Castleford, an old Roman town on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, is to be the subject of a reality-TV series to be produced by Channel 4 and Talkback Productions. More ambitious than most reality TV shows, The Castleford Project aims to film the regeneration of an entire town.

People in Castleford are unusually committed to making it a better place. The town is easy to get to from elsewhere in the country, close to both Wakefield and Leeds and in recent years has benefited from substantial new investment in housing, retailing and leisure.

Castleford as we know it today grew up as a mining town and was once an important centre for the manufacture of glass and pottery. By the late 1970s, eight collieries operated in the town employing over 6000 people. By 1997, with the restructuring of the mining industry, the number fell to fewer than 600.

Employment in the town is now concentrated in the manufacture of chemicals, power, electrical goods and clothing. New jobs in service industries have gone some way to improving the town’s economy but it still suffers from the effects of the closure of the mines and other redundancies.

People in Castleford want things to change. They want a more vital and vibrant town centre and derelict land put to better use. They want to sit by the rivers Calder and Aire and enjoy the view. They want safe neighbourhoods, better health and the skills and confidence to move forward. In short, Castleford is ripe for regeneration.

Step in a swathe of agencies including English Partnerships, Yorkshire Forward (the Regional Development Agency), Eastern Wakefield Primary Care Trust, Groundwork Wakefield (a local environmental charity) and The Coalfields Regeneration Trust. And now - Channel 4 Television and Talkback Productions.

How’s it going to work?

The Castleford Project ran a series of public meetings and events in the town to find out what projects and issues were of concern to local people that fit in with these longer-term plans but had yet to either happen or the community felt had not been sufficiently addressed. Over a thousand people took part and identified priority projects that they feel are important to the future of the town.

And as the people of Casleford get involved with every aspect of the regeneration, TV crews film and record every argument and twist in the plot, including the celebrity architect elimination rounds. And the cameras will continue to roll over all the stages of all the projects that make up the The Castleford Project

English Partnerships has now received planning consent for the first of the projects, the transformation of the village green in Fryston.

Other projects in the scheme include:

• River Crossing
  Castleford was once on the path of an important Roman Road. Today there is only one point in the town in which people can cross the River. People say that they want a new crossing that would allow access on foot and cycle between the town.
• Riverside
  The only ‘chocolate box’ view of Castleford is of a Victorian flour mill and an adjacent weir on the River Aire. Unfortunately overgrown foliage and piles of rubbish spoil it. People want this area cleaned up and opened to use by the public.
• Carlton Street
  At the centre of the town is a pedestrianised High Street that’s bordered by charity and ‘pound’ shops. Locals want it turned in to a better, brighter and inspirational town square.