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Plans to demolish Huddersfield gas plant take next step with Falcons safety upgrade

Northern Gas Networks says it will do “everything it can” to ensure the safety of peregrine falcons nesting at Huddersfield’s last remaining gas holder.

Last week, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported that Huddersfield’s disused gasworks, the Gas Club and two other buildings named the ‘Anti-Frost Building’ and the ‘Railway Store’ are to be demolished, under subject to Kirklees Council approval. The trial is scheduled to begin this summer, and dismantling of the 127-foot structure will begin in January.




In 2020, it became home to peregrine falcons who chose the unlikely place to raise their young. After recent news of the demolition plans emerged, concerns were raised about the impact on the birds that return to nest each year, but Mark Johnson, senior project manager at Northern Gas Networks, says there is “evidence strong” that suggest the birds have moved on.

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He said: “Since 2020, we have been working closely with local experts, Huddersfield Peregrines, to help monitor and protect the peregrine falcons that have returned to nest on our Huddersfield Gas Reservoir each spring.

“This year, however, there is strong evidence to suggest that peregrine falcons have found a new nesting site at a nearby mill.

He added; “We will do everything we can to ensure our work does not impact the falcons and as an extra precaution we have brought forward the removal of our gas tank to avoid the nesting season.”

Dating back to 1916, Huddersfield’s gas keeper is the last of 47 to be demolished by Northern Gas Networks in a bid to cut maintenance costs. When the town stopped producing gas in the 1960s, the keeper became redundant but remained a local landmark.

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