The new design for Batley town centre
An overview of the design for the town centre
View the complete design masterplan for Batley Town Centre in full.
At the heart of this design is the Batley community. Your feedback at consultations in 2021, 2022, and in focused engagements in 2024, has been crucial in securing funding and shaping a town centre design that works for everyone.
The final design will create a safe and welcoming town centre, that offers a more pedestrian-friendly and accessible environment, while maintaining transport routes. With family-friendly public spaces that everyone can enjoy, along with better opportunities for socialising - whether it's meeting friends or putting on performances and events.
Understanding the master plan
To make it easier to understand the proposed design changes across the town centre, we've broken the design down into six key sections.
- Market Place - including Upper and Lower Market Place
- Brunswick Street
- Western side of Commercial Street - including Branch Road
- Commercial Link - a new green space creating a better connection to Commercial Street from Tesco Car Park
- Middle of Commercial Street & Wards Hill
- Eastern side of Commercial Street
Explore the plans in detail on The details of our design - by location section.
How our six themes are addressed across our design
See where our six key themes that have shaped our designs are realised on our masterplan - and some of the headline benefits that the scheme will bring.
Moving around
- New cycle storage and maintenance facilities possible at Commercial Link, Cross Street and Market Place.
- New and clearer east - west cycle routes to make cycling safer
- Improved pedestrian links and pedestrian-friendly design such as wider pavements and improved public spaces plus more throughout, including to Commercial Street from Wards Hill, between buildings, along Brunswick Street, the new Commercial Link and alongside Jo Cox House
- Traffic calming measures and specific design choices made to lower vehicle speeds and make the town centre safer for pedestrians
Transport
- Eastern side of Commercial Street is closed to vehicle traffic (except controlled loading) and vehicle turning onto Cross Street prohibited, with traffic sent along Well Lane to Bradford Road
- Cambridge Street/Market Place is made one-way, single lane, from New Way / Memorial Gardens towards Branch Road
- A new and extended traffic island is created at Branch Road to Commercial Street, in order to allow an improved pedestrian crossing experience and to deter cars going the wrong way up Cambridge Street
- Traffic calming and elevated crossings will be incorporated from Branch Road to Brunswick Street to slow down vehicles
- On-street loading is retained or relocated throughout the scheme to maintain current business usage. Controlled loading times will be consulted on with affected businesses.
- All accessible on street parking bays will be retained throughout the scheme
- Existing taxi spaces are retained on Market Place and at the junction of Commercial Street and Wards Hill
- Several on-street parking spaces removed to improve the pedestrian environment throughout the town.
Public spaces everyone can enjoy
- New and improved surfacing and facilities will be provided for events and markets to be set up more easily. This will turn Market Place into a flexible, multi-functional event space
- New street furniture, including seating, streetlights, planters and cycle racks, and play opportunities are introduced throughout the design to make the town centre more welcoming and attractive
- Greener pedestrian routes are created and biodiversity habitats increased with new landscaping to complement existing gardens
- Pavements are widened and a pedestrian-first feel created throughout the design
- A new public garden with seating is created at the Commercial Link
- Increased greenery and more trees are incorporated to create more places to sit, provide shade, and improve air quality
A family-friendly town centre
- Wider pavements create opportunities for every day play in the town centre ('play on-the-way') or public green spaces (parklets)
- Market Place is improved and in part, made level to create a flexible events space with greater opportunity for festivals, markets and performances
- A Batley Art Wall will be created for locals and visitors to engage with
- Green places are promoted with a variety of opportunities for sitting.
- Moving the road north at the middle of Commercial Street acknowledges its historic location as well as enabling a new public space with greater social interaction opportunities in front of eateries
- Opportunities for people of all ages to interact with each other is created with increased public space and opportunities for play
A great place to socialise
- New and wider pavements create opportunities for spill-out from eateries, including cafés, bars or restaurants, encouraging people to spend more time in the town centre and supporting the local businesses
- An increased pedestrian feel allows for safer socialising and interaction.
- New or improved planting, seating, street furniture and lighting across the design make the town centre more attractive
- Improved pedestrian links allow better access to the rear of Batley Plaza.
A safe and welcoming town centre
- Design and traffic calming measures promote a more pedestrian-friendly feel
- Pedestrian links are improved - including accessible routes from Wards Hill Court and the car park
- Greater visibility and observation throughout the design aim to improve safety and awareness of others for the benefit of all users of the town
- Considerately designed street furniture and planting will be incorporated to deter dangerous on-pavement parking.
How traffic and transport will change in Batley town centre
Based on feedback at past consultations, a clear requirement from the new design is making Batley town centre a safer place for pedestrians.
To do this, the design brings changes to how vehicles move through the town centre. The key changes are listed below along with a visual map to help you orientate yourself.
What's staying the same
- Traffic retained as two-way on Western side of Commercial Street.
- Traffic retained as one-way on Middle of Commercial Street.
- Existing 20mph speed limit in town centre is retained
What's changing
- Cambridge Street/Market Place made one-way, single lane from New Way / Memorial Gardens towards Branch Road to allow wider pavements for the benefit of businesses and address the dangerous junction with Branch Road
- Eastern side of Commercial Street to be closed to vehicular traffic (except controlled loading) and vehicle turning onto Cross Street is prohibited, with traffic sent along Well Lane to Bradford Road, to allow a pedestrian focused public space
- Bus stop waiting facilities improved
A green line represents two-way traffic flows and shows that two-way traffic will be retained on the Western side of Commercial Street, from Branch Road to Wards Hill. A red line represents where traffic will be restricted, and shows that the Eastern side of Commercial Street, between Cross Street/Well Lane to Hick Lane will be closed to vehicle traffic (except for loading). Blue dotted lines show new cycle routes on Wards Hill, Cross Street and Well Lane.
Tell us what you think
Take our survey
As we shape big plans for Batley's town centre, we want to know what you think and get your opinion on the little details that will make it yours.
Fill in our simple online survey.
Completing this survey takes around 10 minutes
Closing date for the survey is 27th January 2025
Online surveyAfter you've filled in the survey
After you have submitted the survey, we will collate all the feedback from everyone who has completed it and shape the final plans.