The green light has been given on a huge development in the town of Castleford – which will see the creation of 1,400 homes, a hotel, health centre and more. The site, which has remained dormant since the closure of the Hicksons & Welch chemical site, will now be transformed in a major boost to the West Yorkshire economy.

The proposal has now officially been given by Wakefield Council for the huge residential and leisure development, which also includes the former Nestle factory which sites adjacent to the former Hicksons entrance. The project is set to be a key talking point at the Transforming West Yorkshire Conference in Leeds where Wakefield Council and Castleford Riverside Regeneration are set to speak and attend.

The exciting scheme will see the site regenerated and provide a boost for the local economy – with the town centre within walking distance of the site, whilst it’ll also create it’s own thriving community through the delivery of shops, restaurants, a hotel, health centre, care home and much more. It will ‘change the face of the area’, transforming into a thriving area with the residential new builds being mostly three and four bed homes, with developers looking to attract a mixture of families from young professionals, to families and older people.

Rhian Smith, speaking on behalf of Castleford Riverside Regeneration who’ll carry out the work, said: ”The proposed development is important for the future of Castleford, securing the regeneration of a vacant brownfield site, in close proximity to the town centre. The development will also regenerate a derelict brownfield site, which currently acts as a visual blight, providing significant green infrastructure and improving accessibility in the local area. It represents a high quality, sustainable form of development which will deliver much needed housing for Wakefield.”

Although some elements of the proposals may need to go back in front of Wakefield Council at a later date the major elements of the proposal have been given the thumbs up – with completion set for 2027.

Castleford Ward Cllr Tony Wallis said the project was ‘fantastic’ with Cllr Glenn Burton saying: ”We have a chance to do something really, really special for Castleford as a town here.”

The Council’s Senior Officer in Flood Risk Management, Paul Maddison, answered concerns around the potential flood risk – due to previous flooding in the area around Wheldon Road and Lock Lane. He said plans would be put in place to mitigate the risk and there would be minimal risk to the new housing to the area.

We look forward to hearing more about the development at our Transforming West Yorkshire Conference next month.