A debate will not be held on the future of a Huddersfield Giants stadium despite thousands of signatures on a petition.
Huddersfield Giants fans have urged the local authority to “do the right thing” and allow the council-owned former gasworks, sitting off St Andrew’s Road, to be developed into a stadium for the Super League team. Club owner, Ken Davy, has previously said it is the only suitable location in Huddersfield for the future Giants’ stadium.
The matter has also been brought to the attention of the council by some elected members, with Cllrs David Longstaff (Almondbury, Lib Dems) and Cahal Burke (Lindley, Lib Dems) especially vocal. The pair have voiced concerns that Huddersfield will lose some of its heritage depending on how the issue plays out, and urged the local authority to explore realistic alternatives to its current vision for the gasworks site.
The strength of feeling among the public was made very clear when a petition surpassing 4,000 signatures was handed in to Kirklees Council at a meeting last month, with 3,000 the number of signatures required to force a council debate. But before a debate happens, the signatures need to be verified.
The council says that through this process, the threshold for debate has not been reached as more than 1,000 signatures were from people from outside of Kirklees.
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration said: “Following an independent verification by the Council’s Governance Team, the petition – which received 2,193 signatures from within Kirklees, has not met the threshold of 3,000 signatures required for a debate at Full Council.
“While this means it will not be considered in that forum, we want to acknowledge the strength of public feeling, and we recognise the significance of securing a sustainable, long-term home for the Huddersfield Giants in the future.”
At the end of last month, an agreement was reached resulting in Huddersfield Town taking on full operational control of the Accu Stadium and surrounding 53-acres. The Huddersfield Giants will continue at the Accu Stadium for the 2026 Betfred Super League season.
In the longer-term, Mr Davy wants to build a new 8,000-capacity stadium for the club in Huddersfield, looking to buy The Shay in Halifax to be the Giants’ temporary home in the meantime.
