Crunch meeting for future of Huddersfield’s rugby stadium to be held this week
Club owner Ken Davy wants to build a new Giants stadium on a derelict plot of land off St Andrew’s Road
The future of the Huddersfield Giants’ stadium will be discussed at a Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd (KSDL) board meeting this week, as pressure mounts on Kirklees Council to reconsider its position on the club’s preferred site.
Back in June, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported that thousands of Giants fans had shown their support for the vision of club owner, Ken Davy, to build a new Giants stadium on a derelict plot of land off St Andrew’s Road, referred to as the former gasworks site.
Soon after, Kirklees Council set out its stance, having other plans for the site going forward. The local authority explained that the land is “crucial” for economic development as part of its Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor, rather than for sports or leisure, with it earmarked for employment-related use in 2022. The plot also features in the West Yorkshire Healthtech and Digital Tech Investment Zone.
Currently, the former gasworks site is owned by KSDL – the company which manages the Accu Stadium, formerly the John Smith’s. Shares in the company are still held by the council (40%), Huddersfield Town Association Football Club (40%) and Huddersfield Giants Rugby League Football Club (20%), despite an agreement for the council to hand over its share to Huddersfield Town being drawn up in October.
At a Full Council meeting last week, questions on the matter were raised by Lib Dem councillors, Cllrs Cahal Burke (Lindley) and David Longstaff (Almondbury).
Councillor Burke, said that while he fully recognises the council’s ambition to promote high quality employment uses on the gasworks site, he believes that the council is facing a “very real” and “time sensitive opportunity” that deserves “full and open minded consideration”, rather than a “flat dismissal” based on decisions and assumptions made several years ago.
He asked Cabinet to commit to proactively exploring whether a mixed-use development that incorporates a new Giants stadium, along with health, wellbeing and innovation facilities, could be a viable use for the site.
Councillor Burke continued: “This proposal is serious, deliverable and clearly backed by those involved. It is not in competition with health and innovation. It can complement it. A stadium focused on professional sport, community use and wellbeing can sit side by side with research and enterprise. This is about synergy, not exclusion.
“Relocating the Giants would also give Huddersfield Town the ability to move forward with its own plans for the stadium. It would also provide the council with the opportunity to remove itself from long-term risk and financial liability associated with the stadium, which is a significant governance concern.”
“This is not just a vision anymore. It’s a genuine, strategic opportunity. One that would benefit the Giants, the football club, the University and the wider Huddersfield community. The council has a chance to bring people together, explore co-location, consider innovative land use and deliver a development that promotes health, sport, investment and civic pride.”
In response, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, Cllr Graham Turner reiterated the stance he provided in the meeting previously, saying: “I earlier on said there is a board meeting next Friday where all these options will be discussed. Prior to that, I cannot comment any further.”
Before the question from Cllr Burke, Cllr Longstaff spoke of the danger that Huddersfield could lose its Super League club and the desperate need for a new smaller stadium for the Giants. He added: “Let’s assist the Giants to find that home, not hinder them”.
In response, Cllr Turner said: “Of course, no one wants to see the Giants move out of Huddersfield, no one wants to see them not have a home but they are a business owned by Ken Davy. It’s his responsibility to find a site, and while it is his responsibility, we have been working very hard with Ken to try and find a site. I’m not going to go into details but I could name you many, many sites that we’ve looked at with him to try and find a solution.
“All I can say at this moment in time is, there is a board meeting of KSDL next Friday where Ken will be attending to discuss the future.”