Ornate beauty of station pays homage to Huddersfield

The prospects for the region are slowly looking better, which is evident in Leeds when you scan the skyline and see the amount of tower cranes now bringing schemes out of the ground. People within the industry have a much more positive outlook and confidence from occupiers across the region also continues to grow.

What is the best project you have been involved in?

A project that I particularly enjoyed was the re-roofing of a major Yorkshire shopping centre, not only for the view from the top, but also the experience of working on a building that size. The investments that clients have made to their portfolios for this year, in either maintaining or upgrading properties, have paid off as the market continues to improve and this is set to continue in the months ahead.

What is your favourite building in the region and why?

I would have to choose Huddersfield Railway Station. The Victorian extravagance and ornate beauty of such a building for a little-known Northern town pays homage to Huddersfield’s past importance, wealth and prosperity. As the first thing that visitors to the town via train will see, I think it makes a fantastic first impression. I would love to see it fully restored to its original glory with as many of its original features reinstated and preserved for the future.

If you could change one thing to improve the property industry in this region, what would it be?

I would definitely improve communication. With the litigious society that we now find ourselves in, we seem to find it harder to communicate openly so I would like to see a change in that.

Who has inspired you?

I guess most people would say someone famous but I should probably say my Grandpa Birks as he was Borough Surveyor back in the days of Huddersfield Corporation and was responsible for getting me interested in the profession.