A huge swathe of land in Huddersfield is to be flattened next Spring.
Kirklees councillors on the Cabinet will be asked next week to approve plans to demolish the old Huddersfield Sports Centre and other buildings which would have been part of a redevelopment by Tesco.
The Southgate site – which also includes two vacant tower blocks of flats, a former car park, and seven former commercial buildings – is now back in the control of the council following negotiations with Tesco.
Plans will be put to councillors to demolish all the buildings within the site boundary and prepare the area for future development.
It is a sprawling site, bounded by Southgate, Pine Street and Old Leeds Road.
And in addition to the Sports Centre it has the two 14-storey tower blocks named after two great Huddersfield sports stars, swimmer Anita Lonsbrough and athlete Derek Ibbotson.
The demolition is not expected to start until next March but there will be preparatory work on the site before then.
It is thought some of the buildings on the site are likely to contain asbestos, which will have to be stripped out by specialists prior to demolition.
The site was earmarked for a Tesco superstore but the retail giant pulled out of the deal earlier this year.
The council and Tesco had agreed a legally-binding deal in 2010 where the retailer would buy council land off the ring road, on the site of the existing Sports Centre, to build a new store. Now the council has received £18.79m after Tesco pulled out of the deal.
Council officers re-negotiated the deal which saw Tesco also hand over to the council other land they had bought around the Sports Centre.
Clr Peter McBride, Cabinet Member for Transportation, Skills, Jobs and Regional Affairs, said officers had taken advice from consultants to ensure that the proposals ultimately lead to getting the best value for the site.
He added: “We have worked with consultants to discuss whether there is merit in retaining any of the buildings within the site boundary, or whether demolishing all of them allows a higher future value.
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“Their clear advice was that all the buildings are dilapidated or at, or very close to, the end of their useful economic life, and there is no perceived demand for such buildings without us investing significant extra amounts ourselves. Their opinion was also that retaining and refurbishing the flats would take up a lot of prime frontage and compromise the redevelopment of the rest of the site.
“The proposal we have is the best way for us to move to the point where we have a key site ready for development and which will gain us the best return, at one of the key gateways to the town centre.”
If approval is given by Cabinet, the process will begin immediately with an application for planning approval, and tendering for contractors to undertake the works. It is anticipated that demolition will take place from March.
FACTFILE
Anita Lonsbrough, 74, worked as a clerk in Huddersfield Town Hall
She was just 19 when she won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1960 Rome Olympics
She also won gold in European and Commonwealth championships
She is married to former champion cyclist Hugh Porter
Derek Ibbotson, 83, was born and bred in Huddersfield and attended King James’ Grammar School
He took up athletics in the 1940s and won bronze in the 3000m at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics
In 1957 he set a new world record for the mile of 3min 77.92secs
