'If you have good stores, people will come'

Halifax used to be an economic hub for West Yorkshire with a thriving manufacturing industry.

But, like for many other towns across the North, the last decade has not been easy.

Calderdale Council is putting forward a 10-year vision for Halifax which it hopes will attract investment in the town, reduce inequalities and help tackle climate change.

Leader Jane Scullion says the authority wants to create more of an "experience" for people coming to the town.

People shopping and working in the town centre share their hopes as Halifax bids for a "vibrant future".

Aaron Dawson, 43, has run menswear store Spiral Seven on Crown Street in Halifax for more than a decade.

He says when it first opened in 2014 there was no other dedicated menswear shop in the town and business was "great" - but over the last two years footfall has dropped by 90%.

He lays the blame on disruptive roadworks and wants the council to "focus on the next six months and get it fixed rather than the next 10 years".

However Dawson does have confidence in the town's future and is relocating his store to the other side of the town, near to the Piece Hall.

He says: "The Piece Hall is fantastic, it brings in a lot of tourism, but it stays in that end because you've got the Westgate Arcade where you've got really good businesses, nice restaurants, bars, vinyl record shops...

"That footfall doesn't come over here because we've only got vape shops and McDonald's."

He says he is a believer that if "there are good stores then people will come".

Jade McCabe, 36, is from Sowerby Bridge and is shopping with her mum - although she says she often prefers to go to Leeds or Manchester as there is more on offer.

"I just feel like Halifax has got quite run down," she says.

"The shops are not like they used to be and when you go to Bradford or Leeds the shops are more inviting.

"It's just vape shops everywhere, I don't know why they keep popping up everywhere."

McCabe would like to see the council "put money back into the town centre" to try to encourage more shops to come back to the high street, and also thinks there needs to be more car parking.

Susan Link is shopping in the town centre with her friend.

She thinks the centre is still quite busy and is attracting people from further afield.

She says: "People who used to shop in Huddersfield have started coming to Halifax instead, so it is moving in the right direction."

But she would like the local authority to do something about the "empty buildings".

"I know they've done a lot of work at the bottom of town which is really nice but when you get to the top of the town it is not as nice," she says.

"They are starting to do up George Square so there are sort of green shoots.

"But they just need to get on with things like the leisure centre - it's been going on for years, the swimming baths have been closed since lockdown, they just need to sort them out."

Research group Centre for Cities believes that the "performance of the high street is seen as a political bellwether, creating a very visual symbol of the success of an area" which is why politicians take a keen interest.

The current Labour government, through its Pride in Place fund, has made £5bn available to restore local spaces and help revive high streets.

The previous Conservative government had a similar pot of funding, giving £20m to 30 towns to help with regeneration.

Oscar Selby from Centre for Cities says while that can help the best way to ensure a high street thrives is to make sure people have good wages and money to spend.

"High streets play a different role in their community now and shops are now competing with online retailers who can provide cheaper goods," he says.

"Interestingly in successful areas where incomes are high and people have still got a lot of money they do still want to go out and use the high street."

Selby says people are looking for experience-type businesses like restaurants, pubs and leisure activities which cannot be replicated online.

But he says, in places where incomes are low, "business can't turn that Woolworths into a Wagamamas, so you see there are more empty shops as nothing comes in to fill the void".

Calderdale Council's 10-year plan for Halifax - Halifax 2036 Place Vision - is based on what people living and working in the town say is important to them.

Scullion says: "People told us they were very proud of the fact that people in Halifax like to graft.

"Business is important. Getting work is important.

"We also heard that people are enterprising and they'd like more opportunities for training for jobs and to improve themselves.

"But we heard that people felt the town could be greener.

"They felt that there were bits of the town that hadn't had what we call the Piece Hall effect, which has been great for Halifax.

"But there are some parts of the town, top of the town around Harvey's department store, that really need a bit of tender loving care."

Scullion also acknowledges that people want more than a shopping experience when they come into town centres now.

"They want nice cafes, they want places to sit, they want places to be a bit green, they want street markets or street entertainment," she says.

"So we're thinking about the whole experience."

A council meeting to discuss Halifax 2036 Place Vision will take place later.

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