Kirklees to seek development partner for Ignition Works
The council has confirmed it will be undertaking a procurement process later this year for the former gasworks site in Huddersfield, which it hopes to turn into a major employment hub focused on life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and R&D.
Located next to the University of Huddersfield’s National Health Innovation Campus, the site offers an opportunity for businesses to co-locate alongside world-leading research and innovation expertise.
The 6.8-acre brownfield site, located between the Huddersfield Broad Canal and St Andrews Road near the Accu Stadium, has already secured up to £8.55m from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to fund remediation and enabling works, with nearly £1m already allocated for site investigations, masterplanning, and business case preparation.
Turner & Townsend and Bond Bryan have been supporting work to date.
The plan for the former gasworks follows analysis by CBRE highlighting a lack of laboratory and specialist innovation space beyond established UK clusters such as Cambridge, Oxford, and London.
Ignition Works was first identified as an opportunity to improve the supply of high-quality employment land close to the town centre in the Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor Masterplan, approved in 2022.
The freehold for the site, which was previously home to a number of gasholders demolished in the 1960s and 1970s, is owned by Kirklees Council.
David Shepherd, executive director of place at Kirklees Counicl said: “The site will complement the University of Huddersfield’s groundbreaking National Health Innovation Campus, providing space for businesses that want to co-locate and collaborate.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “Our Local Growth Plan is boosting the region’s fastest growing sectors and backing local businesses to get the skills, workspace and investment they need to thrive.
“We’re working with businesses and the council to unlock new investment, create well-paid jobs and grow our world leading health and life sciences sector.
“Alongside the National Health Innovation Campus, this site will become a nationally significant centre of excellence for innovation, driving the development of life changing technologies, and contributing to a brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.”
