DEVELOPERS gave people a look at the past and a vision of the future when they opened the doors of a former textile mill yesterday.

Globe Mills in Slaithwaite – a former textile powerhouse which dates back to 1887 – is about to be re-born as a hi-tech innovation centre.

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The iconic building in Bridge Street, formerly Globe Worsted, closed down in 2006.

It was part of the Illingworth Morris group, which was one of the world’s biggest wool textile manufacturers in the 1980s.

Illingworth Morris, under chairman Alan Lewis CBE, has now evolved into property company the Hartley Group and its former mills are being re-developed.

The company has joined forces with Huddersfield University to create an innovation centre for expanding hi-tech businesses.

It is intended that Globe Mills – dubbed SiliColne Valley – will be a sister building to the university’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Firth Street, Huddersfield.

The Hartley Group held a public consultation meeting at the 3M centre in January and yesterday staged an open day at the mill itself.

Former employees, interested locals and prospective business tenants had the chance to look around and ask questions of the architects and development team.

Mr Lewis was also there to showcase his plans.

Among the visitors were Colne Valley Tory MP Jason McCartney, Mayor of Kirklees Clr David Ridgway and local councillors Hilary Richards and Paul Salveson.

Hartley Group spokesman David Brescia said: “People were quite curious to see inside and take photographs and we had a constant flow of people wanting to look around.

“Our plans have been very well received and we are looking forward to moving ahead.”

The Hartley Group hopes to submit a planning application this month.

The firm also wants to encourage local businesses to take space in the new centre and hopes to create a food hall to build on Slaithwaite’s ‘food vibe’ reputation.

Mr Brescia confirmed that a proportion of the space would be made available to local businesses first.

He added: “We want to create a campus atmosphere.

“This site has been inspired by the 3M Buckley centre and we want start-ups from there which have grown too big to expand to Slaithwaite while retaining that link to the university.”