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It's a great place – all Halifax needs is the right plan
The regeneration of Halifax is important – even to people like Peter Ellis, who left the area 15 years ago and settled in Australia in 2002.
Here the former Brooksbank pupil, now a music teacher at St Joseph's College, Sydney, lays out for the Courier his vision for a modern, thrusting Halifax. He writes:
Calderdale consistently struggles to maintain the trappings of a major metropolitan government area without the associated large population and in some respects the borough suffers from an underdeveloped infrastructure hampered by beautiful but restrictive geography.
And something does seem to be wrong – 34 years after the compromise that is Calderdale came into being the residents of Brighouse, Elland and Todmorden seem to no more like being part of it now than they did then.
Halifax, of course, is the main town of a metropolitan borough and it is precisely this status that brings a number of responsibilities of governance, not least of which is urban planning.
It is undeniable that Halifax seems to have lost some of its historical vigour, when one considers the massive growth of population in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Halifax itself had been important for some centuries prior to this and I still smile at Daniel Defoe's description of Leeds as ...not much inferior to Halifax in numbers.
But even then the setbacks came early. Halifax's great chance for city status in the 1880s was scuppered when its radical-minded MPs were not as passionately interested in the possibility as those representing Wakefield.
Even so, the great Halifax Improvement Acts of the 18th and 19th centuries were the renaissance projects of their day.
Despite this, the great advances and triumphs of the age were as much as a result of the socially-minded generosity of the great Halifax families – the Crossleys, Akroyds and Saviles.
This era of corporate generosity is well over, although the recent stunning success of Dean Clough under Ernest and Jeremy Hall is a shining example of what can be achieved when money, vision and creativity are combined.
My last visit in 2007 underlined for me that Halifax is a well-built and, in many respects, stunning urban area with a bubbling, untapped potential.
I would like to start with the Piece Hall. This unique building is Halifax's major gem. I still fail to understand how it isn't a Unesco world heritage site, given it fulfils four of the five criteria for built structures and only one is required.
Nevertheless it is hardly a surprise that urban planners focus on the Piece Hall as the catalyst for development. For a building like this to lay moribund in the centre of Halifax screams of an almost criminal neglect.
The railway station made me gasp in horror when I saw it in the summer of 2007. As Halifax's only railhead, serving over a million passengers a year and with aspirations for national express services, it is a disgrace.
It is a major station relegated to the size of a country halt. Is Halifax now stuck with a poky and overcrowded little town station for good?
Major towns have amenities that it would seem will be met by the Broad Street development. If a major addition is to be made to the landscape it needs to exist in harmony with the very best of its surroundings and Halifax town hall is a challenging architectural neighbour. Halifax has of course been here before with the debate about the "beast on legs of stone" at Trinity Road.
I like the Westgate canopy and appearance wise the town can hold its own with any in Britain. The centre was bright and attractive and clean and the view of Beacon Hill was as stunning as ever. There does seem to be a lack of national chain stores but if it is a case of Broad Street or bust I know what side I'd come down on.
I have fond memories of Halifax swimming pool, however if it is to be replaced, then why not with something much better? By all means build at North Bridge but build it Olympic size.
Coupled with the Shay redevelopment (a good thing too, as Fax and the Shaymen will be back) and the provision for athletics at Spring Hall there is a gilt-edged chance to create centres of sporting excellence throughout the area.
At the very least, such facilities would be enormously popular with students at a university centre and it is precisely this proposal which excites me most of all. Halifax needs a university.
There is not an urban area that is not improved by having within its borders a major centre of higher education.
Look at how Lincoln has been transformed by the foundation and development of the University of Lincoln. The university has an international profile and the students and staff bring vibrancy and creativity.
As a Halifax boy I would rather have bowel surgery down a mineshaft with a spoon than admit that Huddersfield may be able to teach us something, but it has to be noted that no one cracks Huddersfield University jokes any more.
The forward-thinking and creative Leeds University should be cherished for its already sterling work in establishing a university centre but I urge Calderdale to develop this partnership into something bigger – a quality university in Halifax which caters both for local, national and international students.
Build it, build it well, build it centrally and call it the University of Halifax, then Halifax will have a respected institution with an international profile and a multi-million pound worth to the local economy and suddenly the possible loss of importance for the town in the financial sector becomes less of an apocalyptic nightmare.
I do not wish to appear anti-Calderdale. I think the name is ridiculous but the area is fantastic. Halifax is the administrative capital of the area and the major economic, retail, cultural and transport centre of the borough. Residents of Calderdale's other centres may choose to travel to Bradford, Huddersfield or Manchester but their council is based in Halifax.
It is hugely important that those areas such as Brighouse and Elland and the Calder Valley towns are allowed to retain and develop their individual characteristics.
Residents of the smaller centres will have to accept a Halifax-centric approach to Calderdale but should also expect their council provide for their needs within the bounds of realism.
To dismiss the serious attempts to build a better Halifax for the future is to embrace mediocrity. Change for change's sake is fraught with danger but purposeful development for the greater good of the community is a noble cause.
Historic and vibrant Halifax deserves the very best of urban thought and social care and I urge its residents to embrace the opportunities.
Comment
Read more readers' views on the masterplan here
Is Halifax now stuck with a poky and overcrowded little town station for good?
Major towns have amenities that it would seem will be met by the Broad Street development. If a major addition is to be made to the landscape it needs to exist in harmony with the very best of its surroundings and Halifax town hall is a challenging architectural neighbour. Halifax has of course been here before with the debate about the “beast on legs of stone” at Trinity Road.
I like the Westgate canopy and appearance wise the town can hold its own with any in Britain. The centre was bright and attractive and clean and the view of Beacon Hill was as stunning as ever. There does seem to be a lack of national chain stores but if it is a case of Broad Street or bust I know what side I’d come down on.
I have fond memories of Halifax swimming pool, however if it is to be replaced, then why not with something much better? By all means build at North Bridge but build it Olympic size.
Coupled with the Shay redevelopment (a good thing too, as Fax and the Shaymen will be back) and the provision for athletics at Spring Hall there is a gilt-edged chance to create centres of sporting excellence throughout the area.
At the very least, such facilities would be enormously popular with students at a university centre and it is precisely this proposal which excites me most of all. Halifax needs a university.
There is not an urban area that is not improved by having within its borders a major centre of higher education.
Look at how Lincoln has been transformed by the foundation and development of the University of Lincoln. The university has an international profile and the students and staff bring vibrancy and creativity.
As a Halifax boy I would rather have bowel surgery down a mineshaft with a spoon than admit that Huddersfield may be able to teach us something, but it has to be noted that no one cracks Huddersfield University jokes any more.
The forward-thinking and creative Leeds University should be cherished for its already sterling work in establishing a university centre but I urge Calderdale to develop this partnership into something bigger – a quality university in Halifax which caters both for local, national and international students.
Build it, build it well, build it centrally and call it the University of Halifax, then Halifax will have a respected institution with an international profile and a multi-million pound worth to the local economy and suddenly the possible loss of importance for the town in the financial sector becomes less of an apocalyptic nightmare.
I do not wish to appear anti-Calderdale. I think the name is ridiculous but the area is fantastic. Halifax is the administrative capital of the area and the major economic, retail, cultural and transport centre of the borough. Residents of Calderdale’s other centres may choose to travel to Bradford, Huddersfield or Manchester but their council is based in Halifax.
It is hugely important that those areas such as Brighouse and Elland and the Calder Valley towns are allowed to retain and develop their individual characteristics.
Residents of the smaller centres will have to accept a Halifax-centric approach to Calderdale but should also expect their council provide for their needs within the bounds of realism.
To dismiss the serious attempts to build a better Halifax for the future is to embrace mediocrity. Change for change’s sake is fraught with danger but purposeful development for the greater good of the community is a noble cause.
Historic and vibrant Halifax deserves the very best of urban thought and social care and I urge its residents to embrace the opportunities.
l Comment: Page 12
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Friday 10 February 2012
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