The 'five towns'

The ‘five towns’ were selected for the second phase of the Renaissance Towns programme in 2002.

Castleford’s renaissance process was recorded by Talkback UK, as part of the Channel 4 series The Big Town Plan, fronted by Kevin McCloud.

What is the strategy for the five towns?

The 5 West Yorkshire towns are Castleford, Featherstone, Knottingley, Normanton and Pontefract. They are all very different and see themselves as separate places. However, in many ways they are very similar, and work as a single place with many centres. The people living in the five towns were helped by advisors Urban Initiatives to develop a vision of how the area could be improved. The vision focuses on each place, in order to help maintain its special qualities, but the towns came together to look at transport, jobs and the surrounding countryside—issues which require joined-up working to regenerate the area.

How will this be realised?

A number of projects were identified, including the construction of a 130-metre landmark pedestrian footbridge across the River Aire.

How much is being invested?

Around £11m will be invested into projects in Castleford alone, with almost £2m coming from Yorkshire Forward.