Health and Innovation campus plans set for approval

Plans to develop a new flagship Health and Innovation Campus on a key site in Huddersfield looks set to get the green light later this week (26 August 2021).The University of Huddersfield submitted an outline application to Kirklees Council earlier this year for the redevelopment of the Southgate site.The land was previously occupied by two 11-storey housing developments, a sports centre, multi-storey car park and various other buildings, but was cleared and re-graded by the council in 2016. Part of site was recently used as a 166-space temporary car park.The university is seeking approval for a flagship Health Innovation Campus to enable it to offer higher education degrees in the field of health and well-being.The proposed development would comprise more than 800,000 sq ft of space across a series of blocks, the tallest expected to stand at about eight storeys.The site would be sub-divided into seven key development plots. The first phase, which is currently subject to an architectural design competition, would comprise a landmark building of about 54,000 sq ft adjacent to Crown House at the gateway to the site.A multi-storey car park would be located to the rear of Crown House, with the five remaining plots arranged around the north- eastern section of the site and separated by landscaping and public realm.The application will be considered by the council’s Strategic Planning Committee on 26 August and is recommended for approval, subject to conditions, in an officer’s report prepared for the meeting.The report said the proposed development had the potential to be “character-defining for the town centre”.