It’s an “incredibly exciting time” for Huddersfield, a senior cllr has said, with 2025 the ‘most successful to date’, when it comes to progress on the town’s ‘Blueprint’ project.
Huddersfield is undergoing a great deal of change, with buildings being put up, new facilities opening or soon set to open, and streets improved. The town is the subject of a mammoth multi-million-pound blueprint project – the council’s 10-year vision to create a thriving, modern-day town centre.
At the centre of the blueprint is ‘Our Cultural Heart’ which is taking shape in the area around the Piazza. Elsewhere, a new leisure complex complete with cinema, bowling and climbing opened in Kingsgate in April, and a new events space has been completed in St Peter’s Gardens.
The town is in-line for an upgraded market, better transport connections and a revamped railway station. The George Hotel has also taken its next steps as the latest plans await a decision.
Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, Cllr Graham Turner, said: “There’s a tremendous amount going on in Huddersfield at the moment, and this has been our Huddersfield Blueprint’s most productive and successful years to date…it’s an incredibly exciting time, and it feels like all these positive changes are really picking up pace for our town centre.”
Below are five of the biggest developments shaping Huddersfield town centre and an update on the progress that has been made to date.
Cultural Heart
Work on the first phase of the Cultural Heart began in September 2024, with the former Queensgate Market Building being transformed into the town’s new library hub and new food hall, with a public square outside. The new facilities are set to open to the public next Summer.
Last month, demolition was completed on this part of the site, with the distinctive paraboloid roof structures of the former market fully revealed and new glazing being installed to connect the iconic forms. In the coming months, structural steelwork and the construction of the main elevations will begin to take shape – revealing the scale and footprint of the library hub and food hall.
Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, Cllr Graham Turner, said: “The construction work to create Our Cultural Heart, which is set to put Huddersfield and wider Kirklees on the map as a destination for art, music and culture, is currently moving forward at pace, with the first phase of work creating a more modern library, a vibrant food hall and a brand new public square which will create lots more opportunities for events in the town centre.
“We’ll see these parts of Our Cultural Heart to open in summer next year, which will mean people can start enjoying the new spaces before the project as a whole – our most ambitious investment across the whole of Kirklees – is fully completed. We’re also progressing with plans for the next phase, which will see Our Cultural Heart’s flagship museum, art gallery and café take shape in the beautiful former library building.”
Some uncertainties surround the later phases of the scheme, with the planned music venue and multi-storey car park to be reviewed, and the use of a plot at Queen Street still undecided.
George Hotel
The iconic George Hotel will become a Radisson RED and is still due to be reopened in 2027 despite some obstacles.
In May, it was revealed that new plans had been submitted for the multi-million pound regeneration scheme which, if approved, will see the Grade II*-Listed hotel’s façade on John William Street dismantled and rebuilt due to structural issues. The revised plans also see the number of rooms increased from 90 to 108 plus a bar, restaurant, gym and conference facilities. To make way for development, two of the hotel’s more modern blocks are to be demolished and a new extension will be built.
Before that, in November 2024, Cabinet agreed a £9.8m cash boost for the project, with this redirected from the £262m Our Cultural Heart Funds, taking the total budget for the George to around £30m. This came amid soaring construction costs, findings of asbestos in the basement and the “historical underpinning” of the façade at John William Street.
Cllr Turner added: “We’ve also recently upgraded our plans for the George Hotel, which will now see more rooms for guests, as well as a restaurant and bar, conference and event spaces, including a huge banqueting suite that could be used for weddings.
“With the hotel set to be managed by international hotelier Radisson RED, we know it will be the perfect meeting of our beautiful Huddersfield history – which we’ve been taking steps to preserve as a kick-off to the renovations – with a stylish and modern hotel offering, perfectly placed at one of our key gateways to the town centre.”
National Health Innovation Campus
The first of the NHIC’s buildings, the Daphne Steele Building opened last year, bearing the name of the Guyana-born nurse who became the first Black matron to be appointed in the NHS in 1964. Among its facilities are state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for the University’s midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, operating department practice, paramedic science, physiotherapy, podiatry and speech and language therapy courses.
The second building, the Emily Siddon Building, is named after the healthcare advocate and governor of Huddersfield Technical College, a forerunner of the University, who spent the majority of her life in nearby Honley.
The facility will host a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) – the first on a UK university campus – to provide access to thousands of additional diagnostic tests for the people of Calderdale and Huddersfield, including MRI and CT scans. This will operate in partnership with the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT).
In addition, it will house specialist clinical teaching facilities, and a Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre for local entrepreneurs or start-ups and organisations looking to benefit from locating with the University on the campus
The wider NHIC project aims to improve health outcomes and lead innovation in healthcare for the North of England and bring together public-facing facilities including award-winning student-led clinics. The campus will be a focus for entrepreneurial academic activity and provide specialist clinical teaching facilities. Five more buildings are planned for the seven-acre site.
Professor Bob Cryan, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, commented: “This is a great opportunity for the University of Huddersfield to be part of the West Yorkshire Investment Zone and to make a real difference to the health and prosperity of the region.
“The National Health and Innovation Campus will improve health outcomes, including tackling some of the challenges facing the Yorkshire and Humber region, such as the third lowest life expectancy for both men and women, the highest levels of obesity and the second highest rate of deaths in infancy.
“The campus will also enable the rapid expansion of courses in nursing, midwifery, allied health professions, leadership and human sciences, which will help to meet the growing demand for healthcare professionals.”
Huddersfield Market
Earlier this year, plans for the market’s £16.5m revamp were picking up pace following a period of public consultation. The facility is set to feature a better food and drink offering, improved traditional market, events, and support for local businesses and entrepreneurs
The bulk of the cash will focus on restoring and repairing the Grade II* Listed market building, with part of this returning it to its original colours of red, pink and cream. On top of this, the council is proposing that two new buildings and improved public space be brought to the area next to the Tesco car park. This would be known as the ‘Market Yard’ and host traders well-suited to outdoor trading.
Cllr Turner explained: “After some really positive public engagement earlier this year, we’re also looking forward to submitting our planning application for Huddersfield Market over the coming months.
“The new market won’t just have a better traditional market offering – it’ll also have a fantastic flexible event space, great food and drink offering, spaces for people to get together and socialise, and lots of new opportunities for start-ups and small businesses. It’s clear that people in Huddersfield are as excited about these plans as we are, and they’ve really helped us shape what this area’s going to be – we can’t wait to move forward.”
Transpennine Route Upgrade and Huddersfield Station
Work to refurbish the town’s Grade-I Listed railway station kicked off in late 2023 as part of the TRU. The wider scheme aims to bring faster, greener, more frequent and more reliable railway journeys between Manchester and York.
The station roof is one of the last remaining examples of a Euston-style roof on an operational railway. A section of the canopy roof was completed back in April with some historic features preserved.
Now, attention has turned to the next phase of upgrades during a 30-day intense programme of activity between August and September, when the station will be taken out of use. During this time, focus will move from the roof restoration work to track and platform remodelling across the entire station.
Huddersfield station’s new-look comes with a £70m price tag and is due to be completed in early 2027, though works to electrify the line will continue beyond this date. The end result will see longer platforms, a new layout, new footbridge and refurbished roof structure with restored lantern.
