Masterplan to redevelop former White Knight tumble dryer factory in Hipperholme unveiled

Crosslee is launching a public consultation on its proposals for the prominent site, and has unveiled a £60 million masterplan.

The proposals include around 106 new homes, employment and commercial space, a leading European supermarket, a care home and a retirement village.

The factory itself covered over 24,200m2 and housed the manufacturing and assembly factory, warehouse, materials store, factory outlet store and offices. The White Knight brand of tumble dryers was made there.

At its peak, there were an average of 750 employees on the site, with some areas of the business working 24 hours a day during the week, until production creased there in January 2020.

Site owners Crosslee have developed a masterplan to cover a mix of uses and they are seeking feedback on the plans from the local community.

It is designed to regenerate the land and "create a vibrant new community".

Up to two hectares of the site will be dedicated to creating employment space in units ranging in size from 500 sq m to 1,900 sq m, which are suitable for small and medium sized businesses. These premises will be ideal for start-ups and growing local businesses.

The care home and McCarthy and Stone retirement village including 58 apartments and 24 bungalows, alongside the discount supermarket, will result in the creation of 80 to 100 jobs on the site.

Crosslee has unveiled its masterplan to redevelop its former tumble dryer factory in Hipperholme

A spokesperson for Crosslee said: “We are excited to be launching our plans for this quality, mixed-use scheme, that will bring a significant number of jobs back to Hipperholme, as well as providing much needed homes to the area.

“It is envisaged that the mix of uses planned for this brownfield site, will help to breathe new life into the Hipperholme village centre, adding value to the local economy via the independent small business sector," they added.

“We would encourage as many people as possible to visit the website and provide their comments on the plans.

The spokesman said: “These plans represent a huge investment of more than £60million into the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe area, providing new employment space for a variety of businesses.”

The masterplan

The plans are available to view online and there is also an online feedback form for people to provide comments.

Information leaflets are also being distributed to local homes which outline the plans and include a feedback form which can be returned by post for free.

The factory itself operated for more than 45 years, producing household appliances.

Competition from the Far East and Eastern Europe left production unviable there, and the factory ceased production in January 2020.

The former Crosslee factory has now been demolished

A notice was first submitted to Calderdale Council in April 2020 to demolish the factory buildings, three months after production stopped.

Demolition work then began that same year and the old factory buildings are now full demolished.

To find out more about the plans visit crossleeconsultation.co.uk.