The family owners of Dean Clough, the 22-acre mixed use mill-complex in Halifax town centre, have announced further investment plans that will create more Grade A office accommodation, unique spaces for retail and leisure amenities and potential for residential apartments.
The announcement by the long-established destination responds to the pandemic which has inevitably impacted the environmental and social needs of occupiers and visitors.
New plans include the introduction of flexible workspaces, unique outdoor pods with enhanced public realm, and the redevelopment of an historic courtyard to provide an additional nine units for retail and leisure use. Ongoing works also include the redevelopment of five floors in Bowling Mill to provide new Grade A office accommodation offering space from 3,366 sq ft to 54,768 sq ft.
Dean Clough is an important heritage collection of 16 Victorian mill buildings stretching over half a mile to accommodate three quarters of a million sq ft of workspace. They were constructed between 1840 and 1870 by the Crossley family, who founded Crossley Carpets in 1822 and soon became the largest carpet manufacturer in the world. The subsequent decline in the textile industry forced closure in 1982 after which the complex was purchased for redevelopment.
Since acquiring the historic site nearly 40 years ago, Dean Clough Limited has already invested tens of millions to fund the regionally significant regeneration project. Through long term investment and considered curation Dean Clough has since become a major success story for Halifax, Leeds City Region, and indeed Yorkshire. Now a hub of over 100 organisations employing around 3,000 people, it is a destination known for its diversity, being home to a range of small independent businesses through to large enterprises such as Covea Insurance.
An established arts and cultural offering includes a theatre, two resident theatre companies, six art galleries, a permanent art collection, a dedicated arts mill, 20+ artist studios and a substantial scale Lego model of the site!
Jeremy Hall, Chairman and Managing Director at Dean Clough Ltd, said,
“For nearly 40 years we have relished the opportunity to regenerate these magnificent mills, striving to champion their qualities whilst creating characterful and efficient workspaces for the 21st century. A best practice approach to their reuse delivers highly efficient modern workspace with the indisputable carbon benefits of repurposing buildings.
“Dean Clough is a true mixed-use destination that resonates with the local community, allowing the mills to play a vibrant and creative role in Calderdale. People now visit to work, eat, drink, shop, enjoy culture, recharge, and even marry, building on the site’s 180 years+ of history and enabling its future. The breadth and diversity of the community here today was unimaginable when we started in 1983.
“We are delighted to announce the next stage of development which brings forward an exciting mix of new office accommodation, more amenity space and new public realm. We are also exploring the potential to develop luxury residential accommodation which will support town centre living.
“Yorkshire has delivered some ground-breaking developments that are quite rightly celebrated, and we are delighted to present our future plans as part of the unique and compelling regional proposition. To this end we have appointed a new team of real estate and placemaking experts to assist in promoting Dean Clough. Cushman and Wakefield, Savills and Walker Singleton are advising on the estate’s development strategy, together with locally based marketing experts DS Emotion and French PR.”
Dean Clough is located on the edge of Halifax town centre, between Leeds and Manchester, and just 15 minutes from the M62 with direct train links to Leeds, Manchester, and London. Over 100 organisations within Dean Clough employ around 3000 people, supported by eight restaurants, shops, a nursery, post office, hotel, gym, health and beauty outlets, a theatre, six art galleries, 1,300 on site car parking spaces and secure cycle provisions.
The site offers a huge variety of office, workspace, leisure and meeting areas for short- and long-term hire/rental, together with an ongoing programme of exhibitions, theatre, events, and trails.
