Polish workers will be the only ones to benefit from a huge construction boom if training opportunities for young people are not embraced, Kirklees Council’s regeneration chief Peter McBride has warned.

Clr McBride was speaking at a meeting of the newly-formed and influential Kirklees Skills Sub-Group which met on Tuesday night in Huddersfield.

Its aim is to try to take maximum advantage of the forthcoming employment opportunities from a number of schemes including massive rail and transport investment as well as housing developments across West Yorkshire.

Clr McBride said: “We are trying to establish this group because the council is acutely aware that we can’t achieve regeneration by itself.

“Industry wants land for development and a decent infrastructure and the council can do a great deal on that.

“The Local Plan, which is due to come into force next year, will provide sufficient land for the next 15-20 years.”

He said this meant tens of thousands of new houses being built across West Yorkshire with perhaps more than 30,000 in Kirklees alone.

In addition he said: “The West Yorkshire Transport Fund, which I chair, is responsible for £1bn of expenditure throughout West Yorkshire and York.”

Huddersfield buildings needing attention - Clr. Peter McBride outside Estate Buildings
Huddersfield buildings needing attention - Clr. Peter McBride outside Estate Buildings

And there’s more good news with tens of millions of pounds set to be spent in Leeds with the transformation of the area south of the station in what will be one of the biggest urban regeneration projects in Europe.

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The development was announced in November 2015 as the Government set out more details of the second phase of the HS2 high speed rail project as it extends north of Birmingham to Yorkshire and Manchester.

Millions of pounds are also going to be spent on various projects at Huddersfield Railway Station over the next few years as the electrification of the TransPennine route takes place.

One of the platforms will be significantly lengthened to accommodate longer trains or a whole new platform, Platform 9, will be created.

Clr McBride said: “There is going to be a huge amount of expenditure and investment. It’s going to be a unique period of regeneration and development.

“But if we don’t get it right for our young people then we might as well put up notices in Warsaw saying: ‘Come and do the work for us.’”

Clr McBride said there was a “terrible snobbery” which put academic achievement above the merits of vocational training.

“You don’t have that in France and Germany,” he added.