Huddersfield’s historic Park Valley House now open for business

The restoration of Park Valley House, the historic 19th century mill office at the centre of Park Valley Business Park in Lockwood, Huddersfield, has been completed.

The 6,000 sq ft heritage building, which has been converted to high-quality office accommodation, is now open for business.

Two West Yorkshire companies, Momentum Sales Solutions and Holmfirth Dyers themselves, have already taken office space in Park Valley House, with another deal imminent.

Executive business training and development consultancy Momentum has taken 750 sq ft and is taking a further 350 sqft, while Holmfirth Dyers, who own Park Valley Business Park, are moving into a purpose-built 750 sq ft office in the restored building.

The revamp of Park Valley House and Park Valley Business Park, has created more than 70 sustainable jobs, and once completed, the park should be home to hundreds of employees.

Brian Duckett of Holmfirth Dyers said: “We have been able to transform a derelict industrial site into a modern business park, with first-class industrial units and a wonderful heritage building in Park Valley House. There is still much work to be done in completing the later phases of our development, but we have made a great start, which we are celebrating today.”

There is more than 4,000 sq ft of quality office space still available to lease within the three-storey Park Valley House, with flexible floorplates ranging from 300 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft for potential occupiers.

Paul Kemp, assistant director for Investment and Regeneration for Kirklees Council, commented: “It is fantastic to see what has been achieved here. The transformation of a neglected site into what we see here today is amazing and Park Valley Business Park will provide much-needed expansion space for businesses to the Huddersfield area. The vision and drive of everyone involved in this regeneration project has been amazing.”

Mike Haigh, partner with leading Leeds property consultancy Dove Haigh Phillips, added: “Park Valley House offers magnificent character space in an impressive heritage building. It has been refurbished to an exceptional standard, effortlessly mixing modern and historic features, whilst the views over the River Holme and Park Valley are gorgeous.

“More specifically, it boasts fantastic lighting, on-site parking and meeting room facilities, which all create a fantastic and dynamic office environment. Altogether a significant amount of money has been spent on this very sensitive and comprehensive restoration and it shows,” said Mr Haigh. “It is unique in this area.”

Pete Evans, managing director of Momentum, also said: “As our company expanded, we needed to locate to larger premises in the Huddersfield area. We were lucky enough to find Park Valley House, which was absolutely perfect. The ethos of the historic old mill office is wonderful, as is the working ambience. At the same time the location is perfect for us close to Yorkshire’s superb motorway. It ticks every single box for us.”

He added: “Park Valley House was the perfect choice, as the complex is in a central location, has ample parking and is full of character. We recognised its potential, as it is being transformed into a stylish, well-finished office with some of the original features left intact.”

“This combination of old and new, of historic and cutting edge, fits our brand perfectly”.

The remainder of the 13.5-acre Park Valley Business Park is being transformed into a high-quality business park, featuring 18 brand-new industrial units with office and storage space, by Holmfirth Dyers.

Holmfirth Dyers managing director Martin Duckett explained that work on Phase Two, which features 9,250 sq ft of quality industrial space, divided into units as required, has now been completed. Discussions are now with lawyers for two occupiers to take more than 5,000 sq ft. Phase Three, comprising 17,750 sq ft of industrial space, will be completed by next Spring.

He commented: “There is a distinct lack of high-quality units in Huddersfield, so we have not been surprised by the demand for our attractive and practical modern units, which start from 2,200 sq ft and can be adapted to suit tenants’ requirements”.

Mike Haigh added: “Holmfirth Dyers must be congratulated on building speculatively in a challenging commercial property market. The company has tremendous faith in the Huddersfield area and is delighted to welcome new occupiers to this site, which has a proud history and a great future.”

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