AUTHORS of a controversial report calling parts of the North “beyond revival” have been invited to Kirklees.

The Policy Exchange study said residents of northern cities, including Bradford, should be encouraged to move south.

But Kirklees Council deputy leader Clr Jim Dodds expressed his strong opposition to the idea yesterday .

He said: “We’ve got massive regeneration plans in Kirklees, not only in Huddersfield but Dewsbury and Batley as well.

“I don’t accept that any part of Kirklees is beyond revival. We have exciting plans, including the Huddersfield Waterfront, Queensgate, Tesco and the Dewsbury Regeneration.

“There are many good things going on here of which the rest of the country would be jealous.”

Clr Dodds added: “There’s no reason for anyone to move out of this area.

“The authors of this report need to come up here and have a look at what we’re doing.”

The Policy Exchange report called for 3m more homes in London, Oxford and Cambridge to enable people “trapped” in the North to migrate.

The authors said it was time to be “realistic about the ability of cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle to regenerate struggling nearby towns”.

Bradford, Liverpool and Sunderland were singled out as being “beyond revival” by the think tank, which is linked to Conservative leader David Cameron, who has called the report “insane’’.

But Clr Dodds said the Policy Exchange’s report was not in line with the party’s thinking on regeneration.

The Denby Dale Conservative said: “David Cameron has been up to Kirklees a couple of times, including just before this year’s council elections. He was very impressed with what he saw.”

Kirklees Council leader Clr Robert Light said: “What worries me is that reports like this have a huge impact. We have got huge prospects.

“We don’t want some suggestion that we should export people to the South.

“Not only do they have nowhere to put them but such a move would destabilise the economy in the North.”