Willmott Dixon starts £14.9m refurbishment of Huddersfield's Grade II* market hall

Kirklees Council has appointed Willmott Dixon to refurbish Huddersfield Open Market, including its Grade II* listed Market Hall, with the contractor starting on site this month and completion scheduled for spring 2028.

Willmott Dixon said the market is undergoing a £16.5m redevelopment, of which it will deliver £14.9m of construction works. The council's own project page says the Levelling Up funding behind the scheme must be spent by March 2028.

The works will add a market cafe, hot food units, a mezzanine seating area and a bar, according to Willmott Dixon. Externally, the timber and cast iron frame will be repaired, the building fully repainted and the existing roller shutters replaced with new curtain walling.

Chris Yates, Yorkshire director for Willmott Dixon, said: "This is an important project for Huddersfield, creating a refreshed market while paying tribute to its proud heritage to allow the Market Hall to continue supporting the town centre and local traders for many years to come."

The works

The adjoining annex building will be internally demolished to make room for a new office for the market team and public toilets, Willmott Dixon said. Kirklees Council says a new entrance will give direct access from Byram Street into the stone annex.

The restoration will reinstate the building's original colour scheme of reds, pinks and creams. Accessibility improvements include automated entrances, accessible WCs, changing places and shower rooms.

The council says the current market was built in 1887 and is Grade II* listed. Willmott Dixon said the aim is for the refurbished market to open six days a week.

Traders during construction

Willmott Dixon said it has built a temporary market structure next to the site to house traders while the works take place.

Cllr John Hardie, cabinet member for regeneration, highways and transport at Kirklees Council, said: "People will have seen work take place on preparing the site for the renovation, but they will now see a lot more activity around this beautiful Grade II* listed building."

He added that the temporary market and stalls remain open as normal. The council's project page, however, still says the existing market is planned to close in summer 2026.

The funding

Willmott Dixon and the council both put the overall redevelopment at £16.5m. The council says the scheme is supported by Levelling Up funding, which must be spent by March 2028, a deadline that falls in the same season as the contractor's scheduled spring 2028 completion.

Willmott Dixon in the region

The contractor said it recently handed over a building in Dewsbury that its latest release calls the Kirklees District HQ, described as a heritage restoration and custody suite, and which its earlier release on the scheme describes as the Kirklees police headquarters for West Yorkshire Police. Willmott Dixon said that project delivered 942 apprenticeship weeks.

The company also cited its work restoring the Capitol Theatre in West Sussex and completing The Seam Digital Campus in Barnsley. In Leeds, it is redeveloping the 108,576 sq ft Princes Exchange building into offices for Network Rail, a job procured through the SCAPE Construction framework and delivered with Platform4.

Willmott Dixon said work on Huddersfield Market starts this month, with completion scheduled for spring 2028.