Dewsbury’s once-thriving market stalls hang on by a thread during the day – but as hours pass, a more sinister trade takes over.
Brazen drug dealers openly hawk their wares in the late afternoon at the town’s historic outdoor market, now a shadow of its former bustling self and a magnet for addicts and street drinkers.
A man in his 30s lights what appears to be a crack pipe, as suspicious packages discreetly swap hands among others just feet away.
A passing shopper grimaced: ‘I’m surprised you haven’t been knocked out by the stench of cannabis yet.’
Once the beating heart of Britain’s cloth industry, the West Yorkshire town now stands as a grim emblem of the nation’s broken high streets and its long-suffering industrial towns.
Abandoned by big-name giants like Wetherspoons, M&S and McDonald’s, the town is now marked by shuttered shops, boarded-up windows, and quiet streets.
Opposite Gareth Hardy’s comic book and collectables shop is an abandoned pub that has lain derelict for a decade, its upper windows part-boarded and smashed.
Three weeks ago, a shopping trolley was dumped outside filled with detritus. It still hasn’t been cleared away.
A man in his 30s lights what appears to be a crack pipe, as suspicious packages discreetly swap hands among others just feet away
Brazen drug dealers openly hawk their wares in the late afternoon at the town’s historic outdoor market
Meanwhile, police claim they are cracking down on crime, targeting street drinking, theft and aggressive begging
Nearby a six-foot road sign has been dumped on the ground of the neglected council-owned 104-year-old Kingsway arcade.
Mr Hardy, 42, half-joked: ‘I don’t know where that signpost is from, but I expect it to turn up one morning and find it sticking out of my shop window.’
The businessman, who has battled to keep his beloved Cosmic Toys store alive, has watched Dewsbury’s decline with growing frustration.
He said: ‘The council keeps saying they’re going to do all these wonderful things, but 20 years on none of it seems to have happened.
‘When you try and have a conversation with them, they’re just not interested, or they tell you you’re wrong.
‘It must be the only town centre in Britain that cannot even sustain a Wetherspoons and McDonalds. We’ve lost Marks & Spencer too.
These days, Mr Hardy only opens his shop three days a week, closing on quieter days to avoid being targeted by thieves.
He explained: ‘It’s just so the riff-raff don’t come in.
Gareth Hardy, who has battled to keep his beloved Cosmic Toys store alive, has watched Dewsbury’s decline with growing frustration
Once the beating heart of Britain’s cloth industry, the West Yorkshire town now stands as a grim emblem of the nation’s broken high streets and its long-suffering industrial towns
Two women drinking in the town centre which has neglected over the years
A sign on a front door of one building says it is closed ‘due to health and safety concerns’
Once the beating heart of Britain’s cloth industry, the West Yorkshire town now stands as a grim emblem of the nation’s broken high streets
‘Because I know all they’re doing is shoplifting and I haven’t got the time to stand around watching them.
‘They’ll never buy anything, they just want to steal things to sell in the pub or wherever it is they’re going with it.’
Mr Hardy is reluctant to close his shop and revert to online sales and hopes the council may finally deliver on its regeneration promises.
He said: ‘I do feel like at the moment we are at the very bottom. I don’t think it can get worse than how it is right now.’
Mr Hardy’s despair is echoed by many across Dewsbury, despite a 10-year council masterplan promising much-needed change.
The market is set to be transformed under a multi-million pound regeneration scheme.
For Tahir Baig, a stallholder of 35 years, the project cannot come soon enough.
Looking over at a cluster of drug addicts and street drinkers loitering on market stalls, the fruit and veg trader, 64, said: ‘This used to be booming.
For Tahir Baig, a stallholder of 35 years, 10-year council master plan promising much-needed change cannot come soon enough
Of the town’s 41,500 working-age residents, nearly 15,000 are officially classed as ‘economically inactive’
Cigarette ends and empty cans left among piling rubbish in the once thriving town
‘People from all the small towns would come to Dewsbury and look at the markets and the shops.
‘There was a family atmosphere. People were fed-up sitting at home so they’d come out and have a wander.
‘It was really a lovely atmosphere.
‘But now, there’s nothing much left here. The town centre has been killed – there’s nothing left. Unless you want a kebab or a vape, or go to a charity shop.
‘This town, I don’t know what’s happening.
People used to come and walk around and talk to each other. Hustling and bustling, Now, it’s dead.’
The statistics paint an equally worrying picture. Dewsbury’s unemployment rate stands at 5.2 per cent – higher than the national average – while youth unemployment is 8.2 per cent.
Of the town’s 41,500 working-age residents, nearly 15,000 are officially classed as ‘economically inactive’.
Mr Baig said: ‘People used to come and walk around and talk to each other. Hustling and bustling, Now, it’s dead’
Dewsbury’s unemployment rate stands at 5.2 per cent – higher than the national average – while youth unemployment is 8.2 per cent
The town’s troubled past also still casts a long shadow.
In 2008, it became the focus of national horror when nine-year-old Shannon Matthews vanished – only for it to emerge that her own mother, Karen Matthews, had staged the kidnapping in a bid to claim a £50,000 reward.
Three years earlier, Dewsbury was in the headlines as the hometown of Mohammed Sidique Khan, the ringleader of the 7/7 London bombings which claimed 52 innocent lives.
Yet despite the town’s entrenched problems – familiar to many town centres across the UK – there are those who believe there is still hope.
Sue Reynard, 42, who lives in Bradford but works in Dewsbury at a charity-run bookshop, believed the town’s reputation is unfair.
‘When the council puts on events, it brings people into town. But nine times out of ten, it is quiet,’ she admitted.
‘But compared to Bradford, the people are nicer – kinder.
‘Over there, you have to put padlocks on your pockets. Around here I can walk with my purse in my hands. I do feel safe here.’
Others, however, have had enough and chosen to walk away.
Tina Hinchliffe, 47, and her partner Lee McEvoy, 59, left Dewsbury for nearby Slaithwaite after falling out of love with the town.
Tina Hinchliffe, 47, and her partner Lee McEvoy, 59, left Dewsbury for nearby Slaithwaite after falling out of love with the town
Tina said the scourge of drug addicts plaguing the town had left older residents fearful of venturing into the centre
Big-name giants like Wetherspoons, M&S and McDonald’s have abandoned the town
the town is now marked by shuttered shops, boarded-up windows, and quiet streets
Mr McEvoy said: ‘Many years ago, people had coach trips here. People would come from far and wide to explore the markets.
‘Now they just want to get the bus out of here.
‘Everything has died. There’s not even a butcher’s anymore.
‘All you’ve got are bookies, casinos, kebab shops and nail salons.
‘We don’t miss it. Where we live now, we’ve got the greengrocer, the butcher, the barber, the cake shop, the DIY shop.
‘It’s like being in a different time zone.’
Tina said the scourge of drug addicts plaguing the town had left older residents fearful of venturing into the centre.
Pointing to a group converged outside a Ladbrokes bookmakers, she said: ‘There’s at least half a dozen fellas sat there drinking alcohol.
Kirklees Council insists that help is finally on the way, with a £15 million regeneration plan promising to breathe new life into the crumbling town centre
The ambitious scheme includes revamping the market with food, drink and entertainment, as well as a new green park space with children’s play areas and seating
Work is also underway to restore Victorian-era Dewsbury Arcade, which is set to reopen next year alongside the park and market revamp
Officials say Foundry Street will also be made more pedestrian-friendly, with improved public spaces to entice visitors back
‘Today they’re quiet because the sun’s out, but they’re not usually that quiet. And they have scared off a lot of the older people.
‘They don’t want to come into town anymore because there’s always people drinking, shouting and swearing. And it’s scary.
‘Depending on what time they’ve been drinking, usually about 3 or 4pm, then they start fighting and brawling.’
Kirklees Council insists that help is finally on the way, with a £15million regeneration plan promising to breathe new life into the crumbling town centre.
The ambitious scheme includes revamping the market with food, drink and entertainment, as well as a new green park space with children’s play areas and seating.
Work is also underway to restore Victorian-era Dewsbury Arcade, which is set to reopen next year alongside the park and market revamp.
Officials say Foundry Street will also be made more pedestrian-friendly, with improved public spaces to entice visitors back.
Meanwhile, police claim they are cracking down on crime, targeting street drinking, theft and aggressive begging. West Yorkshire Police has put in undercover officers to reassure traders and shoppers.
Inspector Liz Lockwood of Dewsbury Neighbourhood Policing Team said in April: ‘We have taken a number of recent reports regarding theft and street drinking and want to make it clear that this sort of anti-social behaviour and crime will not be tolerated in the town centre.’
