Holmfirth has been handed a four-point plan to boost trade in the town.
And local business people have been to “roll their sleeves up” and get involved in promoting what it has to offer.
A project between leading figures in the town and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has identified the top four priorities for immediate action to help retailers generate more business.
Holmfirth was chosen to take part in the £250,000 project – called High Street UK 2020 - which is bidding to reverse the decline of retailing by 2020 in 10 towns across the UK.
The goal is to help build resilience and adaptability into traditional retail centres, which have faced a range of unprecedented challenges in recent years.
Holmfirth was chosen to pilot a new research method to analyse change in the high street, developed by experts from MMU. The project was launched in January and a workshop was held earlier this week at the Full Life Church, Miry Lane, Thongsbridge, to discuss the initial findings.
It was found that only about a third of the factors that are hitting high street performance can be tackled locally.
“High streets will continue to be affected by forces outside of their control, like the state of the economy, retail innovation and changes in consumer behaviour,” said the project’s lead researcher, Prof Cathy Parker, chair of retail and marketing enterprise at MMU.
“What’s important is that locations understand what they can influence – and prioritise the actions that will have the most positive impact.”
The priorities were: more marketing and promotion of the town and its offer; better signage; more support for the business community; improved communication between traders, residents and local politicians.
Experienced town centre manager Simon Quin, director of the Institute of Place Management and part of the research team, said: “What the workshop clearly demonstrated is that there is no shortage of ideas and – unlike many other towns – Holmfirth clearly feels it can influence its future vitality and viability.
“In terms of making change happen, the town just needs more people to roll up their sleeves and get involved in activities that can make a difference – even simple actions like telling people through social media what a great place Holmfirth is.”
Ian Gooch, minister of the Full Life Church, said: “We now have a wealth of inspirational information that will assist in the future development of Holmfirth.”
Trader Caroline Astley, of Imagine Toys, Norridge Bottom, said: “This has made us think about the bigger picture for towns and Holmfirth in particular.”
The workshop in Holmfirth is one of 10 being held and is backed by a national conference on July 10 and an online support centre. These resources are free to the high street partners, giving unrivalled access to research normally unattainable by local partnerships.
The team was awarded a £112,000 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council with £140,000 investment coming from partners, including footfall data specialists Springboard.
The other locations taking part are Alsager, Altrincham and Congleton in Cheshire; Ballymena in Northern Ireland; Barnsley and Morley in Yorkshire; Bristol; Market Rasen in Lincolnshire; and Wrexham in North Wales.
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