A go-ahead textile firm is bringing much needed industrial units – and more jobs – to Huddersfield.

Holmfirth Dyers has completed the £1.3m first phase of an ambitious plan to build 18 modern industrial units with office and storage space on its 13-acre site at Park Valley Mills, Meltham Road, Lockwood.

Tenants have already taken space in three of the six units making up phase one and work is under way on phase two, which will see another four units built at a cost of £660,000 before the end of the year to provide an additional 9,250sq ft of space.

Holmfirth Dyers already operates a modern dyehouse at the site, which opened two years ago, and has two tenants based a listed building, which formed part of the original Park Valley Mills complex. The company also continues to work from its premises at Dunford Road, Holmfirth.

Park Valley Mills had been derelict for many years, with buildings falling into disrepair. Now the revamped site has created 55 jobs – including the newly-installed tenants – with more jobs in the pipeline.

Holmfirth Dyers managing director Martin Duckett said: “There is a distinct lack of high-quality units in Huddersfield, so we have not been surprised by the demand for our attractive and practical modern units.

“Our aim, which is now being achieved, is to create opportunities for local businesses and to encourage them to come to a site in attractive, peaceful surroundings, yet situated close to the centre of Huddersfield.

The new tenants are heating and air conditioning company Midland Jay, Process Imaging Equipment Services and Denby Dale Coffee Ltd.

Gary Conway, director of Midland Jay, said: “Our new premises at Park Valley Mills are first-class. They are clean, spacious, practical and presentable. We are proud to meet our customers here, especially since we are only five minutes from the centre of Huddersfield and close to Yorkshire’s excellent motorway network. We are definitely here to stay.”

Mike Haigh, partner with leading Leeds property consultancy Dove Haigh Phillips, which is marketing the site, said: “This is a superb development for Huddersfield, which is already creating jobs and regenerating the area.

“Holmfirth Dyers must be congratulated on building speculatively in a challenging commercial property market. The company has tremendous faith in the Huddersfield area and is delighted to welcome new occupiers to this site, which has a proud history and a great future.

“Now significant deals have been done on phase one, phase two is beginning,” he said. “There has been strong interest in the last phase one units and deals are close to being finalised.”

Paul Kemp, assistant director for investment and regeneration at Kirklees Council, said: “The council welcomes the fact that a successful local company is leading on a scheme to provide much-needed expansion space for businesses to the Huddersfield area.”

Holmfirth Dyers opened its state-of-the-art dyehouse two years ago to carry out dyeing for Meltham and Mirfield-based Camira Fabrics.

Since then Holmfirth Dyers has also been carrying out work for other Huddersfield textile firms.

In addition to building the new units, Holmfirth Dyers plans to spend £200,000 extending the dyehouse by 4,500sq ft which will also mean recruiting to expand its nine-strong workforce at Meltham as production capacity increases.

Click here to take you back to more Huddersfield news .

Want to read, watch and hear more? You can download the FREE Examiner Apple App  here , the FREE Examiner Android App  here  or you can view the paper as an e-edition on your Apple, Android or Kindle device by clicking  here

To follow us on Twitter click here