Newsome Mills flats plan is ‘potential jewel’

Nov 29 2010 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

AN historic Huddersfield mill could be turned into apartments – years after it was closed.

Kirklees Council planners will decide next week if Newsome Mills can be converted into flats.

The Grade-II listed 19th Century mill has fallen into disrepair since it closed in 1983.

Yesterday a councillor backed the restoration of the “potential jewel”, which is one of the most neglected listed buildings in the country.

Manchester-based Panorama Living wants to set up 69 homes at the one-hectare site.

The four-storey mill building would be converted into 32 two-bedroom flats, eight one-bedroom flats and eight two-bedroom duplex apartments. The office building would be turned into a three-bedroom house.

The company also wants to build 12 three-bedroom and eight two-bedroom terraced houses on the Ruth Street site.

The development would include 114 parking spaces.

The mill clock, which has not worked since it was vandalised three years ago, would be restored as part of the regeneration.

Yesterday Clr Andrew Cooper backed the proposal.

He said: “Newsome Mills is a potential jewel, particularly if the clock is brought back into use because it’s a local landmark.”

The Newsome Green councillor added it was better to develop former industrial sites rather than fields.

“Building houses on brownfield land protects the green spaces in the area which we are keen on maintaining,” he said.

“This development has the potential to be a huge benefit to Newsome.”

Panorama Living was given planning permission to convert the mill into flats four years ago, when the company was known as Royalle Estates.

At the time only the clock tower and gateway were listed.

In November 2007 the developer announced plans to demolish the rest of the mill.