Yorkshire Forward and Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council are seeking private sector partners for the largest Renaissance Market Towns project in Yorkshire and Humber.

More than 14 hectares of brownfield land in the Sowerby Bridge Copley Valley area will be developed to provide a range of new housing and office/industrial units. New road infrastructure works, including canal and river bridges, will ensure that the new development is successfully linked to the town centre.

Additional projects within the development plans for Sowerby Bridge include the transformation of the railway station into an eco-station, hydro-electricity generation at Copley Weir, the creation of waterside footpaths and cycle routes, and public open space.

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Terry Hodgkinson, Chair of Yorkshire Forward said: "Sowerby Bridge, along with its partner towns in the Upper Calder Valley, was the first to sign up to Yorkshire Forward’s groundbreaking Renaissance Market Towns programme. This transformational project is the culmination of five years of partnership working, and I am certain that on completion it will give Sowerby Bridge a new lease of life."

Local Ward Councillor for Sowerby Bridge, Councillor Amanda Byrne also said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for Sowerby Bridge, one that will open up the riverside and create a new mixed use quarter in the town centre with high quality public realm, and improved pedestrian connectivity to the railway station. The development opportunity will aim to deliver the aspirations set out in the Upper Calder Valley Renaissance Vision document."

Sowerby Bridge is one of the five towns (Walsden, Todmorden, Mytholmroyd, Hedben Bridge and Sowerby Bridge) that are included in the Upper Calder Valley Renaissance Towns Programme.

(JM)