Threatened site ‘makes town what it is today’
Heritage groups object to demolition
HERITAGE GROUPS are objecting to plans to dramatically reshape part of a West Yorkshire town centre because of its impact on a conservation area which they say showcases centuries of its history.
Calderdale Council’s proposals for Halifax will be discussed by the local authority’s planning committee later this month but will ultimately be ruled on by Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire.
The scheme and improvement works on the nearby A629 form the second of five phases of a comprehensive scheme to provide a corridor for a variety of modes of transport between Halifax and Huddersfield.
In total the whole project will cost around £120m, with the latest phase representing around £2.9m of investment from the council and partners.
The application has been brought before the planning committee on the afternoon of Tuesday January 15 because Historic England and the West Yorkshire Archaeological Advisory Service object to the demolition THE PROPOSED development includes around 35 acres of land within Halifax town centre and would consist of three main phases with major interventions in each.
They include a number of interventions to improve connectivity, pedestrian, cycling and public transport improvements such as remodelling of junctions, road widening and realignment, provision of cycle lanes, new controlled and uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and improved streetscapes.
Council planners say the improvements the project will bring outweigh the concerns voiced by Historic England.
of the Hughes Corporation building in Square Road.
They say the building, which was most recently a bar and diner, is capable of playing a functional role as well as forming “part of an important group of woolstaplers’ buildings and should be used to promote the heritage of Halifax”.
Among the plans are a new public square known as the Piece Gardens immediately adjacent to the historic Grade I-listed Piece Hall, Calderdale Industrial Museum, Square Chapel Arts Centre and the new Central Library.
The town was a major woollen centre historically, with the Georgian-era Piece Hall being reopened in 2017 following a major £19m restoration.
In its submission to the council, Historic England said: “Sorry to see that it is proposed to demolish the Hughes Corporation building and introduce a large public open space in the area between Square Road and Church Street.
“This is a particularly distinctive part of the conservation area containing some of Halifax’s best buildings on the Piece Hall, Square Church Spire, Square Chapel and Halifax Minster.
“The remaining warehouses and train station are also highly important to the identity and legacy of Halifax as an industrial textile town.
“In short, this small area displays the development of Halifax over centuries and contains markers of all the things that have made Halifax what it is today.”