4,000 people back plan to used former gasworks site for new Huddersfield Giants stadium
Thousands of Giants fans are urging the local authority to “do the right thing” and allow the plot of landoff St Andrew’s Road to be developed
Kirklees Council will be forced to debate the use of Huddersfield’s gasworks site as the location of a new Giants’ stadium.
Thousands of Huddersfield Giants fans are urging the local authority to “do the right thing” and allow the plot of land that sits off St Andrew’s Road to be developed into a stadium for the Super League team. Club owner, Ken Davy, has said it is the only suitable location in Huddersfield for the future Giants’ stadium.
A petition, which has now surpassed 4,000 signatures, is due to be handed in at next week’s Full Council meeting. To trigger a council debate, petitions must exceed 3,000 signatures. A date for this debate will be set in due course once signatures have been verified.
Kirklees Council has repeatedly made its position clear, saying that the site is already earmarked for other uses. The local authority says the plot is “crucial” for economic development as part of its Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor, rather than for sports or leisure. The site also features in the West Yorkshire Healthtech and Digital Tech Investment Zone.
However, the council has also said that if plans are put forward for the former gasworks or anywhere else, it will consider them “in detail”, as it would any other planning application. The land is currently owned by Kirklees Stadium Development Limited (KSDL) – the organisation which also owns the Accu Stadium.
Within the council, members of the Lib Dem group have been especially vocal in support of the Giants’ plans. At July’s Full Council meeting, Cllr Cahal Burke (Lindley) told his fellow councillors that the local authority is facing a “very real” and “time sensitive” opportunity that deserves “full and open-minded consideration”.
He argued that a new Giants’ stadium on the gasworks site would complement the existing plans for health and innovation. At the same meeting, his colleague, Cllr David Longstaff, spoke of the danger that Huddersfield could lose its Super League team and called on the council to assist the Giants in their search, and not “hinder” them.
The Giants currently share grounds with Huddersfield Town at the Accu Stadium, but are hoping to move to Halifax’s Shay Stadium temporarily while a new stadium is constructed in Huddersfield. But before relocating, the club wants total assurance that it will have a stadium to come back to in the future.
A link to the petition is as follows: https://www.change.org/p/urge-kirklees-council-to-develop-former-gas-works-site-for-huddersfield-giants