The landmark two blocks of flats at Berry Brow will be demolished soon – hopefully before April next year – but no timescale has been set for when they’ll be replaced.
Bishop’s Court and Holme Park Court off Woodhead Road have been empty for a while after the decision was made to knock them down and replace them with modern lower rise blocks.
In 2021 tenants voted for the rundown 16-storey blocks to be flattened after fears were raised over fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster.
An initial design (below) for the new flats was sent out as a public consultation last year with a deadline for responses on June 12, 2024 … but residents who live nearby say they have heard nothing since and fear the scheme has ground to a halt.
Kirklees Council has revealed the flats will be knocked down soon as they are in an advanced stage with tenders for the demolition work and a contractor is due to be appointed in October.
But the replacements are part of a wider assessment of the need for council homes across Kirklees and when they will be built.
Clr Moses Crook, Cabinet member for transport and housing, said: “Our priority for Berry Brow is to ensure that Bishop’s Court and Holme Park Court are demolished this financial year and then we will resume planning for new homes after this has taken place in 2026.
“Our priority is creating safe and accessible homes and a better standard of living for our tenants and how we can develop a longer-term pipeline for building more council housing on council land in the borough.‘’
He added: “We are currently undertaking a huge exercise to assess the condition of our current housing stock across the borough to ensure that all our homes are safe, warm and well maintained.
“We are currently reviewing the five year Homes and Neighbourhoods Capital Plan that will set out priorities from 2025/26.
“We will discuss with our tenants how we will improve our existing homes and how we will continue to increase the supply of much needed new homes.
“This will be included in the Council’s Budget Report for the Housing Revenue Account which will be presented to Cabinet for approval later this year.”
One resident who lives in Berry Brow near to the flats and asked not to be named said: “We’ve had absolutely no correspondence or updates from Kirklees for a year.
“People who live near the flats are very uneasy and there seems to have been no consideration by Kirklees for us, but we deserve better.
“There is also a lot of concern that the flats are riddled with asbestos so we need to know what safety measures are in place for when they are demolished.”
A Kirklees spokesman said: “Asbestos removal, if it is found, will form part of the demolition contract. The process of removal would be delivered by competent contractors managing any risks regarding its removal and transportation.
“This work is closely managed and monitored in line with current guidelines. There is no-one in these flats and we have 24/7 security on site until we handover to the contractor.”
In terms of any timescale for the replacement homes being built, the spokesman added: “We cannot give timescales at present but, as we establish our plan, we will engage local residents in the development of proposals and timescales.
“Our ambition to develop more council homes and recent positive developments in government policies have required us to reflect on proposals and seek to establish a broader future new homes programme. Berry Brow is positioned within this and will be at the forefront as we make progress.
“Resident engagement has been taking place with nearby residents on the plans to manage the blocks until they are demolished and once the Homes and Neighbourhoods New Build Programme is agreed, part of the planning process will include local engagement.”
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
