Traders' relief at end of town's two-year roadworks

As Holmfirth prepares to host its first major event since the completion of a series of town centre roadworks which lasted just over two years, business owners have said they can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Work on the Holmfirth Town Centre Access Plan, which involved closing roads both to vehicles and pedestrians, began in July 2024 and only finished at the end of last month.

Beng Yau Lim, the owner of Poppa Piccolino for the past 21 years, said he welcomed the end of the disruption and felt the project had finished just in time.

"If it did not complete last week, if it had carried on until next year, we would have shut shop because it has been really, really tough," he said.

"It is great to be back, to have the car park back, to have our town back," he said.

The £10.3m road improvement project aimed to create a more accessible town centre, and included a new community space in the former markets area, new pavements, footpath widening and more parking.

During the work, business owners in the town centre told the BBC how frustrated they were with the disruption, but many have now said they could finally see the light at the end of what had seemed a long and noisy tunnel.

Lim said while the last couple of years had been "very stressful", he felt he could now "look forward to seeing businesses in Holmfirth start to get buzzing again".

Jackie Nelson, owner of The Cheese Shop, just round the corner from the new Huddersfield Road car park, agreed.

"I'm absolutely happy it is over. It has just been a really long time coming," she said.

Nelson added that it had been imperative the roadworks were finished before this year's Holmfirth Food and Drink Festival over the coming weekend.

"If that had not happened, I think there would have been an absolute outcry around here, with people just so upset because it has been so long, so long," she explained.

"Lots of businesses feed off that food festival."

At No 25 Hollowgate, business owner Rebecca Staveley also said she had had thoughts of shutting up shop.

"The stress was immense and we have all had problems and stuff, but this stress was very bad indeed," she said.

"At times, I did think about closing the door and maybe relaunching after, but we decided to battle through.

"I have just survived by the skin of my teeth."

While explaining how difficult the last two years had been for her and her business, Staveley added she was glad to see people venturing back into Holmfirth.

"I think people are starting to come back now from surrounding areas, because all the temporary traffic lights just put people off."

Staveley said she felt the town now had "a stronger community" having been there to support each other through the disruption.

As the dust settles in Holmfirth, business owners have said they can finally see the benefits of the road project.

James Ashmore, who owns the Read bookshop, which overlooks the Huddersfield Road car park, said he was glad he could admire the view again at last.

"Now that it is over, it is a fantastic view out of the window," he said.

"I really do not miss the noise and the dust."

Like his fellow local business owners, Ashmore praised the result of the work, citing the importance of parking in the town.

"Quite a lot of our customers, especially in the week in the daytime, are elderly and we have some disabled customers and they have not been able to easily access our shop in that time," he said.

"Now we have got the car park right opposite, they are finding they have that benefit."

The return of the older customers was something Lim also said he was looking forward to and had already talked about with his regulars.

"They said, 'you will see more of us now the car park is all done and we can come in easily without any traffic jams'," Lim said.

It seems the general view from business owners in the area is that while the roads project in the town was a gruelling couple of years to endure, the return of people to Holmfirth was worth it.

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