Member Article

Phase Four fully let at historic Park Valley Mills site in Huddersfield

Phase Four of the major regeneration of the historic 13-acre Park Valley Mills site in Lockwood, Huddersfield, has been completed – and is already fully let. The flagship site, which is owned by Holmfirth Dyers, has been transformed into a high-quality business park, featuring 18 brand-new industrial units with office and storage space.

Park Valley Mills had previously been derelict for many years, with buildings falling into disrepair. Now the revamped site off Meltham Road in Lockwood is creating new jobs and regenerating the area.

Three new tenants have moved into state-of-the-art industrial units at the 14,000 sq ft Phase Four, meaning that more than 150 jobs have been created on site. The new tenants are: The Cycle Division, who have taken 8,200 sq ft of quality space; Biofresh Ltd, who have taken 2,900 sq ft; and ValvePro Ltd, who have also taken 2,900 sq ft.

Roger Griffin, managing director of ValvePro, who supply valve products to the energy sector, explained why Park Valley Mills was ideal for his company’s needs. “West Yorkshire is one of the main regions in Europe for the manufacture and supply of valve products and services and Huddersfield in particular has a long history and strong global reputation within this market sector. The Huddersfield area’s involvement with valve design and manufacture started in the mid-1800s due to the significant textile industry, which was driven by steam and needed valves.

“With Park Valley Mills being steeped in Huddersfield’s historical textile history we felt the location would be ideal for our business and the central location with good transport links to the rest of the country, major air and seaports is ideal.

“In addition to Park Valley Mills being an ideal geographical location for our business the quality and finish of the Park Valley House building on site, where our main office is located, is very impressive and a great working space.

“Our new lease agreement for one of the new industrial units at Park Valley Mills to support our expansion and we use this as our warehouse and distribution base. The quality and finish of the industrial units follows the same high standard we have become used to at Park Valley House. He added: “Park Valley suits ValvePro Limited as it’s a very high quality business park, which gives our customers an excellent impression of our business, whilst also retaining historical industrial links in an ideal geographical location.”

Meanwhile Jeremy Barraclough, managing director of Biofresh, the market leader in ethical food storage, explained that significant growth last year meant that the company needed a new, larger and more centralised operations base.

“Park Valley Mills met all our needs, providing us with a high-quality, modern unit set within a well -maintained, professional site.”

He added: “Our systems provide a reliable, easy to use and cost effective way to extend the life of fresh produce throughout the supply chain. Many growers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers are now reducing wastage, increasing their profits and improving their ethical credentials thanks to Biofresh.” Holmfirth Dyers managing director Martin Duckett explained that he was absolutely delighted that Phase Four at Park Valley Mills had been fully let before the new units had been built.

“That is a resounding endorsement of the quality of this development. We are also delighted by the number of jobs that have been created on site, which have provided a timely and significant boost to the Huddersfield economy.

“Now that the four phases of our industrial development at Park Valley Mills have been completed, and are fully let, we are turning our attention to two more jewels in the Park Valley Mills crown - Park Valley House and the Mending Rooms.

“Park Valley House is an historic 6,000 sq ft 19th century heritage mill office, which has been imaginatively restored to its former glory. We have 2,640 sq ft of high-quality office accommodation available to lease there now.

“Meanwhile the Grade II Mending Rooms, which overlook the local rugby club and the River Holme, comprise 20,400 sq ft of office space over four floors. We are currently exploring funding and investment opportunities to transform this wonderful building into Grade A modern offices.”

Sarah-Jayne Lishman of leading Leeds property consultancy Dove Haigh Phillips, who are marketing Park Valley Mills, commented: “This is a superb development for Huddersfield, which has created jobs and regenerated the area. So much has been achieved already – and we look forward to attracting occupiers to both Park Valley House and the Mending Rooms.”

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.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .