Huddersfield BID’s new manager wants the town to shout about itself and “stop hiding its greatness.”

Samantha Sharp was appointed just a day after it was revealed Huddersfield’s high street had bounced back better than any other in England after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Samantha will replace Matthew Chapman as manager of Huddersfield Business Improvement District (BID) on June 7.

Samantha comes from a strong management background and had worked with Huddersfield BID right from the start.

She said: “I believe with the continuation of hard work from Huddersfield BID, our town centre will develop and its potential as a thriving town centre will once again be visible.

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“We hide our greatness well. Huddersfield BID gives the town centre an opportunity to present all its fantastic offers such as architecture, history, fantastic food, wonderful retail and lovely welcoming people.

“Huddersfield is a vibrant town that has a lot to offer and having worked in Huddersfield, I know there is much yet to discover.”

This week a report by the think tank the Centre for Cities found that Huddersfield had seen more high street spending since lockdown restrictions were eased than any other place in England, showing its potential for the future.

Former Huddersfield BID manager Matthew Chapman and a team of community support officers

Chris Jennings, vice-chairman of Huddersfield BID, said: “Sam has a wealth of knowledge and experience from her varied career and has many ideas on how to improve Huddersfield, building on what has already been achieved which will be of great benefit to our community.

“Sam has been involved with the BID for a number of years now, from helping to establish the BID and achieving a ‘yes’ vote to more recently as an active board director.

“Sam’s passion for Huddersfield and her desire to see Huddersfield shine not just in the immediate local area but across the region stood out and this passion and determination is infectious. I and the whole board of directors look forward to working closely with Sam to see our shared vision for our town come to fruition.”

Huddersfield BID chairman Daniel Krigers said: “Sam has been a very active and committed member of the group even prior to formal inception of the BID, and we have so much confidence in her ability to deliver our ambitious projects for the town centre, for our levy payers and the people of Huddersfield generally.”