HCS Members’ Update March 2026
Welcome to our March newsletter which covers:
- Picture That!
- A report on our February 18 meeting
- A reminder about upcoming HCS meetings
- Stop Press on Castle Hill
- George Hotel latest
- I wouldn’t start from here …
- Coming soon …
And finally, we thank all those who have renewed their subscriptions for 2026. If you haven’t already done so, please visit our website via this link to make a card payment at your earliest convenience.
Picture That!
Have you looked recently at the photographs of Huddersfield on the HCS website https://huddersfieldcivicsociety.org.uk/gallery/ with the great photo of Estate Buildings at the top of this update recently added.
When you look back at how our town has changed, can you remember what happened when? Was a picture of the George Hotel surrounded by scaffolding taken in 2021 or 2026?
George Hotel in 2023. Photo by AHR
HCS is now looking to track progress, or sometimes the lack of progress, on buildings, places and spaces around the whole of Huddersfield since the start of the Huddersfield Blueprint at the beginning of 2020. With many cameras and smartphones now automatically recording time taken, we want HCS members to submit their best pictures – with year taken and agreement to publish – to our website editor, Andy Hirst (), who will extend and enhance the gallery over time to best show all how our town is changing.
Our thanks to Andy Hirst and to Andrew France of AHR for the first sets of 2020s pictures now added and available to view in the new enhanced HCS photo gallery.
There are separate folders now for the 6 years from 2000 to 2006.
Report on February 18 meeting: Protecting and Improving Huddersfield’s green spaces
Abbreviated version of full report by Amanda Boothroyd on HCS website via this link:
This Huddersfield Civic Society event featured Deb Clarke (pictured right), the development manager from White Rose Forest which is one of the largest community forests in England; Jeff Keenlyside (pictured on the left), director from EPIKS, a team of passionate individuals who co-ordinate environmental projects in Kirklees; and Adrian Pitts (pictured centre), chair of Natural Kirklees, an umbrella organisation for volunteer green space groups.
Deb told us how the White Rose Forest works in partnership with local authorities, landowners, businesses and communities to increase woodland across the region and improve our natural environment.
In 2024-2025 they planted one million trees and created 53 hectares of new woodlands, trees and hedgerows and their strategic plan for the next 25 years is to create a vast and varied treescape that connects and permeates our towns, cities and countryside.
Jeff explained that EPIKS is a team of passionate individuals who co-ordinate environmental projects in Kirklees. Their whole ethos is about connecting people with nature with health and well-being underpinning everything they do. They work with residents, community groups, councils, charities, businesses and employees, schools, colleges and universities to increase environmental awareness and deliver practical environmental solutions together.
Adrian spelled out how Natural Kirklees supports more than 100 existing groups and also gives help and advice to anybody wanting to set up a new group, offering the use of tool containers and help with grants towards planting schemes.
A key message from all the speakers was the importance of volunteers.
Upcoming HCS meetings
Shaping Huddersfield’s suburbs – the Arts & Crafts influence
Talk by David Griffiths. Wednesday, March 11, 7pm at Brian Jackson House.
From the 1880s to the 1930s Huddersfield had a strong tradition of domestic architecture rooted in Pennine vernacular styles, documented in David Griffiths’ new book Huddersfield’s Arts & Crafts Houses. In this talk he shows how developers, private clients and Huddersfield Corporation all drew on this tradition in the rapid development of the town’s suburbs during those decades.
Free to HCS Members. Suggested £5 donation for non-members
Talk by Felix Kumi-Ampofo, Director of Inclusive Economy, Skills & Culture at WYCA
Wednesday, March 25, 7pm at Brian Jackson House, following the AGM.
Felix is an engaging speaker. He will talk about how the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is establishing a range of new functions and services across West Yorkshire and how these will affect us in Kirklees. WYCA already has firm plans for improved transport services across the area and is now also gaining responsibilities in other areas, as has already happened in Greater Manchester.
For an introduction to the Authority follow this link
To hear the full story, come and find out what’s changing and how Huddersfield and Kirklees as a whole will be involved at the HCS talk that follows straight on from the AGM on Wednesday, March 25.
Free to HCS Members. Suggested £5 donation for non-members
HCS Summer Events Programme
The HCS visit on Sunday May 10 to Rochdale Town Hall – Crossland’s fantastically designed, decorated and now lavishly restored Grade 1 listed building – is now full.
We are currently working to finalise further walks in summer and talks in the autumn.
The next HCS summer evening walk will be launched at the HCS talk on March 11 with details published shortly afterwards.
Stop Press on Castle Hill
Photo: by HCS Secretary, Geoff Hughes showing HCS Committee Member, Ann Denham, and others prior to meeting the ITV Calendar news team at Castle Hill, Friday February 26.
We were extremely disappointed that, at a lively meeting of Kirklees Council’s Strategic Planning Committee meeting on Thursday, February 19 – and only then on the casting vote of the meeting Chair – the proposed restaurant/café/hotel development was approved. These issues were summarised in an item on ITV’s Calendar local evening news programme on Friday, February 27 with comments from HCS Secretary, Geoff Hughes, representing this Society.
We consider this development to be extremely inappropriate for such a prominent hilltop site that is in greenbelt, on top of a scheduled ancient monument and below the listed Victoria Tower.
We are not convinced by the arguments of either Historic England or of Kirklees Council that the ‘public benefit’ of promised future free access to toilets and a small visitor centre override the many admitted ‘harms’ of this substantial new commercial development.
There remain many unresolved issues, from financial viability and the role of a claimed Community Interest Company (said to be available to be responsible for the proposed visitor facilities) to practicalities, such as how to handle the anticipated big increases in parking, drainage and security. Why cannot the current site simply be tidied with toilets and visitor plaques be sited in unobtrusive settings, such as on the roadside from where Kirklees Council has recently rebuilt stone paving and a flight of steps up to the summit?
It is uncertain what will happen after this decision.
Council planning officers have been tasked to finalise details of the approval, these likely to include handling unresolved issues for the periods of both construction and operation, should this proceed. As an example, the council planning summary documents presented to the Strategic Planning Committee recommended that the developer be forced to pay for enhancing the narrow, steep and twisting access road from the blind junction below up to the summit of the hill, this to include three new passing places sufficient to accommodate commercial delivery lorries and full-size council refuse lorries. This construction work, extremely damaging in itself, is likely to be expensive.
The developer may need to spend heavily to proceed.
HCS will be tracking progress of the planned development and of whatever conditions are to apply.
George Hotel latest
After the wait since restrictions were placed last year on John William Street alongside the George Hotel, a contractor has now been appointed to undertake the partial demolition and new build agreed by Kirklees which, so far, has allocated £30million to this project.
This is described in: https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/huddersfields-george-hotel-transformation-plans-33472931.
A large part of St George’s Square (in front of the area already cordoned off for Network Rail’s contractor) is now fenced off to create a separate compound for the duration of the hotel building works.
We’re pretty sure that the CGI images accompanying the Examiner article – showing Str George’s Square as a long-term car park – are simply wrong – they do not appear in the corresponding article in the Huddersfield Hub! After all, where would all the rail replacement buses go?
I wouldn’t start from here….
Photo: Transpennine Express train in Slaithwaite. Image by Andy Hirst from AH! PR.
Are you planning to travel by train or along A62 Leeds Road?
Just when you might have thought there can’t be many more road or train service closures to support the amazing work to transform the Transpennine rail route through Huddersfield.
Here’s the recent announcement of the next round of local rail closures: https://huddersfieldhub.co.uk/three-more-months-of-major-rail-disruption-for-huddersfield-passengers-here-are-the-full-details/ Essentially, the line eastwards towards Leeds is closed most weekdays in May and most weekends in May.
The consultation on how the line between Huddersfield and Stalybridge – especially in the Colne Valley – will be upgraded has begun and closes on Friday, March 27 (see https://thetrupgrade.co.uk/tru-news/public-invited-to-share-views-on-proposed-major-rail-upgrades-between-standedge-and-gledholt-huddersfield/).
However, closures have now also been announced westbound from Huddersfield for all weekends in April and May with Transpennine services diverted by, and calling at, Brighouse.
Coming Soon
More information on the AGM….
- Announcement of summer outings.
- The results of investigations underway as to why the Edgerton Cemetery Chapels and hundreds of nearby graves in Edgerton Cemetery have recently been fenced off on safety grounds.
- And still more .
We’d love to know what our members think about our activities, the newsletter, our events and, in particular, your views on what is happening to your town both good and bad.
Newsletter content prepared by Huddersfield Civic Society committee members.
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