Huddersfield £210m 'cultural heart' set for go-ahead

Plans for a £210m development that aims to transform Huddersfield town centre and create a new 'cultural heart' look set to get the go-ahead later this week (2 March 2023).

The Kirklees Cultural Heart forms part of the wider Huddersfield Blueprint – Kirklees Council's ten-year vision to create a thriving, modern-day town centre for Huddersfield.

Demolition

Planning permission is sought for the demolition of a number of buildings including the parade of shops within the Piazza. In addition, elements of the Market Hall, the Shambles shopping arcade and some retail units will be demolished. Two listed buildings – Market Hall and the Library and Art Gallery – will be retained.

A multi-purpose entertainment venue with a capacity of up to 2,200 will be created for events like concerts and exhibitions. As well as this, a multi-storey car park will be built below the entertainment venue, with about 350 spaces.

The Queensgate market building is expected to be refurbished, housing a new food hall. Additionally, other plans include a library within the existing east wing of the market building and in a new extension to the north.

The existing Huddersfield Library building will be refurbished and extended, transforming it into a dedicated new museum space.

Finally, construction will begin of a new two-storey gallery.

Blueprint

The Huddersfield Blueprint aims to deliver five key objectives for Huddersfield Town Centre. These include a vibrant culture, art, leisure and nightlife offer. In addition, the plan aims for thriving businesses, a great place to live, improved access and enhanced public spaces.

Proposals inlude public realm comprising terraces, gardens, children's play areas and a flexible public square and outdoor events venue.

It has been estimated that the development would support up to 924 temporary jobs on and off-site during construction. In addition, it is exptected to generate up to £148m of gross value added (GVA). It is expected to support 459 full-time equivalent jobs once complete. Finally, the estimated day and overnight visits to the scheme would be about £18.1m.

Planning and listed building applications for the works will be considered by Kirklees Council's strategic planning committee on 2 March. Consequently, a planning officer's report prepared for the meeting recommends that approval is granted. This would be subject to conditions and the signing of a Section 111 agreement.

Multi-functional

The report said: "The development combines the retention and re-use of key civic buildings and the creation of a multi- functional, high-quality destination.

Whilst some demolition of existing building stock is required the application justifies the design process followed to mitigate the extent of harm to key heritage assets.

"The development retains and enhances the key elements of the town centre environment, enabling the remodelling and revealing of open views over spacious leafy and useable areas of public realm."

Two phases of public consultation were undertaken on the Cultural Heart proposals last year. In total, about 8,000 people engaged online to learn about the plans. The scheme received up to 75 per cent support.

The Planning Officer's report said:

“The development combines the retention and re-use of key civic buildings and the creation of a multi- functional, high-quality destination.

“Whilst some demolition of existing building stock is required the application justifies the design process followed to mitigate the extent of harm to key heritage assets.

“The development retains and enhances the key elements of the town centre environment, enabling the remodelling and revealing of open views over spacious leafy and useable areas of public realm.”