Work on latest Huddersfield University building underway for new £250m health campus
Construction on the second building on the University of Huddersfield’s £250m National Health Innovation Campus (NHIC) has officially begun following a groundbreaking ceremony at the site in the town centre.
Due to open in December 2025, the latest facility on Southgate will be named the Emily Siddon Building after the leading healthcare advocate who spent most of her life in Honley. Ms Siddon (1844-1923) was an advocate for improving children’s health and was also involved in the creation of children’s homes with better conditions than the workhouse.
She held many influential positions over the years including being one of the first women to be a Poor Law Guardian in 1883 and was the country's second female Justice of the Peace. On top of this, Ms Siddon was a governor at Huddersfield Technical College and the only female member of the main executive committee at the Huddersfield Infirmary from the late 19th century into the 20th century.
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The new building, named in her honour, will be situated close to the main university campus and is adjacent to the Daphne Steele Building, which recently welcomed students and staff for the first time .
Guests at the groundbreaking included Professor Tim Thornton, University Deputy Vice-Chancellor , Brendan Brown, Chief Executive of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust and Daniel Doherty, regional director Kier Construction North & Scotland.
The NHIC will work with partners across the region to contribute to the improved health and wellbeing of local communities and enhance educational facilities for Huddersfield University healthcare students, the university says.
“We are delighted that work is well under way on this vital new facility,” said Professor Thornton.
“The Emily Siddon Building will help to enable courses that are vital to meeting the needs of the country's healthcare workforce, and be a home for innovation with major NHS partners including the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, as well as others in the private and voluntary sectors.
“Being named after Emily Siddon, a true pioneer in healthcare and equality in the Kirklees area, the building encapsulates our ambitions for this next exciting stage in the development of the National Health Innovation Campus.”
The ground floor of the Emily Siddon Building will host a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), in partnership with Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. This is a unique partnership, and the first of its kind on a university campus.
The CDC will provide access to thousands of additional diagnostic tests for the people of Calderdale and Huddersfield, including MRI and CT scans, in the heart of Huddersfield. It will be the second Community Diagnostic Centre for the Trust, which recently opened its first CDC in central Halifax .
Other floors of the building, designed by architects AHR, will contain specialist clinical teaching facilities which will also be delivered in partnership with the Trust, including new course areas relating to the work of the CDC, such as Diagnostic Radiography. Work with other partners will allow for further developments, such as a course in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy.
The Emily Siddon Building will also be home to a Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre for local entrepreneurs or start-ups and organisations looking to benefit from locating with the University on the campus. The Centre is supported by the West Yorkshire Mayor and Combined Authority through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund . It will be operated by the award-winning team responsible for the University’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre .
Brendan Brown said: “We are pleased to work alongside our partners at Kier and the University of Huddersfield to deliver this exciting project. Having the new facility on the University of Huddersfield campus will allow us to give greater choice to our patients closer to home, whilst also increasing the number and breadth of tests we can carry out.”
Dan Doherty, regional director of Kier Construction North & Scotland, said: “This is a fantastic project to be a part of and I am delighted to be working with the University of Huddersfield to help realise their ambitions.
“Not only are we building a state-of-the-art healthcare facility for the people of Calderdale and Huddersfield, but we are also helping to inspire and nurture the healthcare workforce of the future.”
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