IT once provided work for 2,000 Huddersfield people.
Now it is a huge, sorry, hole in the ground.
But a bright future is around the corner for the former Hopkinsons factory in Birkby.
Work is well under way to redevelop the former Hopkinsons Valves site off Wheathouse Road.
Housebuilder Cala Homes has demolished most of the industrial buildings fronting Wheathouse Road as the first step in a £65m housing scheme.
Leeds-based Cala has been granted planning permission from Kirklees Council for 315 homes on the sprawling 18-acre site.
Weir Valves and Controls, formerly Hopkinsons, moved its operations to Ainleys Industrial Estate at Elland a year ago.
The Birkby factory was the hub of the Hopkinsons empire for decades, supplying valves to every corner of the world.
The factory provided employment for tens of thousands of people over the years. The claim was that everyone knew someone at `Hops'.
Jim Cropper, managing director for Cala Homes in Yorkshire, said the Birkby scheme would provide a mix of homes, ranging from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom detached houses.
The scheme includes a central square and main boulevard. The existing stone office building at Britannia Works will be refurbished and converted into flats.
Construction of the first new houses will begin in the spring.
The first ones are scheduled for completion in January next year.
