HD1

[jared]

At this point why not just start a new thread?

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 7:12:38 GMT 1 calken said:

Jun 15, 2017 22:40:44 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Remind me what Hotel has been sitting empty in Town for the past few years...

A crap, outdated shithole that you would never want to put customers in.

You mean it's in need of refurbishment?

[Nickhudds.UTT]

The owner will never refurbish it, Just rotting away.

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 0:01:47 GMT 1 shawsie said:

HD1 is needed in the town........we need investment in something different.
There's no point trying to emulate Leeds and Manchester - but something a bit quirky, different may attract new visitors into the town and it's badly needed. For those who decry it, what's your alternative?
Stay with what we have and bemoan everything?!

Isn't that the point, it's needed in the town?

[shawsie]

Jun 16, 2017 7:59:29 GMT 1 fnd said:

Jun 16, 2017 0:01:47 GMT 1 shawsie said:

HD1 is needed in the town........we need investment in something different.
There's no point trying to emulate Leeds and Manchester - but something a bit quirky, different may attract new visitors into the town and it's badly needed. For those who decry it, what's your alternative?
Stay with what we have and bemoan everything?!

Isn't that the point, it's needed in the town?

I think so yes.
I don't get the sniping and criticism....it's 100m of new investment that's badly needed......providing they sort the access out it's something different to attract new visitors and bring it on!

[TTCMatt]

Jun 16, 2017 7:12:02 GMT 1 El Mel said:

Jun 15, 2017 23:59:37 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Bloody students, coming here, helping to keep our Town alive. The university really is the one shining light among some key industry the Town still has.

But there are still so many issues with HDOne - it will undoubtedly be a damp squib. The economics of it is built upon pre 'credid crunch' times. Huddersfield has the third lowest average weekly wages across the biggest towns and cities in the UK, an economy reliant on leisure/retail relies on disposable income - never going to happen with wage stagnation and a soon to be falling economy. 

Then there's prospect of it ruining an already failing Town centre with shops shutting and plenty of units sitting unused. Not to mention the issues around people getting to and from HDOne - the idea is totally reliant upon car transportation.

Then they seem to think that it could attract 4 million people a year to HDOne. I mean why would anyone want to use a dry ski slope in Huddersfield when they could go to Castleford or Manchester and use an indoor facility? Why come trampolining in Huddersfield when they could do that in Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester or even Barnsley.

I want the best for my town and I want it to thrive but HDOne has been coming for over a decade and too many people and pinning far too much on just one project for the Town to succeed. Regeneration of any town or city requires more than one big leisure project.

The indoor ski slopes along the M62 are shite, and expensive.
I'll definitely use the one being built at HD One, as will a lot of people I know who ski and snowboard. People seem to think that it isn't viable, yet there's been a (relatively poor) dry slope in operation in Halifax for something like 30 years - and its produced Olympic Gold Medallists. 

The town centre died a long time ago as a retail centre - I bet I haven't been shopping in Huddersfield since Margaret Thatcher was in power - it's utterly rubbish in comparison to shopping in retail villages, online, or of course, supermarkets for your grub. The town has re-invented itself with the growth of the University, and this development is part of that change. It will provide plenty of work opportunities for more students, who then have money to spend in the town.

You seem convinced it's destined to fail, yet Costa, Pizza Hut, The Odeon, and The Rope Walk are long established thriving businesses on the site - so why are the new ones occupying HD One going to be unable to attract customers? McDonalds on Leeds Road - you cant get on Leeds Road at times for the cars queuing to get in - but people in Huddersfield don't have any disposable income?

All the finance was in place for this project months ago, there are plenty of people who have far more faith in it that you, and they've stumped up the cash to back that up. 

Personally I find it exciting, it will benefit the town, and the club, and put the stadium back on the map - as it was when it was first built and part of the revolution of football ground re-generation that followed.

Nicely put G.

As long as HDone and HD1 leads and doesn't follow, then it should do well. I'm sure they've done the figures re the skiing, but I'd like to see something genuinely different on the site to make Huddersfield stand out in the north and be a bit of a pioneer, like the stadium once was. If the outdoor skiing is pioneering then fair enough, I hope it does well.

If it does do well, then Leeds Rd is going to be a bit of a nightmare. Especially if McDonalds is doing so well 

[colnevalleyblue]

Jun 16, 2017 8:06:08 GMT 1 shawsie said:

Jun 16, 2017 7:59:29 GMT 1 fnd said:

Isn't that the point, it's needed in the town?

I think so yes.
I don't get the sniping and criticism....it's 100m of new investment that's badly needed......providing they sort the access out it's something different to attract new visitors and bring it on!

I think he means the Town Centre.
We've got a bus station and train station there and more than one access road in and out.

Town Centre has a massive space where the old Sports Centre was and a huge area where the old Technical college was.
We've got streets of empty shops near the top of Town, New Street for example and the area around there.

Feel sorry for the local independent shop owners, restaurants and bars that will see more trade leaving them for something a mile down the road that will be big businesses only, Starbucks, costa, whetherspoons etc.

Investment is needed but I think Town Centre is the better place.

I'm assuming this is going to be abit like the Liverpool One thing or the Leeds Trinity development (which are great) but both those compliments their City Centres.

[goodbet]

I would like to see HD1 do well but I have the feeling that it could be the death knell for the town centre.

Over the years we have seen a steady shift of shopping from town centres to out of town stores, with the impact of the internet we have seen most town centres go into decline.

As it is the town centre is far too large for the amount of shops that we have and is in serious need of help. The planners messing about with the roads changing them to single lanes and adding buss lanes making it a nightmare to get in and out for drivers and then charging them the earth to park when you get there.
Halifax seems to have made a reasonable stab at their town centre and Barnsley is much better than the hole it once was, but when I do get in to our town centre I feel that it is an uninspiring and depressing place. I remember feeling proud of our town centre when I went around the country seeing other town centres but is this just back to a old man's misty memories clouding the reality, I don't think so.

It needs sorting out moving all of the shopping and bars etc. to the west of the Market Square and bring in housing in to the towns east side if the space can't be filled with offices or a supermarket.

As with the football club the town needs a new direction and at the moment it appears that that direction is to move everything out of the town centre and put nothing back in. Could there be a planning Wagner out there and would it be beyond local government to give a new idea a chance, sadly probably well beyond any bureaucrats vision.

[teddytheterrier]

Nothing wrong with bumping.

[chinaski]

Surely this is just economic progress?

The amount of overheads involved with owning a retail shop hike up the price for the consumer. I wouldn't do any type of shopping bar food/essentials from a physical shop these days - you get a far wider and cheaper selection online.

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 7:47:19 GMT 1 Nickhudds.UTT said:

The owner will never refurbish it, Just rotting away.

Think he saw a golden goose and bit off more than he could chew.

It was marketed at £1.4m, he managed to get it for £900k.

He stated it would cost around £2m to refurbish completely (and SOME repairs and refurb has happened but obviously nowhere near £2m has been spent).

It's now on the market at £3m.

Tidy profit for 2 or 3 years investment IF he can get a buyer in at anywhere over £2m.




I think we should crowd fund buying it and turn it into a castle for David Wagner to live in, so he can look down into the square when he rises in the morning and see his loyal subjects waving and chanting his name.

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 7:12:02 GMT 1 El Mel said:

Jun 15, 2017 23:59:37 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Bloody students, coming here, helping to keep our Town alive. The university really is the one shining light among some key industry the Town still has.

But there are still so many issues with HDOne - it will undoubtedly be a damp squib. The economics of it is built upon pre 'credid crunch' times. Huddersfield has the third lowest average weekly wages across the biggest towns and cities in the UK, an economy reliant on leisure/retail relies on disposable income - never going to happen with wage stagnation and a soon to be falling economy. 

Then there's prospect of it ruining an already failing Town centre with shops shutting and plenty of units sitting unused. Not to mention the issues around people getting to and from HDOne - the idea is totally reliant upon car transportation.

Then they seem to think that it could attract 4 million people a year to HDOne. I mean why would anyone want to use a dry ski slope in Huddersfield when they could go to Castleford or Manchester and use an indoor facility? Why come trampolining in Huddersfield when they could do that in Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester or even Barnsley.

I want the best for my town and I want it to thrive but HDOne has been coming for over a decade and too many people and pinning far too much on just one project for the Town to succeed. Regeneration of any town or city requires more than one big leisure project.

The indoor ski slopes along the M62 are shite, and expensive.
I'll definitely use the one being built at HD One, as will a lot of people I know who ski and snowboard. People seem to think that it isn't viable, yet there's been a (relatively poor) dry slope in operation in Halifax for something like 30 years - and its produced Olympic Gold Medallists. 

The town centre died a long time ago as a retail centre - I bet I haven't been shopping in Huddersfield since Margaret Thatcher was in power - it's utterly rubbish in comparison to shopping in retail villages, online, or of course, supermarkets for your grub. The town has re-invented itself with the growth of the University, and this development is part of that change. It will provide plenty of work opportunities for more students, who then have money to spend in the town.

You seem convinced it's destined to fail, yet Costa, Pizza Hut, The Odeon, and The Rope Walk are long established thriving businesses on the site - so why are the new ones occupying HD One going to be unable to attract customers? McDonalds on Leeds Road - you cant get on Leeds Road at times for the cars queuing to get in - but people in Huddersfield don't have any disposable income?

All the finance was in place for this project months ago, there are plenty of people who have far more faith in it that you, and they've stumped up the cash to back that up. 

Personally I find it exciting, it will benefit the town, and the club, and put the stadium back on the map - as it was when it was first built and part of the revolution of football ground re-generation that followed.

I don't think it will fail early on, but if history of these kind of developments around other towns in the country repeats itself it will become a white elephant whilst taking away trade from an already depleted town centre. And that's my beef with HDOne - it's taking away from the town centre in a time where out of town retail and leisure sites are on the decline - ultimately showing that the plans for HDOne are outdated. Liverpool One - city centre, Leeds Trinity - city centre, Manchester is about to invest in 'The Factory' - again city centre.

Huddersfield needs a USP not copying other places that have trampolining, skiing and a bit of retail thrown in. As I've said you can ski in Castleford or Halifax, Sheffield's dry ski slope could be back operational soon should Sheffield City Council have their way and would impact on the one down at HDOne. 

I want the town to succeed but sorry, all this will do is detract from an already disappointing town centre which has bags of potential. And I find it disgraceful that the council can give loans to fund this but can't help pay for events such as the food and drink festival which brings people into the town from all over the north. 

[TTCMatt]

Jun 16, 2017 10:58:09 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Jun 16, 2017 7:12:02 GMT 1 El Mel said:

The indoor ski slopes along the M62 are shite, and expensive.
I'll definitely use the one being built at HD One, as will a lot of people I know who ski and snowboard. People seem to think that it isn't viable, yet there's been a (relatively poor) dry slope in operation in Halifax for something like 30 years - and its produced Olympic Gold Medallists. 

The town centre died a long time ago as a retail centre - I bet I haven't been shopping in Huddersfield since Margaret Thatcher was in power - it's utterly rubbish in comparison to shopping in retail villages, online, or of course, supermarkets for your grub. The town has re-invented itself with the growth of the University, and this development is part of that change. It will provide plenty of work opportunities for more students, who then have money to spend in the town.

You seem convinced it's destined to fail, yet Costa, Pizza Hut, The Odeon, and The Rope Walk are long established thriving businesses on the site - so why are the new ones occupying HD One going to be unable to attract customers? McDonalds on Leeds Road - you cant get on Leeds Road at times for the cars queuing to get in - but people in Huddersfield don't have any disposable income?

All the finance was in place for this project months ago, there are plenty of people who have far more faith in it that you, and they've stumped up the cash to back that up. 

Personally I find it exciting, it will benefit the town, and the club, and put the stadium back on the map - as it was when it was first built and part of the revolution of football ground re-generation that followed.

I don't think it will fail early on, but if history of these kind of developments around other towns in the country repeats itself it will become a white elephant whilst taking away trade from an already depleted town centre. And that's my beef with HDOne - it's taking away from the town centre in a time where out of town retail and leisure sites are on the decline - ultimately showing that the plans for HDOne are outdated. Liverpool One - city centre, Leeds Trinity - city centre, Manchester is about to invest in 'The Factory' - again city centre.

Huddersfield needs a USP not copying other places that have trampolining, skiing and a bit of retail thrown in. As I've said you can ski in Castleford or Halifax, Sheffield's dry ski slope could be back operational soon should Sheffield City Council have their way and would impact on the one down at HDOne. 

I want the town to succeed but sorry, all this will do is detract from an already disappointing town centre which has bags of potential. And I find it disgraceful that the council can give loans to fund this but can't help pay for events such as the food and drink festival which brings people into the town from all over the north. 

I'd like to see the council do more things such as the food and drink festival. St Georges Sq is such a well positioned open space, that it lends itself really well to seasonal 'pop up shops/events' which are/were all the rage down in London. The food and drink festival was great last year, and it seems a shame to only have that 1 event (that I know of). There's possibly room for other events? Things like Xmas markets in December, other food festivals, comedy festivals - a mini fringe festival (there's enough empty buildings) would be interesting. It just needs some effort and vision tbh... Mel is right in that retail in the Town is forever dead. If they can do the above, then HDone would be a nice addendum to that... If they don't, then sure you're right and that the Town could be even more of a ghost town than it is now...

*Turns Spotify on, and listens to The Specials*

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 10:58:09 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Jun 16, 2017 7:12:02 GMT 1 El Mel said:

The indoor ski slopes along the M62 are shite, and expensive.
I'll definitely use the one being built at HD One, as will a lot of people I know who ski and snowboard. People seem to think that it isn't viable, yet there's been a (relatively poor) dry slope in operation in Halifax for something like 30 years - and its produced Olympic Gold Medallists. 

The town centre died a long time ago as a retail centre - I bet I haven't been shopping in Huddersfield since Margaret Thatcher was in power - it's utterly rubbish in comparison to shopping in retail villages, online, or of course, supermarkets for your grub. The town has re-invented itself with the growth of the University, and this development is part of that change. It will provide plenty of work opportunities for more students, who then have money to spend in the town.

You seem convinced it's destined to fail, yet Costa, Pizza Hut, The Odeon, and The Rope Walk are long established thriving businesses on the site - so why are the new ones occupying HD One going to be unable to attract customers? McDonalds on Leeds Road - you cant get on Leeds Road at times for the cars queuing to get in - but people in Huddersfield don't have any disposable income?

All the finance was in place for this project months ago, there are plenty of people who have far more faith in it that you, and they've stumped up the cash to back that up. 

Personally I find it exciting, it will benefit the town, and the club, and put the stadium back on the map - as it was when it was first built and part of the revolution of football ground re-generation that followed.

I don't think it will fail early on, but if history of these kind of developments around other towns in the country repeats itself it will become a white elephant whilst taking away trade from an already depleted town centre. And that's my beef with HDOne - it's taking away from the town centre in a time where out of town retail and leisure sites are on the decline - ultimately showing that the plans for HDOne are outdated. Liverpool One - city centre, Leeds Trinity - city centre, Manchester is about to invest in 'The Factory' - again city centre.

Huddersfield needs a USP not copying other places that have trampolining, skiing and a bit of retail thrown in. As I've said you can ski in Castleford or Halifax, Sheffield's dry ski slope could be back operational soon should Sheffield City Council have their way and would impact on the one down at HDOne. 

I want the town to succeed but sorry, all this will do is detract from an already disappointing town centre which has bags of potential. And I find it disgraceful that the council can give loans to fund this but can't help pay for events such as the food and drink festival which brings people into the town from all over the north. 

I'm confused as to how a ski slope will take business away from the Town centre??

You wake up one morning and decide you want to go skiing, you WON'T be going to the town centre.
You wake up and your kid says they want to go to JD to splash on some new trainers, you WON'T be going to a ski slope.

Its an incredibly visible site, thousands of people will see it every day. Thousands of people in Halifax probably don't even realise there is a slope or where it is. Huge difference between the two (plus Halifax is the old style dry carpet with ankle breaking holes)...and as others have said, the indoor slopes are actually pretty rubbish.

If anything, HD One would increase town centre visits. I know I for example have never ever visited Castleford town centre in my life, until XScape came along and after a day out there I needed to visit a Boots and it seemed relatively close so I went....and Castleford town centre is far worse than Hudds!

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 11:13:07 GMT 1 @nigeltaylor said:

Jun 16, 2017 10:58:09 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

I don't think it will fail early on, but if history of these kind of developments around other towns in the country repeats itself it will become a white elephant whilst taking away trade from an already depleted town centre. And that's my beef with HDOne - it's taking away from the town centre in a time where out of town retail and leisure sites are on the decline - ultimately showing that the plans for HDOne are outdated. Liverpool One - city centre, Leeds Trinity - city centre, Manchester is about to invest in 'The Factory' - again city centre.

Huddersfield needs a USP not copying other places that have trampolining, skiing and a bit of retail thrown in. As I've said you can ski in Castleford or Halifax, Sheffield's dry ski slope could be back operational soon should Sheffield City Council have their way and would impact on the one down at HDOne. 

I want the town to succeed but sorry, all this will do is detract from an already disappointing town centre which has bags of potential. And I find it disgraceful that the council can give loans to fund this but can't help pay for events such as the food and drink festival which brings people into the town from all over the north. 

I'm confused as to how a ski slope will take business away from the Town centre??

You wake up one morning and decide you want to go skiing, you WON'T be going to the town centre.
You wake up and your kid says they want to go to JD to splash on some new trainers, you WON'T be going to a ski slope.

Its an incredibly visible site, thousands of people will see it every day. Thousands of people in Halifax probably don't even realise there is a slope or where it is. Huge difference between the two (plus Halifax is the old style dry carpet with ankle breaking holes)...and as others have said, the indoor slopes are actually pretty rubbish.

If anything, HD One would increase town centre visits. I know I for example have never ever visited Castleford town centre in my life, until XScape came along and after a day out there I needed to visit a Boots and it seemed relatively close so I went....and Castleford town centre is far worse than Hudds!

It's more than just a ski slope 

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 11:08:57 GMT 1 TTCMatt said:

Jun 16, 2017 10:58:09 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

I don't think it will fail early on, but if history of these kind of developments around other towns in the country repeats itself it will become a white elephant whilst taking away trade from an already depleted town centre. And that's my beef with HDOne - it's taking away from the town centre in a time where out of town retail and leisure sites are on the decline - ultimately showing that the plans for HDOne are outdated. Liverpool One - city centre, Leeds Trinity - city centre, Manchester is about to invest in 'The Factory' - again city centre.

Huddersfield needs a USP not copying other places that have trampolining, skiing and a bit of retail thrown in. As I've said you can ski in Castleford or Halifax, Sheffield's dry ski slope could be back operational soon should Sheffield City Council have their way and would impact on the one down at HDOne. 

I want the town to succeed but sorry, all this will do is detract from an already disappointing town centre which has bags of potential. And I find it disgraceful that the council can give loans to fund this but can't help pay for events such as the food and drink festival which brings people into the town from all over the north. 

I'd like to see the council do more things such as the food and drink festival. St Georges Sq is such a well positioned open space, that it lends itself really well to seasonal 'pop up shops/events' which are/were all the rage down in London. The food and drink festival was great last year, and it seems a shame to only have that 1 event (that I know of). There's possibly room for other events? Things like Xmas markets in December, other food festivals, comedy festivals - a mini fringe festival (there's enough empty buildings) would be interesting. It just needs some effort and vision tbh... Mel is right in that retail in the Town is forever dead. If they can do the above, then HDone would be a nice addendum to that... If they don't, then sure you're right and that the Town could be even more of a ghost town than it is now...

*Turns Spotify on, and listens to The Specials*

Retail in the town is only dead without proper investment. Another project to chuck into the mix is Kingsgate part two. A decade on, still no progress whatsoever. If Huddersfield had that and focused on attracting small chain and independents to the town centre whilst getting rid of all the appalling 60s/70s architecture around the town hall then the town centre could really work. At the moment the town has no USP, the council charge 100k a year in rent for shops in Kingsgate despite retailers continually leaving.

HDOne could work if the plans were updated but once again there just isn't a big USP. Well bar Five Guys. Cajun fries are sensational. 

[TTCMatt]

Jun 16, 2017 11:26:43 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Jun 16, 2017 11:08:57 GMT 1 TTCMatt said:

I'd like to see the council do more things such as the food and drink festival. St Georges Sq is such a well positioned open space, that it lends itself really well to seasonal 'pop up shops/events' which are/were all the rage down in London. The food and drink festival was great last year, and it seems a shame to only have that 1 event (that I know of). There's possibly room for other events? Things like Xmas markets in December, other food festivals, comedy festivals - a mini fringe festival (there's enough empty buildings) would be interesting. It just needs some effort and vision tbh... Mel is right in that retail in the Town is forever dead. If they can do the above, then HDone would be a nice addendum to that... If they don't, then sure you're right and that the Town could be even more of a ghost town than it is now...

*Turns Spotify on, and listens to The Specials*

Retail in the town is only dead without proper investment. Another project to chuck into the mix is Kingsgate part two. A decade on, still no progress whatsoever. If Huddersfield had that and focused on attracting small chain and independents to the town centre whilst getting rid of all the appalling 60s/70s architecture around the town hall then the town centre could really work. At the moment the town has no USP, the council charge 100k a year in rent for shops in Kingsgate despite retailers continually leaving.

HDOne could work if the plans were updated but once again there just isn't a big USP. Well bar Five Guys. Cajun fries are sensational. 

I'm all in favour of using the space of the ski slope to create a huge 5 guys (jk)... I'll be the size of 5 guys at the end of the 20/21 season

My point is re retail, if you want to go out to get some summer clothes you're not going to go to Huddersfield when you can go to Leeds/Mancs/The Trafford Centre where the choice is insanely good. Independents could work to an extent, but what brings people in? Niche shops tend to attract small niche markets. Although, I really like the layout of Afflecks in Manchester, it's a very interesting building and something like that full of independents would be something... 

[Headless Chicken]

Jun 16, 2017 11:26:43 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Jun 16, 2017 11:08:57 GMT 1 TTCMatt said:

I'd like to see the council do more things such as the food and drink festival. St Georges Sq is such a well positioned open space, that it lends itself really well to seasonal 'pop up shops/events' which are/were all the rage down in London. The food and drink festival was great last year, and it seems a shame to only have that 1 event (that I know of). There's possibly room for other events? Things like Xmas markets in December, other food festivals, comedy festivals - a mini fringe festival (there's enough empty buildings) would be interesting. It just needs some effort and vision tbh... Mel is right in that retail in the Town is forever dead. If they can do the above, then HDone would be a nice addendum to that... If they don't, then sure you're right and that the Town could be even more of a ghost town than it is now...

*Turns Spotify on, and listens to The Specials*

Retail in the town is only dead without proper investment. Another project to chuck into the mix is Kingsgate part two. A decade on, still no progress whatsoever. If Huddersfield had that and focused on attracting small chain and independents to the town centre whilst getting rid of all the appalling 60s/70s architecture around the town hall then the town centre could really work. At the moment the town has no USP, the council charge 100k a year in rent for shops in Kingsgate despite retailers continually leaving.

HDOne could work if the plans were updated but once again there just isn't a big USP. Well bar Five Guys. Cajun fries are sensational. 

Agree about the USP. Hudds can't remotely compete with Leeds and Manchester, which are great cities, whilst you also have Meadowhall.

Halifax may just get this when the Piece Hall reopens on Yorkshire Day.....I did say 'may'.

The Hudds food and drink festival is already known beyond the HD boundaries and well spoken of.....including how the immediate vicinity looks too.

Maybe the town needs to go for the foodies and ale drinkers, etc. promoting local, independent, etc. Suppose the question is whether parochial locals will support it or just head to Greggs, Macds, assuming they first get off the sofa (😉) and it wouldn't be too reliant on those within a short train journey fancying a change.

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 11:18:58 GMT 1 @bbrez said:

Jun 16, 2017 11:13:07 GMT 1 @nigeltaylor said:

I'm confused as to how a ski slope will take business away from the Town centre??

You wake up one morning and decide you want to go skiing, you WON'T be going to the town centre.
You wake up and your kid says they want to go to JD to splash on some new trainers, you WON'T be going to a ski slope.

Its an incredibly visible site, thousands of people will see it every day. Thousands of people in Halifax probably don't even realise there is a slope or where it is. Huge difference between the two (plus Halifax is the old style dry carpet with ankle breaking holes)...and as others have said, the indoor slopes are actually pretty rubbish.

If anything, HD One would increase town centre visits. I know I for example have never ever visited Castleford town centre in my life, until XScape came along and after a day out there I needed to visit a Boots and it seemed relatively close so I went....and Castleford town centre is far worse than Hudds!

It's more than just a ski slope 

Will you be able to buy clothes, footwear, mobile phones or jewelry there?

[Deleted]

Have people been to Kingsgate?

It is rammed full of people and Next, JD, SportsDirect, Claires, Pandora, various mobile phone providers etc have pretty much constant queue situations.

It's a myth that the town centre is dead. It's just moved, like they do.

It's dead to people moaning about "bus gates" that are enforcing traffic regulations that have been in place for 30+ years is all.

There's an ice cream shop in the town centre that if you turn up to it on a Saturday, they're taking names in order to squeeze you in 45 minutes later. An ICE CREAM shop! That is not the sign of a dead town!

Look at the pubs, more opening in the town centre every few months, bucking trends shown elsewhere, and they seem to be thriving.

[NumeroUno]

So many visionaries claiming this will be the end of the town centre. Newsflash - the town centre died long ago, it needs reviving and HDOne can only help in doing that.

The cause of death is not out of town entertainment, rather, it's that the town centre is crap and people go out of town to get better. Would anyone really go out of their way and waste time and money to get/do something if they could do it in Town, barring perhaps a day out once in a while? No.

Everything about the town centre is depressing and screams OLD and it has been dying a slow painful death for a while, clinging on for dear life. It's basically Town before Dean Hoyle took over. Having more listed buildings than anywhere else is great and all, but you need them to be more like the train station and less like the Co-op building. More refurbishment and class, less rotting and needles.

And I'm not having any of this working class/not enough disposable income argument as if we're all penniless in a third world country. There are varying levels of course, but everyone has to spend money somewhere. The problem is a lack of variety and options, as well as a massive dose of Chris Powell syndrome of beating yourself up and setting low limits - as embodied by the council (until now) and people constantly moaning about lack of disposable income.

What you need is the equivalent of hiring David Wagner - mixing things up, acknowledging your position and history but setting no limits and sticking a giant middle finger to those that doubt you because you're smaller. The University, Kingsgate 1 & 2, HDOne, are examples of doing that and reasons for people to stay, or even better, come IN to Huddersfield and spend their money rather than leave it to find something that isn't mind-numbingly dull.

We're increasingly a university town with thousands of students so is it any surprise that the town centre is dead when it's targeted at pensioners and the unemployed? Circle Fashion and Icestone Gelato are perfect examples of "smaller name" stores in the town centre that are very successful and anything but dead. That's because they try aim a little higher, have a modern design and just generally a cooler, younger feel without exactly re-inventing the wheel. Plain and simple, they're David Wagner in a town full of Chris Powell.

I'm delighted seeing all the new buildings going up (University, Polyseam, HDOne), the old going down (Sports Centre, Tech College), and the generally crappy being restored (Palace Theatre, Standard House) and hope we as a town keep it up. 

We need more of that to revive the town centre and it is perfect that it has coincided with Town getting promoted. We're the hipster team right now, the world's eyes are on us and we're everyone's second team because we challenge the status quo, have no limits, have style, and make the best with what we've got - the town should be the same.
 

[tommydee]

Huddersfield and hipster 😄 you were doing really well until that bit 😉

[Christ in Shades (art)]

Agreed the Town Centre is on its arse, everything has started to gravitate to the Kingsgate, which I suppose is natural. The one bit of town that has become awful is New Street. The streetscape is awful, empty shops, building with trees growing out of them. The far end of New Street is tragic, the awful concrete structures need to good, they are a blight. The old Co-op needs someone to take it on, I heard Wetherspoons wanted it but pulled out.

The council really need to step in now and make something happen in the Town Centre, this town would be totally dead if it wasn't for the Uni, it's propping up the town.

[muffinman]

I've done a few ski seasons and gone a fair few times to Castleford and Chill factor. I can't see much repeat custom going to the outdoor facility as anyone I know that goes regularly goes to the Friday night freestyle or takes people to teach them before they go to the Alps.

It will die on its arse like Sheffield before it and like the Halifax one is now.

[Deleted]

Jun 16, 2017 21:39:28 GMT 1 Christ in Shades (art) said:

Agreed the Town Centre is on its arse, everything has started to gravitate to the Kingsgate, which I suppose is natural. The one bit of town that has become awful is New Street. The streetscape is awful, empty shops, building with trees growing out of them. The far end of New Street is tragic, the awful concrete structures need to good, they are a blight. The old Co-op needs someone to take it on, I heard Wetherspoons wanted it but pulled out.

The council really need to step in now and make something happen in the Town Centre, this town would be totally dead if it wasn't for the Uni, it's propping up the town.

Dean Hoyle is going purple with rage reading this. I bet he'd give you 'the works' if he met you!

[detox]

Seems a bit crackers to start a 3 year building program round the stadium with all the disruption it will cause just as were planning on 24,000 football fans fighting their way past the diggers, trucks,building materials, cones and barriers... It'll be carnage.

[Solihull Terrier]

A pleasure to read so many well thought out responses, I think this may be the best quality discussion I've seen on DATM!

Like many others I'm not really convinced HDOne is the answer but the Town needs some kind of kick start and this seems to be the only option on the cards at the moment. As someone that used to have an input in deciding store locations for a well known high street retailer I can tell you we wouldn't have touched Huddersfield with a barge pole despite my own bias. People hold up Kingsgate as something positive but it's tiny in reality and even that is struggling to persuade major retailers to locate there. There is a lot of competition from neighbouring cities but that hasn't prevented other towns from having good retail centres.

The town centre needs some kind of task force with a joined up vision. Free parking or a big reduction in retail business rates would be a start. Use the asset of St George's Square and get more events there, why not a farmers market every Friday for example? The town needs to do something different and create new reasons for people to visit.

I don't know who owns the co-op building now but we should be doing everything we can with sweeteners, etc to get a new anchor in there. Get a good new name to the town in there and it would reinvigorate that end of town.

I confess I don't know much about Kingsgate 2.

[El Mel]

Jun 16, 2017 23:55:57 GMT 1 detox said:

Seems a bit crackers to start a 3 year building program round the stadium with all the disruption it will cause just as were planning on 24,000 football fans fighting their way past the diggers, trucks,building materials, cones and barriers... It'll be carnage.

It'll be part of the main contractors agreement to maintain access and usability to the the site on match days.

I suspect it'll be a large company handling this, with experience of these kind of projects. 

In actual fact, the construction will provide a huge amount of business for the town - very very good news.


We need to remember as well, we are 40% shareholders in KSDL, the value of the football club will be driven up as part of this project.

Ken Bates once bought a football club for a quid, improved the team, regenerated the stadium and surrounding areas, and sold it to some Russian for £140 million. 

Dare to Dream?

[Deleted]

It's been pinging around Twitter again last night, so probably worth linking in here again. The blog that I wrote on this issue less than two years ago.

It's amazing how far we've come as club since then, but the issues off the field are still there re: controlling stake in the stadium.

I still stand by what I said about HD1 too. I understand the view that the investment would help the town at first, but I don't believe it is sustainable. Imagine if that money was spent on developing the town centre instead - we have one of the most beautiful town centre's in the country architecturally, we should be emphasising that, not letting it fall apart and building a Lego town down by the canal.

www.thricechampions.co.uk/blog/2015/8/21/zsbk5c6whqxwqt1abj8m12eljt5sdv

[wtd]

Jun 15, 2017 22:15:45 GMT 1 mids said:

More importantly another thread that featured Fitzy

How Fitzy would have loved this past month/season! 🙁