Byram Street – HUDDERSFIELD CIVIC SOCIETY

Planning application 2019/62/93789/W and 2019/44/91146/W
Location: Byram Street
Description of development: Erection of porch entrance, fire escape enclosure, platform lift and formation of car park, Huddersfield Parish Church (Listed Building within a Conservation Area).

Huddersfield Civic Society applauds the work carried out by the church to restore its fabric and improve facilities. Indeed, the church and its architects, One17 AD, were the overall winners in the society’s annual Design Awards in 2014.

However, although there has been a previous approval for the formation of car parking on the site, HCS would request further consideration of issues that make the car parking element of this application contrary to current policies and town centre strategies.

The gardens provide an important green ‘lung’ and setting within the Conservation Area. The Council’s Blueprint for the town centre indicates that Kirklees will ‘support the enhancement of the gardens ….and make the most of the green space’. Using part of this space for parking would appear contrary to this aim.
HCS, therefore, objects to the provision of parking for the following reasons:

It is contrary to the recent KC town centre Blueprint and consultation for improvements to the town’s centre major green space.
The proposal flies in the face of the Council’s aim to promote the greening of the town centre and is contrary to the aim of improving environmental and air quality.
Vehicles parked between park and church constitute a serious degradation of the ‘setting’ of the Grade 2* church.
The aim should be to discourage further private parking areas within the town and not establish a precedent for others, e.g. The Methodist Mission, which has similar requirements.
Provision of vehicular access on to an attractive and well used pedestrianised street with the related removal of stone walls would potentially create pedestrian/vehicular conflict in relation to those vehicles entering and leaving the site.

HCS would like to see the Church and Kirklees find a solution that does not compromise the historic setting and green space. The planning application refers to church parking on Venn Street that was replaced in order to develop Kingsgate, but this was not adjacent to the church entrance, entailing a short walk. It is felt that both parties should investigate alternative options such as use of the Lord Street car park, formerly occupied by the YMCA.

The application also refers to the moving of a table tomb to enable the car park to be built. This tomb is, in fact, historically important, being the memorial of Joseph Kaye known as ‘ the builder of Huddersfield’ who constructed many of the town’s churches, railway station and its finest buildings, although, ironically, not the Parish Church where his body is laid.