Old police station development earns design award

Restoration work on a former police station and the refurbishment of an early 19th Century mill have been honoured at the annual Wakefield Civic Society design awards.

The society, which has celebrated good architecture in the city since 1966, recognised seven redevelopment schemes which were all completed in 2025.

Developer Rushbond was given two awards for its work on the Victorian police station and superintendent's house on Wood Street, which have been turned into 33 apartments and a four-bedroom home.

The society described the refurbishment as a a "major project" to bring the old buildings back into use.

The buildings date back to 1898, when the house was home to the chief superintendent of the city's police force.

The holder of the rank moved out in 1910 and it became a police station, with the force being absorbed into the West Yorkshire Constabulary in 1968.

It was later run by West Yorkshire Police until closure in 2014, when officers moved to new headquarters.

Henley Restoration and Remedials also won a refurbishment award for its work on Phoenix Mill at Tileyard North, a complex restoration involving partial demolition and reconstruction beside the River Calder.

Fibre Construction earned a commendation for turning a former commercial building on Bread Street into a single home, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Rushbond received further commendations for renovating two properties on Bond Terrace for use as sales and administration offices and for a new development of nine townhouses at Gills Yard.

Civic society president Kevin Trickett said: "This year was very much about quality over quantity."

Trickett said the developers had "all brought forward projects that will enhance the offer of the city centre, providing places to work and to live".

He added: "We welcome the uptick in new residential projects in and around the city centre.

"Whereas there was a time when many of Wakefield's population would have lived in or close to the city centre, since the 1950s and 60s we saw a trend where people moved to the suburbs.

"That trend is now being reversed to some extent as people move back into the city centre."

The society's dining club also chose Tết, on Cross Square, as its restaurant of the year for the second successive year.

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