The council chief who first saw the potential for a “spectacular” food hall in the old Queensgate Market building is predicting it’ll be a rip-roaring success.
David Shepherd, Kirklees Council’s executive director for place, believes there’s “nothing like this anywhere.”
Mr Shepherd, who was involved in delivering the food hall at the Glassworks in Barnsley when he was director for regeneration and culture at Barnsley Council, said the grade II-listed former Queensgate Market was a building of national and international significance.
The building, with its iconic roof structure made up of 21 asymmetrical inverted hyperbolic paraboloid mushroom shells, is now ready for an internal fit-out and is due to open in 2027.
Mr Shepherd likened Huddersfield’s food hall to Mackie Mayor, originally a 19th century meat market and part of Manchester’s historic Smithfield Market.
“With our building we want to celebrate the history but also present a space for the future – and we’ve got an incredible space for a food hall,” he said.
“I don’t know anywhere else that has a space like this. I like Mackie Mayor over in Manchester but it’s got nothing in terms of this space. It’s going to be pretty spectacular.”
Kirklees Council has taken on the operation of the food hall itself and Mr Shepherd is confident of success.
The council had originally wanted a private operator to run the food hall – and pay the £3 million kitchen fit-out costs.
It spoke to around 20 operators but none were prepared to agree to the council’s terms amid uncertain times for the hospitality industry.
Mr Shepherd pushed back at critics and said: “We talked to other operators and, yes, we had people who were interested in running a food hall here.
“But they would have run it how they wanted to run it, and understandably so, because they’re taking on a commercial risk. We wanted to ensure that we celebrated the best of the best in Kirklees.
“We’ve got a building of national, if not international, significance here and we want to make sure that the fit-out reflects that as well as celebrates it.
“And again, if you go with an operator, they’ll bring their type of fit-out. It might be incongruous and not really fit with what we’ve got here. We’re designing the fit-out, so it celebrates what we’ve got.”
Apart from the unique roof, the building has ceramic sculptures – Articulation in Movement by German sculptor Fritz Steller – on the outside while inside the food hall there’s the same artist’s ‘Commerce’, a metal artwork of semi-abstract figures representing agriculture and trade.
‘Commerce’ was always inside Queensgate Market but was hidden from view. The council had it taken down piece by piece and restored. It now has pride of place across the top of the glass frontage.
Other pieces of ‘architectural salvage’ on show inside the food hall include a stone carving of the Huddersfield coat of arms rescued from the basement and tiles saved from the front of the sweet shop.
A commemorative plaque marking the opening of the market hall on April 6 1970 by Alderman Jack Sykes has also been put on prominent display.
The council has brought in food and hospitality consultants JT & Crew to help them make a success of the food hall and Mr Shepherd is confident.
“When it goes well, because it will go well, we get the upside as a council of that reinvestment in Kirklees and that’s a really important part,” he said.
“And the reason I know (this is going to be successful) is that I delivered a food hall in Barnsley as part of the Glassworks, and that’s been a rip-roaring success.
“My ex-colleagues over in Bradford delivered Darley Street Market, and in its first year of operation it had half-a-million people going through the doors.
“These are examples of councils stepping forward, doing the right thing for people in their areas.”
This week the council invited ‘expressions of interest’ from food operators wanting to take space in the new food hall.
They are looking for a mix of food types and a mix of operators from the experienced with an established following to start-ups with a tasty new idea.
There will be eight kitchens, a central bar and seating for 500 people inside and another 200 or so outside in the new Queensgate Square.
The council previously said it wanted to open in Spring 2027 but it won’t be rushed.
Mr Shepherd is adamant it’ll be 2027 but he won’t be tied down to a date – or even a season – quite yet.
“Our seasons haven’t been as distinct as they once were,” he smiled.
