HBC Construction breaks ground on £18m Dewsbury Market revamp

HBC Construction has started work on an £18m redevelopment of Dewsbury Market in West Yorkshire, with completion scheduled for early 2028.

The scheme will sensitively restore the historic market hall, preserving and enhancing its glazed roof structure and its distinctive metal architecture. That roof is the building's signature. Keeping it intact while rebuilding around it is, presumably, the tricky part.

What happens to the traders during construction?

They stay open. A temporary market has been created across Market Place, Longcauseway and Foundry Street so existing traders can continue operating throughout the construction period. It's the quiet detail that decides whether a market survives its own renovation, and Kirklees Council has planned for it.

Lee Powell, Managing Director of HBC Construction, said: "It's always exciting to get the first spades in the ground and start bringing a project to life."

Powell was quick to credit the long run-up. "A huge amount of work and planning goes into getting developments to site, and we're really looking forward to working closely with Kirklees Council and local partners to deliver a new anchor destination for Dewsbury," he said.

He also pointed beyond the construction fence. "As with all our projects, we are committed to delivering wider social and economic benefits throughout construction. We have developed a strong social value and employment programme and are keen to leave a lasting legacy in Dewsbury, just as we have in other towns and communities across Yorkshire."

How does this fit HBC's track record?

The Dewsbury job is HBC Construction's third major market redevelopment in Yorkshire over the last decade. The contractor led delivery of the acclaimed Barnsley Markets at The Glass Works. It is currently on site with the regeneration of Rotherham Markets.

In other words, the firm has a pattern: Yorkshire market halls, restored one town at a time. Dewsbury is the third stitch in that run.

The project also carries civic weight beyond the market itself. The redevelopment is one of several major projects moving forward as part of the Dewsbury Blueprint, Kirklees Council's long-term vision to revamp the town centre.

Why the market matters to the Blueprint

Market halls are anchor destinations in the most literal sense: they pull foot traffic, and foot traffic pulls everything else. Powell's own framing — "a new anchor destination for Dewsbury" — makes the council's logic explicit. Restore the market, and the surrounding town centre has a reason for people to come back.

With a temporary market already trading across three streets, and a contractor that has done this twice before within commuting distance, the early signs are orderly. The glazed roof, the traders and the £18m now have until early 2028 to converge into something Dewsbury can actually use.