Kirklees Council has outlined its maintenance plan for the distinctive planters at Huddersfield New Street despite cutbacks to grounds maintenance services.
The addition of the £250,000 “tree-like” structures comes as part of the Huddersfield Blueprint and has caused a stir among residents and readers, with public opinion divided. Some have expressed fears over the maintenance of the planters, concerned that they will deteriorate over time.
According to the Blueprint plans, New Street is to become a ‘garden street.’ This will see green areas with seating and artwork. Granite flower beds have already been completed and will be filled with seasonal foliage from next month and the 12-metre-high planters are to contain climbing plants that will grow upwards.
Earlier this year, cuts were being explored within the council’s Grounds Maintenance Services due to mounting workforce pressures. Measures to address this include reducing the number of times grass is cut and community groups getting more involved in the maintenance of their local green spaces. This called into question how the greenery on New Street will be maintained.
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, says: “We’ve currently got a two-year maintenance package in place so these new sculptural planters continue looking their best as New Street and the Huddersfield Blueprint continue to develop around them.
“Across Huddersfield, we’re working with Huddersfield BID to look at sustainable options for managing our planters and keeping them beautiful – we’ll continue to do that, including ongoing maintenance for these planters after that two-year period.”
Aside from New Street, the majority of the Huddersfield Blueprint is based around Our Cultural Heart – a £210m project to regenerate the area around the Piazza. An art gallery, museum, library, food hall, public square and urban park will be brought to the area, though the plans have been adjusted due to “economic constraints.”
The major scheme is being delivered bit by bit through a phased approach and now, the art gallery and museum will both be housed in the same building – the former library at Princess Alexandra Walk – rather than separately, as was originally planned.
Our Cultural Heart’s website states that work on the new library, food hall and public square will begin next Spring and is anticipated to be completed by the Summer/Autumn of 2025. The construction of the urban park, museum and gallery, mixed-use Queen Street development and 350-space car park will then get underway, with this to be finished by 2030.
