Wakefield

Main Urban Centre: A highly accessible regional hub with a rich historic and cultural offer.

Location

Wakefield City Centre SPA is the wider area’s central hub. It has excellent transport connections, with two train stations at Westgate and Kirkgate, while several A roads lead into its cultural and retail core.

Context

Wakefield is a city with unique character, history and potential. It has benefited from investment at its two rail stations, Wakefield Westgate and Wakefield Kirkgate, and features iconic structures such as Wakefield Cathedral.

The city presents an opportunity for housing and mixed-use developments among a range of pre-existing amenities.

Opportunity

• Approximately 87 hectares for mixed uses

Investment Location – Housing: Vast opportunity for housing developments with strong mobility connections.

Location

Located in the metropolitan borough of Wakefield, Castleford is an important local centre with a population of around 40,200 people.

It plays an integral role as one of the ‘Five Towns’. Castleford Growth Zone covers approximately 1,600 hectares and is well connected through multiple A roads, the M62 and train stations at Castleford and Glasshoughton.

Context

Castleford Growth Zone presents an opportunity to transform 230 hectares of brownfield land into over 3,000 housing units with riverside access and around 17 hectares of employment space.

With new link roads, cycle lanes and footbridges planned through Castleford's Growth Corridor Scheme, the site’s accessibility will also increase significantly.

Opportunity

• Allocation for 3,000 housing units
• Employment space across 17 hectares

Investment Location: An ideal location for manufacturing and supply chain activities and the creative industries sector.

Location

The Langthwaite Grange Extension a site amounting to 9.45 hectares, located adjacent to the existing Langthwaite Business Park in South Kirkby, Wakefield. The site is in Combined Authority ownership following acquisition in 2020. Access to the site is through the existing Langthwaite Business Park from the wider road network via the B6422 White Apron Street / B6422 Barnsley Road / Langthwaite Road / Carr Lane junction.

Context

The existing business park is home to a range of sole trader small to medium sized businesses, UK’s largest ice manufacturer and Production Park Studios, an Innovation and Creative hub bringing together live production and entertainment rehearsal space with technical innovation and engineering alongside teaching and training programmes through the Backstage Academy

Opportunity

Langthwaite Grange Extension was part of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone programme, which supports the region's Strategic Economic Plan. Whist the Enterprise Zone programme has now ended, the principle of good growth by supporting delivery of innovation, good jobs and income, and improving the quality of places remains.

This large site is an opportunity to invest in the extension of this established employment location suitable for:

• Advanced manufacturing
• Creative Industries
• Supply chain activities.

The site benefits from outline planning permission for up to 27,000sqm of business and industrial units (E(g) (excluding offices), B2 and B8).

Access is via a new road and culvert over Langthwaite Beck from Onward Way and the Combined Authority are committed to delivering this along with a remediated site.

Investment Location – Mixed Use: Expansive mixed-use development site with a spinal route for transport.

Location

Covering 375 hectares to the east of Wakefield, City Fields is located alongside the Calder River and the Calder Canal. Within the site, the A6194 (Neil Fox Way) opened over 5 years ago and now acts as a spine. The A642 also connects City Fields with the town centre.

Context

City Fields is a new high-quality residential development, creating large urban extension to the East of Wakefield.

Crucial to the development is a desire to create a distinctive new neighbourhood that will provide community facilities, while also merging with the established city to deliver a thriving new community.

Neil Fox Way has opened up substantial job opportunities by providing direct access into East Wakefield's employment growth area for residents across the district.

The City Fields brand is already established and is delivering well-designed and high-quality homes and neighbourhoods. These provide access to employment, facilities and services, while appreciating the richness of the green and blue landscape setting.

New and existing communities should connect to healthy and sustainable lifestyle opportunities.

Opportunity

• Development of around 2,500 new homes
• A commercial park/business hub
• A district centre and two local centres
• Park space
• Improved access to the River Calder and Calder Canal

Investment Location – Employment & Future Growth Location: Freight and distribution site with strong transport links, with additional employment space.

Location

Situated to the north of Wakefield, the Newmarket SPA is highly accessible, adjoining with the M62 and intersected by the B6135.

The surrounding area is largely rural with a mixture of agriculture and light woodland. To the west, the Newmarket Extension SPA is located across the A642 and benefits from strong transport links with easy access to the M62 (Junction 30).

Context

The former Newmarket colliery site in Wakefield presents employment and distribution uses. Newmarket will be unlocked through highway widening to facilitate development flows and associated drainage infrastructure.

Part of the site is developed. From Wakefield’s Local Plan, additional land has been allocated already benefits from planning permission to strengthen employment potential, particularly in relation to distribution employment uses.

Opportunity

• Allocation for wholesale and freight distribution employment uses (B8) over 51 hectares
• Employment land over 48 hectares
• Potential to merge with the Newmarket SPA

Investment Location – Mixed Use: An innovative campus style employment development alongside housing.

Location

Broad Cut Farm is located on the edge of Wakefield adjacent to Calder Grove and the Calder Park Employment Area at Junction 39 of the M1 Motorway.

The site comprises agricultural land adjacent to the main urban area and the motorway.

It is located adjacent to the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation which lie to the north of the site.

Context

The key objective of this scheme is to deliver an innovative campus style employment development alongside housing to meet the growth requirements of Wakefield.

There will be a range of employment buildings which have flexible unit sizes with shared facilities and services. No individual buildings will exceed 100,000 sq. ft.

Generally, such buildings will have vehicular access at ground floor into workshops with upper floor office/lab space alongside a residential zone to the south of the site.

Opportunity

Innovative Employment Manufacturing Hub:

• Research and development investment opportunity, with strong links to nearby Calder Park, Leeds and the AMRC in Sheffield.
• Exceptional campus style environment on the banks of the River Calder, attractive to high end, research led businesses and workers alike.
• Landscape-led utilising a range of sustainable materials alongside biodiversity creation and enhancement.
• Bespoke advanced manufacturing buildings specialised workshops and office accommodation

Future Growth Location: Growth opportunity with a focus on students and creative industries.

Location

Combining two urban extensions, the South Kirkby & South Elmsall SPA covers over 100 hectares. Both sites are situated close to the B6422, while train stations at Moorthorpe and South Elmsall place the sites within one mile of these access points.

Context

Creative industries are already based at Langthwaite Business Park in the form of Production Park and Backstage Academy.

Together they have shared plans to develop a technical university associated with live performance that will anchor the urban extension.

The South Kirkby and South Elmsall SPA will develop residential, employment, educational and commercial facilities associated with Production Park on the Langthwaite Grange employment zone.

Most housing in the area will focus on student accommodation.

Opportunity

• Allocation for over 1,000 housing units
• Additional sites with mixed-use opportunities

Investment Location – Regeneration: Major sites across the Wakefield area with scope for substantial regeneration.

Location

The ‘Five Towns’ include Castleford, Pontefract, Knottingley, Featherstone and Normanton. Multiple A roads as well as train lines connect these urban spaces. Between the towns, land use is largely a mixture of agricultural and wetland spaces.

Context

The ‘Five Towns’ are a distinctive cluster of connected former coalfield towns in the Wakefield region. Regeneration initiatives are being progressed across these towns to provide new housing, economic opportunities, good quality transport links and a high-quality environment.

Opportunity

• Allocation for 9,990 residential units
• Employment land over 323 hectares

Future Growth Location: A key priority area for employment, housing, community and transport regeneration.

Location

Knottingley & Ferrybridge are located within the north east of Wakefield Council’s administrative area. The Masterplan Area comprises a series of land parcels, including those sites that are identified within The Council’s emerging Local Plan for housing and employment use.

Context

The Wakefield Council emerging Local Plan identifies the regeneration of the Knottingley & Ferrybridge Masterplan Area as a key priority. It recognises that “an opportunity exists to remodel and expand the town through an urban extension with new employment, housing, local centre, schools, green infrastructure and improvements to the local transport network”

The Knottingley & Ferrybridge Masterplan vision sets out that the area is an ambitious community. Its residents strive for a better quality of life and increased job opportunities. The area has a strong industrial heritage, and its businesses and community have a strong affinity with the local area. The Council is committed to ensuring that as this settlement continues to grow, its sense of identity is maintained and that this settlement remains an attractive location within which to invest, live, work and play.

Opportunity / Key Sites

• Key development sites and infrastructure proposals including:
• Employment sites amounting to circa 85.5 hectare
• Existing and proposed multifuel plants providing sustainable and secure power and potential for an associated Heat Network;
• suitable for uses including advanced manufacturing, logistics and distribution and power related activities.
• Existing and proposed residential development, creating sustainable communities .
• Mountpark Ferrybridge is a 400-acre site connected to the M62, plots upwards of 150,000sq ft with associated freight line and access to the adjoining River Aire