Work begins to put River Holme back at the heart of Holmfirth town centre
We’ve started work in Holmfirth town centre, which will pave the way for development of our ambitious Holmfirth Blueprint plans – specifically plans focused around the River Holme, which have received massive local support.
What is the Holmfirth Blueprint?
The Holmfirth Blueprint is our masterplan for the development of the town centre, stretching years into the future.
Holmfirth is one of Kirklees’ most beautiful historic towns. The blueprint is all about prioritising its vibrancy as a place for people of all ages to meet, enjoy local businesses, culture and events.
The plans have been developed based on lots of engagement with people who live and work in Holmfirth.
What does Holmfirth Blueprint have in store for the River Holme?
The blueprint focuses on several areas for development. One of which is making the River Holme a more picturesque feature within the town.
These plans include opening up views over the river and creating places for people to walk closer to the water’s edge, plus improving the river environment itself.
We ran a formal consultation on the Holmfirth Blueprint late last year. The consultation has helped us decide on priorities within the Holmfirth Blueprint. During this consultation, you told us this project meant a lot to you, and it received huge levels of public support.
What’s happening now?
The very first work is now underway, which involves clearing vegetation and allowing us access to the river wall. We’ll be carrying out environmental checks, and work will be done to make sure the wall is structurally sound and to preserve the river’s surrounding ecosystem.
Throughout this work, the existing environment around the river is our absolute priority. There are lots of healthy plants around the river and we’ll be moving them to new locations, helping them to grow and thrive in a new environment. We’ll also be installing a new bat box, creating a good habitat for bats roosting close to the river while our work is ongoing.
For this stage of the project, we’re working with River Holme Connections and Brooks Ecological Consultants.
What happens next?
Developing public spaces in the area will also help people enjoy views of both the river and Holmfirth’s historic town centre. Work on this will be the next stage of delivery within the Holmfirth Blueprint.
As work progresses, there might be some impact on local events. Should this be the case, we’ll work closely with organisers to make sure any disruption is kept to a minimum.
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Growth & Regeneration, says:
“It’s fantastic to see the first tangible steps being taken towards delivering the Holmfirth Blueprint – and these preliminary works are contributing to a project which has seen tremendous public support. The River Holme gives Holmfirth its name and is already a beautiful feature within the town centre, so it’s unsurprising that putting the river back at the heart of the town is important to so many.
“At the end of the day, our blueprints are about creating better, more beautiful and more functional centres for local people to enjoy, and they’re also about preserving Kirklees’ beauty and heritage for future generations. I’m very excited to see these plans come to life.”
Councillor Masood Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Environment, says:
“Our blueprint plans across Kirklees aren’t just about taking urban centres into the future. They’re also about future-proofing the beauty that’s already there.
“Making sure the existing natural environment around the River Holme is preserved and improved, and that wildlife currently living around the river is well cared for and supported throughout – that’s our priority with this initial work. We’re not just improving Holmfirth for local people but for the local environment too.”