Kirklees Council has published proposals for rejuvenating New Street and Cloth Hall Street, key elements within the Council's Blueprint for the town centre.

The links at the foot of this story provide an opportunity to view images of the intended improvements, including details about street furniture, lighting and paving, plus a chance to join public consultations on December 16 and 17.

HCS chairman David Wyles with HCS Executive Committee colleagues, Chas Ball and Martin Kilburn welcomed the opportunity to view the proposals a few weeks ago.

The story behind the development of Huddersfield first suburb is told in a new book by a local historian, David Griffiths. 

Highfields: a Most Handsome Suburb, published today by Huddersfield Civic Society, has been written as a companion to his book The Villas of Edgerton. Once again he paints a picture of a distinctive and architecturally significant area, acknowledged today by its Conservation Area designation.

The text is complemented by the pictures of Andrew Caveney, of Creative Digital Photography, and a variety of images, maps and photographs, sourced from local and national archives.

A planning application for ' improvements' to the Halifax Road (A629) in Edgerton, Lindley and Birchencliffe is due for approval in the New Year. This film illustrates the shortcomings of the council’s plan. 

The background to the story: In 2018 Kirklees Council revealed proposals for improvements to the A629 from its junction with Blacker Road at Edgerton to the M62 junction. The scheme is to be funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA).

We welcome the opportunity to comment on four guidance documents published by Kirklees Council in October as Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD), which it hopes 'will encourage a higher standard of design of residential developments in the area'. The are: 

• Open Space SPD
• Housebuilders Design Guide SPD
• House Extensions and Alterations SPD
• Biodiversity Net Gain in Kirklees Technical Advice Note

We note a government summary of the purpose of SPDs:
'Supplementary planning documents (SPDs) should build upon and provide more detailed advice or guidance on policies in an adopted local plan. As they do not form part of the development plan, they cannot introduce new planning policies into the development plan. 

The Transport Secretary's unambiguous recognition of the benefits of full electrification of the trans-Pennine rail route (TRU) has been welcomed by Huddersfield Unlimited (HU) and Huddersfield Civic Society (HCS).

In particular, we welcome the confirmation of the contribution full electrification would make to decarbonisation of the railway as well as delivering improvements to reliability, freight and passenger capacity, regional connectivity and journey times. 

We are disappointed that government will not take a decision until mid- 2021 to support the full TRU upgrade as part of the rolling programme of electrification, proposed by Network Rail.