Pressure is mounting on Kirklees Council to surrender the gasworks property so that the Huddersfield Giants may build a new stadium.
Ken Davy, the owner of the Giants, and Kirklees Council are at odds over the land, which the council considers critical to its economic development agenda.
The vacant land, located off St Andrew’s Road near the Accu Stadium, is an important part of the council’s Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor and a health tech and innovation investment zone.
Mr. Davy intends for the Giants to abandon Accu Stadium and build a new 8,000-capacity stadium elsewhere in town.
He claims that the only possible location is the former gasworks, which is now used as a temporary car park.
The site is owned by Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd, the company that owns the Accu Stadium, but it will be handed to the council as part of a deal to hand over management of the stadium to Huddersfield Town.
The gasworks site problem was mentioned during Kirklees Council’s full meeting this week in Huddersfield Town Hall.
Clr Cahal Burke (Lib Dem, Lindley) urged the council to collaborate with the Giants and thoroughly consider what the gasworks site would offer as an option.
He stated, “I fully support efforts to increase innovation and attract investment to Huddersfield.”
“However, given the public interest in the Huddersfield Giants owner’s plan, I feel we now have a very real and time-sensitive opportunity.
“It merits full and open-minded consideration, not a harsh rejection. Will the council take the lead in facilitating that dialogue, rather than closing the door before the potential is fully tested?
“This idea is serious, deliverable, and clearly supported by the parties involved. It does not compete with health and innovation. It can complement
“A stadium dedicated to professional sports, community use, and wellness can coexist with research and enterprise. “This is about collaboration, not exclusion.”
Clr Burke stated that transferring the Giants will allow Huddersfield Town to continue forward with plans to develop the stadium and surrounding land, benefiting the entire Huddersfield community.
The Accu Stadium is too large for the Giants’ following, and Almondbury Lib Dem councillor David Longstaff, a Giants season ticket holder, told the audience that the advantages of a smaller stadium were obvious.
When the Stereophonics concert was held at Accu Stadium in June, the Giants faced the Wigan Warriors at the Dewsbury Rams’ home, and they came close to stunning the “best team in Super League.”
Clr Longstaff stated: “We’re in danger of losing our Super League team right now. We desperately need this new tiny stadium. Let’s help the Giants find their home, not inhibit them.”
Clr Graham Turner, Cabinet member for finance and regeneration, responded: “Of course, no one wants to see the Giants leave Huddersfield. No one wants to see them without a home.
“However, Ken Davy owns the business. It is his obligation to find the location; nevertheless, we have been working extremely hard with Ken to find a place.
“I’m not going to go into detail but I can name many, many sites that we’ve looked at, looked at with him, to try and find a solution.”
Clr Turner stated that Mr Davy was scheduled to attend a major meeting of the Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd board on next Friday. He couldn’t say anything more before that encounter.
Meanwhile, Mr Davy is moving on with plans to purchase The Shay Stadium in Halifax, which will serve as the Giants’ temporary home while a new stadium is erected in Huddersfield.
He will not, however, relocate the Giants from the Accu Stadium unless he obtains planning clearance for a new location in Huddersfield.
The Shay is designated as an Asset of Community Value, and while Calderdale Council has consented to sell the stadium to Mr Davy, community groups must be given the opportunity to submit an alternative proposal.
One group expressed interest, putting the transaction on hold, but that group has apparently pulled out.
However, a Calderdale Council spokesperson stated that they had not yet received formal news that the expression of interest had been withdrawn.
A new pitch has been constructed at The Shay, and Mr Davy intends to upgrade the stadium to Super League standards.
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