approaches to urban regeneration.
Chloe Willams, The Children’s Art School CEO, shared her vision for revitalising town centres. “My vision is for a future cultural heart which includes a broad cultural offer for children, young people and families, not as an add-on but as an integral part, showing Huddersfield’s commitment to developing creative people, rather than simply chasing consumers,” she said.
The symposium featured a range of activities aimed at fostering collaboration and creativity, including a creative exploration by Chol Theatre and a screening of the MakerWorld documentary, which tells the story of MakerWorld’s free drop-in arts sessions for children, followed by a lively Q&A with some of the film’s participants and an energetic discussion around how the town is celebrating itself.
Chris Lawton, Skateboard GB’s community development officer, talked about the ‘omni-crises’ facing UK towns and cities and the widening inequalities in public health, education, employment and earnings. “Local Government cuts have been front-loaded against arts & culture and youth services,” he said, “and access to arts, culture and heritage reduced for lower income young people.” Lawton talked about the work being done in Birmingham and Nottingham to encourage community spaces to engage hard-to-reach young people.
Kierhardy Ansell from Skate it yourself explained how local councils across the region are using his skateboard offer to reach those young people. He shared the impact his initiatives are having on antisocial behaviour.
Williams and others advocated for a more inclusive and diverse approach to town centre development. “Town centre plans often focus on infrastructure and economics,” said Williams, “We wanted to explore what happens when you put people at the heart of the vision. The work MakerWorld is doing with the existing cultural community in the Creative Piazza is helping create vibrant, spaces that truly serve our community and are already attracting visitors into the town centre.”
In her summing up speech, WIlliams emphasised that, “There is a consensus that culture is the vital ingredient for regeneration. The answer to how we get that culture really IS in the room. Huddersfield already has what it needs to transform the town centre – but it needs to recognise it and, crucially, it needs to nurture it.”