Welcome to our Huddersfield BID town centre blog where every month BID manager SAM SHARP looks at some of the exciting things going on in the town

The countdown is on to the first-ever Huddersfield Business Champions awards. It’s simple and easy to enter and we’d love you to be part of our celebration of the town centre business community.

Huddersfield BID have teamed up with Huddersfield Civic Society to help give a boost to town centre shops and businesses.

We know it’s tough out there and everyone is working flat out and here at the BID we want to give a shout out to all those businesses and retailers who go above and beyond for their customers and help keep Huddersfield looking its best.

There’s five categories – Best Café, Best Restaurant, Best Bar or Entertainment Venue, Best Retailer and Best Commercial or Service-led Business – and any business based in the town centre can nominate themselves.

You can enter on the BID website HERE and it only takes a few minutes and we don’t need huge amounts of information.

We think it’s important to acknowledge the hard work that goes into running our town centre businesses and this is a chance for a big public ‘thank you’ to owners, managers and – importantly – their staff.

We look forward to receiving your nomination and, you never know, you might be taking centre stage at our awards ceremony in January!

The large trees in New Street cast a shadow – even in the daytime

Part of the BID’s role is to help make Huddersfield town centre safer and accessible for everyone and we’ve got exciting plans to light up a shaded part of New Street.

We’re planning to install giant spheres in four of the biggest trees in New Street between Pritchard’s and Home Bargains. It’s a part of town that’s getting busier with the stunning conversion of the former Co-op into student accommodation and we want everyone to feel safer.

The plan is for the spheres to be lit from dusk ‘til dawn. They don’t need planning permission but we do need the approval of Kirklees Council. Hopefully these lights can be on before Christmas.

We’re also seeking Purple Flag Accreditation, which means Huddersfield BID and our town centre partners, such as the council and the police, are serious about keeping people safe in the night-time economy.

We’ve submitted our application and we’re confident we’re nearly there. Huddersfield is a safe place to enjoy a night out and we’re doing all we can to ensure it stays that way. We’re supporting our night-time economy and want it to thrive after a difficult time during the pandemic.

Huddersfield BID’s Spend Local Snowdog as part of The Kirkwood Supports Life, Kirklees art trail

Huddersfield BID will be a lot more prominent in the coming months and we’ve got some exciting events lined up for next year.

The BID board had an ‘away day’ this month in which our directors came together to come up with ideas and plan our activities for the next 12 months. We’ve also got a BID board Charter which formalises our hopes, aims and ambitions.

Finally – in case you hadn’t dared think about it yet – Christmas is coming! This year we’ve bought some festive bows, which will look great on shop doors, and will really make the town centre look Christmassy. If you’re a town centre business and you haven’t ordered one yet, get in touch with the BID office. We still have a few left.

And while we’re talking about Christmas, our first Christmas Artisan Market will be held in New Street on Sunday November 6 so it’s an ideal time to find some unique and special gifts for your loved ones.

We’ve got lots of local makers so there’s everything from jewellery, scented candles and cushions to cheeses, chutneys and artisan crackers. The market opens from 10am-3pm.

And here’s some more dates for your diary as we’ll be running the Christmas market again on Sunday December 4 – and our Super Saturdays are back from November 26.

Every Saturday up to Christmas we’ll have free festive street entertainment in the town centre, which will really add to that festive feeling.

As you can see we’ve been really busy so let’s all help and support our town centre businesses, especially the new ones just opening and our long-serving friends from the indoor market who are relocating around town as Queensgate Market closes for the last time on Saturday October 29.

There’s no doubt Huddersfield has an exciting future.

Huddersfield’s £1 billion future: the 11 projects that will transform the town centre – and the dates they could happen