Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Yusra Hussain.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held 28 July 2022.

The Minutes of the previous meeting were approved as a correct record.

Councillors will be asked to advise if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion or vote on an item, or any other interests.

No Interests were declared.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private.

All items were considered in the public session.

The Panel will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public.

A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on a particular issue of concern, relevant to that body’s terms of reference. In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2) members of the public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.

A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting subject to the petition relating to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

There were no deputations or petitions received.

To receive any public questions;

In accordance with;

-       Council Procedure Rule 11(3), questions regarding the merits of applications (or other matters) currently before the Council for determination of which the Council is under a duty to act quasi judicially shall not be answered.

-       Council Procedure Rule 11(5), the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

No questions were received from the public.

The Panel will consider an update on the Huddersfield Station Gateway Programmes.

Contacts:

Richard Hollinson, Head of Major Projects

Simon Taylor, Head of Town Centre Programmes

The Panel considered an update on the Huddersfield Station Gateway (part of the delivery programme associated with Huddersfield Blueprint) which was presented by Edward Highfield, Service Director – Skills and Regeneration. Edward explained that:

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·         The key projects included were the: (i) Huddersfield Train Station (ii) TransPennine Route Upgrade (referred to as TRU), (iii) St. George’s Warehouse (iv) George Hotel and Estate Buildings

·         The Transport and Work Act Order (to authorise the construction/operation of new transport infrastructure projects) had now been confirmed and delivery of the TRU had now commenced.

·         As part of the TRU project, key elements of the upgrade at Huddersfield Station included:

o   Re-arranging and lengthening the existing platforms and the widening of platform 1.

o   A new platform on the west side of the station (between platform 8 and the warehouse)

o   A new foot bridge, constructed towards the northern end of the platforms, and an extension of the under pass.

o   New canopies constructed at the northern end of the platforms, and the Penistone Line canopy was to be extended northwards.

o   Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) was to be introduced throughout the station, (except for the Penistone Line).

·         The completion of the TRU was estimated for Summer 2026.

·         Alongside the delivery of the core train station projects, it was important for the Council to find ways to maximise the benefits of Network Rails investment across the wider station gateway area.

·         The Council had drawn up proposals in the Huddersfield Rail Station Connections plan in the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF).

·         This included 6 projects, funded through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to help prepare the surrounding area for TRU.

·         The £16 million scheme would focus on improving principal streets and ring road junctions.

·         Northumberland Street was noted as a critical route into the town centre and would be included in the improvements through the TCF investment.

·         Pedestrianisation of Northumberland Street was a key priority as per feedback from consultations and stakeholder engagement.

·         Attractiveness of the area was also important; designs and visuals were being developed for a second round of consultations later in the year.

·         The next steps included the development of a jointly funded and sponsored Masterplan, produced in partnership with key partners. 

·         The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Network Rail and TransPennine Express and HD1 developments were the key active partners.

·         They shared the Councils ambition to maximise the rail investment across the areas surrounding the train station.

·         This was in the collective understanding that the customer experience began at their journey to and from the station.

·         TransPennine Express had identified that the train station was underserved by car parking.

·         A key area of regeneration for the station included, St. George's Warehouse and a new Station Square

·         St. George's Warehouse was owned by and managed by HD1 Developments Ltd.

·         Working HD1 Developments Ltd, the aim was to identify better use for this site (i.e.- car parking, office space, apartments or other leisure uses) and connect the warehouse to the town.

In the discussion to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will consider an update on the approach to residential development in Huddersfield Town Centre as part of the wider Huddersfield Blueprint including the delivery of Estate Buildings and Somerset Buildings.

Contacts:

Adele Buckley Head of Housing Growth and Regeneration

Estate / Somerset Buildings and Residential Development in Huddersfield Town Centre

The Panel considered an update on the approach to residential development in Huddersfield Town Centre including the delivery of Estate Buildings and Somerset Buildings, as part of the wider Huddersfield Blueprint. The report was presented by Joanne Bartholomew Service Director for Development who highlighted that:

·         The Huddersfield Blueprint was a ten-year vision to create a thriving, modern-day town centre.

·         The Huddersfield Town Centre Living Plan was developed to set out the vision, objectives, opportunities and actions to encourage more people to live in the town centre and contribute to the wider aspirations of the Huddersfield Blueprint.

·         The scale of investment and transformation would improve the attractiveness of the town centre as a place to live.

·         This would provide new opportunities for residential development which in turn, would attract new residents.

·         The initial proposals for residential development in Huddersfield Town Centre would focus on two Council owned assets, Estate Buildings and Somerset Buildings.

·         Cabinet agreed on 5th July 2022 to proceed with the first phase of development and to enter a 12-month exclusivity period (to reach a development appraisal) with Thirteen Group.

·         Thirteen Group (“Thirteen”) was a large developing, not for profit, housing association based in the north east.

·         The Council would be supporting Thirteen group to bring forward their ideas for live and work units in Estate Buildings and Somerset House and how to make the Blueprint vision a reality. 

·         Thirteen were of robust financial standing and had secured a significant grant allocation from Homes England to support them in delivering housing.

·         They also had a strong relationship with Heritage England which was important when working with listed buildings.

·         Thirteen had a strong set of corporate values which aligned with the Council’s priorities.

·         Alongside housing delivery, Thirteen were focussed on the social value that could be brought to the wider district.

In the discussion to follow, the Panel raised questions about the demographic of the residents that the Council hoped to attract to Huddersfield through the delivery of Somerset House and Estate Buildings. The Panel also wanted to know about the timing and availability of the new residential offer in relation to the delivery of the wider Cultural Heart.

In response, Joanne Bartholomew advised that the Council were looking to attract young professionals highlighting the development of the Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor and the aspiration to increase the opportunities for recruitment to local businesses in this area. Joanne also assured the Panel that Thirteen had an established record of working with businesses to understand the type of residential offer that would be best suited to their target workforce. Responding to the question about the timing and availability, Joanne advised that a large amount of construction work related to the Cultural Heart would be completed alongside the residential developments in the area.

When considering the principle of developing residential housing in the town centre, the Panel wanted to understand more about the impact the ring road had on air  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.