Council may sell fire-hit site as part of £4m sale

A council in West Yorkshire could sell a row of units that was devastated by a suspected arson attack as part of a bid to raise funds for the authority.

A fire ripped through the building on St John's Road in Birkby, Huddersfield, in November, forcing the owners of two long-standing businesses to cease trading at the location.

Kirklees Council, which owns the building, had previously planned to demolish it but may sell it as part of a wider property sale.

According to a report ahead of the council's next cabinet meeting, officers believe the site is now "surplus to the council's requirements".

Kirklees Council is grappling with a £13.6m overspend in the current financial year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, with the authority hoping to bring in £4m by selling off assets.

A report names 13 assets that Kirklees Council is looking to sell or make subject to a freehold reversion – where the authority's freehold interests would be sold to a business that occupies the land.

Describing the St John's Road site, the report says: "Former commercial units that were recently destroyed in a fire, and therefore, surplus to the council's requirements."

The property has been subject to appraisal to determine the most appropriate long-term solution, the report says, including consideration of "retention, redevelopment, rebuilding or disposal".

The report adds existing occupiers and interested parties will "continue to be kept informed as proposals develop".

Kirklees Council said the same £4m target will apply to the next three financial years, adding it brought in around £7.5m through asset sales in the 2025/26 period.

The blaze on St John's Road began in a florist occupying the middle unit in the cluster of three commercial units.

A woman was arrested following the fire but was later released without charge.

Kelly Hildreth, whose café was one of the units gutted, previously told the BBC she was "devastated" by the fire.

Next door but one, long-time friends and business partners Seona Johnson and Erika Wallace ran Dominoes Hair Designers from 1994.

The pair said the salon, which was also destroyed, was their "pride and joy".

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