HAVE your say on plans to invest £1.5 million in one area to create a “more vibrant and varied” town centre.

People are being invited to share their views on plans for the future of Heckmondwike town centre.

Kirklees Council is asking anyone who lives, works or visits the town regularly to get involved.

The initial programme of work will see £1.5m invested as part of the Heckmondwike Blueprint, a masterplan for development in the town over the next 10 to 15 years.

Feedback from the consultation, which runs until June 19, will help shape the final blueprint plans, and will also help the Council determine which projects to prioritise.

The blueprint itself is based on the key principles of celebrating community and inclusivity, creating a vibrant and active town with strong connectivity for everyone, and creating a sustainable and healthy town with good access to parks and green spaces.

It aims to provide Heckmondwike with a stronger sense of place, by finding more ways to celebrate and add to the town’s culture, and through community events and markets.

The Council also wants to make the town better connected and more accessible, by creating more safe and attractive routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

It is looking to create new pocket parks and green spaces, to help with residents’ health and wellbeing and make Heckmondwike town centre a more attractive place to spend time.

Councillor Graham Turner said: “It’s a very exciting time for Heckmondwike, and for all the towns we’re investing in through our blueprint plans across Kirklees.  The blueprint is about preserving Heckmondwike’s past while looking to the future – finding ways to celebrate its culture and heritage, whilst also developing a more vibrant and varied town centre that will work for decades to come.

“Our plans have already been shaped by the views of local residents, and we want to keep that engagement going every step of the way.  I want everyone who lives in, works in or visits Heckmondwike to have their say on these plans, because it’s an opportunity to shape changes in the town centre over the next decade and beyond.”

To have your say online, visit kirklees.gov.uk/heckmondwike-blueprint.

There will also be consultation events at the following dates, times and locations.

Thursday, May 25, noon to 2pm at The Pavilion in Algernon Firth Park; Thursday, June 8, 2pm to 4pm at Heckmondwike Community Centre at Brighton Street; Thursday, June 13, 6pm to 8pm at The Pavilion in Algernon Firth Park.