Huddersfield town centre Queensgate development to be scaled back

Sep 10 2009 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A £200M plan to transform Huddersfield town centre will have to be scaled back.

Kirklees Council’s leader Clr Mehboob Khan admitted that the Queensgate Revival project would have to be reduced.

And even on a smaller scale, it could be years from starting because of the recession.

Three years ago, the council unveiled ambitious plans for a huge area of the town centre.

The development plan takes in the Queensgate Market Hall, the Alfred Street multi-storey car park, the former Co-operative store and buildings on New Street.

Kirklees Council said it needed £50m of private investment to help finance the £200m plan, which includes a new library, a three-storey department store, 100-bed hotel, 100 homes, a new market hall, bars, restaurants and up to 900 parking spaces.

In March council leader Clr Mehboob Khan revealed that the plan was on ice because of the recession.

And yesterday he said that Queensgate Revival would have to be scaled back.

Clr Khan said: “We will have to review the size and scale of the development.