A VISION of Huddersfield town centre with no cars has been drawn up by members of a think-tank.
Their bold plan is aimed at transforming Huddersfield town centre - by putting pedestrians first.
A 60-page document has been produced listing nine major projects to improve the appeal of locations such as St George's Square, Market Place, St Peter's Gardens and New Street.
They include schemes to "civilise" the ring road by giving priority to pedestrians at problem areas.
The proposals are set to fuel the debate sparked by separate suggestions from Kirklees planners that the library, Piazza, market hall and Queensgate car park could all be levelled as part of a major revamp of the town.
The latest schemes -which do not call for the loss of the library - have been drawn up by town planning and urban design specialists David Lock Associates.
The company, based at Milton Keynes, has been working with local groups and individuals for more than a year to hammer out ideas for making Huddersfield a better place to work, live and visit.
The Urban Renaissance programme has been funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and led by Kirklees Council and regeneration company Huddersfield Pride.
The crux of the proposals is to increase pedestrian access in the town.
That includes making sections of the ring road "pedestrian priority areas" and banning vehicles completely from some other main routes.
The document said: "One of the key priorities for Huddersfield town centre is that within the next 30 years it would become a fully pedestrian centre."
It said: "The town centre should be accessible, attractive and easy to move around.
"That is not to say that the car should be excluded, rather that there should be a clear priority across the town centre in favour of pedestrian movement."
The proposals will be debated by the Urban Renaissance team before being finalised later in the year.
Sections of the town centre, including parts of New Street and King Street, are already pedestrianised.
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