As a new year comes there’s always many reasons for optimism but equally we often stumble upon justification for why the term ‘January blues’ exists…and that’s coming from someone who has a birthday in January.
In my role as What’s On Editor for Yorkshire Live, November and December are particularly wonderful times to cover such a vibrant patch. There’s always optimism in the (somewhat chilly) air with lots of events, family fun and new openings hoping to take advantage of the Christmas shopping and social scenes.
Often not much after the clock ringing in January 1, we tend to see a raft of closures, unfortunately. The winter becoming a fair bit bleaker. Having reported on this extensive patch for a fair number of years there’s that horrible feeling of knowing what is coming. And, I’m sorry to report January in 2025 is not an exception. Of course, this is a major problem which is by no means exclusive to Yorkshire. But focusing attention on our region, this week, we’ve seen hospitality and retail businesses shut in Bradford, Leeds and Bridlington. All tragic, mostly for those losing their jobs alongside the hole it makes in Yorkshire’s towns and cities.
There’s been a particularly concerning trend in Huddersfield town centre. This week alone, we’ve reported closures of big names like BrewDog as well as Slug and Lettuce. The Kingsgate Shopping Centre has seen another unit empty with the Medicare Health Check Centre shutting up.
While, Magic Rock Brewing Co faces an uncertain future and the New Street KFC will serve its last bargain bucket in just a matter of days. I know some reading will have a certain point of view on reporting such things but it is a troubling trend that needs highlighting and shouldn’t be ignored.
I visited a rather snowy Huddersfield town centre on Monday, January 6 and that’s when the vast majority of those closures, listed above, were discovered. So, if I’m seeing them, trudging round in a pair of boots hugely inappropriate for the conditions, then I’d wager we all are. It can’t go unnoticed.
Carrying on down New Street, going by the soon-to-be shut KFC, it is sadly a similar story. Walking from the start and end of the pedestrianised section of New Street I counted no fewer than 12 empty units (I think there might have actually been a couple more but it was tricky to tell with the shutters down). Many with signs featuring ‘to let’ in their window.
We took a walk down, a rather quiet, New Street, in Huddersfield at the start of January 2025
The national collapse of Wilko was obviously a big loss, in Huddersfield, as it was to many of our towns and cities. Particularly given the size of the units previously occupied by the home goods fallen giant. But, at least in other locations, we’ve seen some new ventures now call the spaces home. In Leeds, one looks set to become a bowling alley while another has opened as a butcher. There’s potential there, much like there is in the town of Huddersfield itself.
The contrast, just in New Street alone, being that it houses one of my favourite coffee shops in Yorkshire – in the shape of The Turntable Coffee and Vinyl. The food being just as good as the music. While, elsewhere in the town, if like me, you have a penchant for Italian football from the 1990s, then Golaccio has you covered and Rate My Takeaway Kitchen, in The Packhorse Shopping Centre, is a great example of trying to enjoy some of the success we’ve seen with similar food hall ventures, celebrating independent businesses, in other parts of the county. There’s things to shout about.
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These, and many others, are green shoots which require nurturing, while I know my colleagues have previously spoken to independent businesses who feel confident for the future of Huddersfield town centre, and there are some ambitious plans in the works, which should provide optimism.
But, if the opening days of 2025 are anything to go by, Huddersfield town centre really needs all our support. More to the point, the town deserves it.
You can find the latest shopping news in Yorkshire and nearby by visiting our What’s On homepage. There you can also find days out guides for things to do across the region.
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