MP launches Jobs 4 Dewsbury campaign
11 February 2008
The MP has called for Kirklees to look at the opportunities available of relocating council jobs to the town centre in light of the news that up to 1,000 staff currently based at Oldgate House may be on the move to make way for a new shopping centre in Huddersfield.
Mr Malik also said that Kirklees have allocated some £17m over the next five years to relocate staff to new offices and with much of the office space in Dewsbury standing empty he said that there was no reason why Kirklees could not look at what Dewsbury had to offer.
Last week the Labour leader on Kirklees, Mehboob Khan, said that he would review the situation should Labour take control of the council in May.
Shahid said: "The presence of several hundred jobs in the centre of town would do wonders for the local economy and would present an attractive proposition for those living in the Dewsbury area to work closer to home. Kirklees employees win, the local traders win, and so in turn the local people win. I think anyone looking at the facts would be hard-pressed to see it as anything other than positive and a major step in the right direction for the regeneration of the town centre and local economy."
Since he raised the issue last month the Labour Minister said that he had been inundated with support from local people and vowed to carry on applying pressure on Kirklees: "I want things to start chamging for the better in the town centre but I'll need the support of local people to help achieve this. The more pressure we can apply together the clearer the message will be to Kirklees."
Mr Malik said that copies of the Jobs 4 Dewsbury petition were available from his office on Daisy Hill and that he would be out and about around the town in the coming weeks and months collecting signatures and gathering support for the campaign.
The launch came in the same week as Kirklees unveiled more details of the masterplan for Dewsbury. Mr Malik said that he welcomed any investment into Dewsbury and will continue to push for even more. He also said that he would be looking in more detail at the council's announcement for Dewsbury but added that at this stage it appeared a little vague and confusing.