Hi John,

I've just read your Piece Hall article and your Train station to bus station plans and am excited at the prospects on offer.

As someone who has lived away from Halifax for 2 years now (as a student) I have kept a keen interest in the town as my family still resides there and my father used to be a town planner for the council for some of the newer schemes.

Anyhow, I think that area of town is critical in improving the town centre as a whole. Turning the Piece Hall into a venue for evening cafes and galleries etc has to be one of the best ideas I have heard! What better way to use the space than to have table and chairs spread out over the cobbles to create a lovely relaxed, European style atmosphere where people can come back to after the theatre shows in the Square Chapel. It would create an alternative evening area to the clubs and bars towards the top end of the town centre.
People have been complaining about how the town centre solely caters to clubbers, but converting this side of town with its more historically established buildings would be excellent and give them a place to spend their time.

A walkway coming in at the 1st floor of the Piece Hall and crossing the road to the train station would cover the problem mentioned in one article about how crossing the main road almost separates the two sides. An elegant walkway with open sides (I'm thinking almost Millennium Bridge in design here although maybe wider so it feels more like a wide open walkway) would be a great piece of architecture.

A link from the Square Chapel, leading up to the walkway would then connect the inner Piece Hall courtyard, the train station and that lower area behind the Piece Hall including the Square Chapel.


Building up the car park area near the Piece Hall is also a great prospect. At the foot of the impressive Beacon Hill (We take our scenery for granted. Live in Birmingham or Winchester and you start to crave for the Pennine hills!), there could be an area that is not commercial but rather more enjoyable for families and people looking to enjoy their time away from the hustle. Maybe a park leading to Eureka, or a wide, paved open space on different levels with sculptures spaced about. This would lead up to the Piece Hall, with maybe the road leading past the Parish Church becoming paved, much in the same way that those along Southgate and Cornmarket are.
I can envisage a beautiful space with the church at one end, the railway bridge spanning over the other end followed by Beacon Hill and its pretty little terraces leading up. Almost in the fashion of Millennium Square in Leeds, but obviously with a change of scenery.
It would tie in with Eureka and the Square Chapel / Piece Hall complex and to give a nice, spacious area for children and people looking to relax, to gather and enjoy the summer. The road past the church could either become time controlled, or given a 15mph speed limit so in effect it is better to go around and down King St instead.

Critically, on a more social note I think this area, if catered towards the more cafe and relaxed cultured people, could give them a place to go away from the more commercial shopping area of Southgate etc. It would create a whole new aspect of the town where people would come not to shop or go clubbing, but to relax and pleasantly while away their time with friends and family. It would tie in to the more artistic appreciative people who are more likely to go and visit cafes in the Piece Hall and go to showings at the Square Chapel.
In effect we would have two halves to the town. The commercial and entertainment district to the west and the 'arts' side to the east.


Anyway, my inane ramblings are surely ill conceived and wildly optimistic, but it's about time Halifax stepped up a gear from just being another random town to celebrating how it used to be such a hub for people from all around the area.
Yes, keep the clubs and bars and shops on the West, but also give a place where the more 'high brow' people can enjoy so we can capture some of the market that seems to be moving out from the town centres. As long as anti-social behaviour is kept down and people feel safe in a pleasant environment, then I think that area of town could become a very nice public space, especially for newcomers coming by train!
Just so long as it isn't filled with duplicate high street stores, but rather kept more unique! That is what brings in visitors and differentiates one town from the next. Our Woolworths is exactly the same as the one in Huddersfield if you get my jist! :)

Jamie Guthrie